Introduction to the LG Gatch R Smartwatch
The LG Gatch R is the latest Android Wear smartwatch from the company, and it's one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year. As a watch lover and tech enthusiast, I had the pleasure of getting my hands on this device and putting it through its paces.
Design and Build Quality
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One of the first things that struck me about the Gatch R was its design and build quality. The watch has a sleek and minimalist look, with a circular face that's both visually appealing and functional. The materials used are high-quality, making it feel substantial in your hand. The watch is also quite compact, making it perfect for daily wear.
The circular design of the Gatch R is not just aesthetically pleasing; it also offers a unique user experience. Android Wear has always been optimized for circular displays, and the Gatch R takes full advantage of this feature. The watch face is highly customizable, allowing you to choose from a variety of options that suit your style and preferences.
Watch Faces
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One of the standout features of the Gatch R is its watch faces. The company has released several new and interesting designs, each with its own unique characteristics and features. Some of these watch faces are rehashes of previous designs, but they've been updated to fit the circular shape of the Gatch R.
The watch faces on the Gatch R are not just visually appealing; they also offer additional functionality. For example, some of the watch faces display fitness data, such as steps taken and calories burned. Others show useful information like altitude, compass directions, and world clocks.
Battery Life
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One of the concerns I had when reviewing the Gatch R was its battery life. The company has quoted a 3-day battery life with the always-on feature turned off, but my actual experience was quite different. In my testing, I found that the watch lasted around 2-2.5 days on a single charge.
However, this difference is largely due to the presence of the always-on feature, which keeps the screen on at all times. When turned off, the battery life is much better, and I was able to get 2 full days out of a single charge.
Charging Method
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The Gatch R uses a Pogo pin charger, similar to the one used by the original Gatch. The charger is designed to fit the circular shape of the watch, making it easy to use. Simply place the watch on the charger and press down firmly until it clicks into place.
Availability
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The Gatch R will be available in various regions, including the UK, where it's already available. In the United States, it'll be available for purchase in November, although no official pricing has been announced yet.
Where to Buy
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The Gatch R will be sold directly on the Google Play Store, as well as through various retail outlets like Best Buy. As with any new device, be sure to check for availability and pricing before making a purchase.
Conclusion
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In conclusion, the LG Gatch R is an excellent Android Wear smartwatch that checks all the right boxes. Its design and build quality are top-notch, its watch faces offer unique functionality and style, and its battery life is impressive. The always-on feature may be a bit of a drawback for some users, but overall, this is a great device for anyone looking for a reliable and stylish smartwatch.
As I've stated in my review, the Gatch R has earned my vote as one of the top contenders for Smartwatch of the year. With its impressive features, sleek design, and solid performance, it's definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for a new smartwatch.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey what is going on Guys lawn here from Android authority and this is the LG gatr the latest Android Weare smartwatch to date and probably one of the most highly anticipated Android Weare smart watches of the year so let's go ahead and just get right into it and not waste any time and take a closer look at the LG gatch R so the biggest problem with a lot of smart watches right now is the fact that they don't look like normal watches for the select few of us that have adopted SmartWatches so far we also want them to look like a standard time piece one that is going to blend in with your overall style and not stick out like a sore thumb and LG believes that being smart does not mean you have to sacrifice style and that's why they created the gatr and I'm going to start right off the bat and say this is the most beautifully design Smartwatch I have ever had the pleasure of using and I'm not just saying that because it has a round face this watch is more than just a pretty round face it is very elegantly crafted from its metal body to its leather watch strap everything about the gatr just screams quality and if you didn't know any better you would think this was maybe a Nixon or a Citizen watch because it looks every bit like a normal watch and LG really paid attention to detail here like the watch lugs on the top and bottom that many normal watches have which will also make it easier to swap out different colored bands then there's these time markings on the face of the watch that don't necessarily add any functionality but again this is a design cue that a lot of normal watches tend to have and last but not least there's the power button on the side that's designed to look like a Winder so thank you LG for including a power button this time around because not only does it look great but it really comes in handy so I mentioned the leather band and yes this is a genuine piece of leather just like it says on the underside of the band and first thing I noticed was that it's actually a very thick and rigid cut of leather and I actually like that it holds its shape better it's less prone to wear and tear so it's not as easy to create indentations or markings on the strap in fact the only area that has shown any signs of where is the spot where I put the clasp every time I wear it but other than that it still looks pristine many of the things that have sort of become a standard among all Android Weare smartw watches are still present here so it's IP67 making it dust and water resistant there's a podometer built in for tracking your steps and a heart rate monitor for obviously monitoring your heart rate all in all I really love the design of the gwat r and personally I think LG did a fantastic job with it now one thing that I know know a lot of people were concerned about when the Gat R first showed up on video and I sort of was too is the size uh but now that I've actually had the gatr for a while and I've had the chance to use it I actually don't think it's that big of a watch if you're used to wearing watches like G-Shocks or Nixon's or Citizen Watches you'll probably think this is a fairly average size watch but if you're used to wearing something that's a little bit smaller then you might think the Gat R is a big watch so I guess it's just sort of a matter of pers perspective but I personally feel like it's a fairly average size watch moving along let's talk about the display and LG is very proud of the display and they're touting it as the very first full circle ped display it's a 1.3 in screen with a resolution of 320x 320 and not only is the glass completely round the entire display is completely round and it looks just as good as you would expect it's got great looking colors solid viewing angles and it's extremely easy to use in direct sunlight even at the lowest brightness setting I still was able to read the screen fairly easily there is a slight bezel around the display but honestly in everyday use I don't even notice it and when you use a dark colored watch face which there are plenty of it Blends in even more powering the Gat R you're looking at a Snapdragon 400 processor and half a gig of RAM and if this was a smartphone you'd probably be thinking this is a pretty mid-range or low-end device but this is not a smartphone it doesn't do half of the things a smartphone can do so it doesn't need as much power but the Snapdragon 400 processor performs very well here out of all the Android Wear SmartWatches that I've used so far and that includes the original gatch the gwat r has been the most smooth and seamless experience I've had on an Android Wear device I haven't noticed any lag whether it's waking the watch up from a deep sleep just to get rid of a notification scrolling through menus or watch faces swiping through cards it's all been a very fast and responsive experience so I really can't complain here since this is an Android Wear Smartwatch it's obviously running Android Wear and the experience here is pretty much the same as any other Android Wear watch with the exception of the fact that everything is circular and Android Wear in general just looks so much better on a circular watch face so you've got all of your usual Google Now cards like weather stocks sport scores that you can swipe through and interact with along with any other notification that you choose to receive from your watch will show up here as well like text messages emails and whatever else you can think of the main differentiator of the gatr is the watch faces and all of the watch faces look extremely nice some of them are rehashes of ones on the original gatch but the ones that are completely brand new look absolutely fantastic and blend in very well with the overall design of the gatr and some of these watch faces offer additional functionality like showing Fitness data useful hiking information like a compass and altitude and even a world clock so besides just looking pretty there's some benefits to using some of these watch faes so let's talk a little bit about the battery life it's a 410 mAh battery and correct me if I'm wrong here but I believe this is the biggest battery that we've seen so far on an Android Wear smartwatch uh so most Android Weare SmartWatches right now have ranged between 300 to 320 milliamp hours uh so I was expecting the Gat R's battery life to be maybe marginally better at best but it's actually a lot better so uh most Android War watches get between a day to maybe a day and a half if you're lucky but with the gatch R I was getting between 2 to 2 and 1/2 days worth of battery life uh so I tested the battery on the gwat r in one of two ways uh the first way was with the always screen on turned on which keeps the screen on at all times and with this turned on I was getting between a day to a day and a half's worth of battery life uh but with the always screen on turned off I was getting between 2 days to 2 and 1/2 days worth of battery life so a pretty drastic difference in battery life just by turning the always screen on feature off and LG actually quotes the battery life of the gwat r at 3 days with this feature turned off off and I wasn't actually able to get 3 days but 2 and 1/2 days is actually pretty close when you actually have to charge the Gat R it uses the Pogo pins on the back and it's a very similar charger to the original gatch except it's round to fit the shape of the gwat r and charging it is as simple as placing it right on the charger and there's also a magnet to help you line it up and hold it in place while charging as far as availability is concerned it will vary by region and some regions like the UK are already have it uh and if you're inside the United States all I can say is that it will be available in the month of November as to when specifically and how much it's going to cost uh we will keep you posted on that information on our website at androidauthority.com so make sure to check that out so you don't miss out on that info as soon as it goes live and as far as where you can buy the gwat r it will be available directly on the Google Play Store and most likely through various retail outlets like Best Buy but there you have it for the L G gatr it's a very beautifully crafted Android Weare Smartwatch but not only does it look good it's also very fast and responsive the screen is beautiful and the battery life is just extremely solid making the LGG watch R A true Contender for Smartwatch of the year and it certainly has my vote but that is it for this review guys hopefully you enjoyed it if you did please give it a thumbs up down below and also subscribe to the channel which is also down below and once you are done doing all of that make sure to check out the website you already know what it is androidauthority.com because we are your source for all things Android\n"
