Whether working out, checking the local weather forecast or keeping in touch with family and friends, the goal of Google Wear 2.0 is to keep you connected. “Whole traditional watches tell the time, Android Wear watches make the most of your time.
In an instant, you can check when and where you’re meeting a friend, whether you’ll need an umbrella tonight, or how many minutes you’ve been active today—all without reaching for your phone.”
How is a Google Wear 2.0 watch a more unique wearable experience? Personalized watch commands, whether with a turn of the wrist, a quick tap or a swipe on an always-on watch face will trigger app functions such as your next appointment, stock performance, progress on fitness goals, etc.
Tracking your fitness goals is a cinch when you have Google Fit preinstalled on your Google Wear 2.0 watch which ” lets you track your pace, distance, calories burned and heart rate* as you’re walking, running or cycling. You can also measure weight-lifting reps, in addition to push-ups, sit-ups and squats.”
With the new on-watch Google Play Store, Google Wear watch users can download (as long as the watch has a cellular connection) apps such as AccuWeather, Android Pay*, Bring!, Foursquare, Google Fit, Google Messenger, Google Play Music, Lifesum, Robinhood, Runkeeper, Runtastic, Strava, Telegram, Uber and many more.
Communicating via apps like Facebook Messenger, Glide, Google Messenger, Hangouts, Telegram or WhatsApp is available on the Google Wear watch: You can expand the notification and tap to respond by dictating, drawing an emoji or typing or handwriting your answer when you receive a message.
Imagine having Google Assistant on your wrist, hands-free and being able to “find answers and get things done” more easily. It’s possible with the Google Wear watch. Just “hold down the power button on your watch or say ‘Ok Google'” and your are set.
The first watches to include Google Wear 2.0 (and collaboratively designed with Google) are the LG watches, the LG Watch Style and LG Watch Sport. The LG Watch Style is “thin, light, beautiful to look at, and comfortable to wear. It’s available in three classic designs and finishes—silver, rose gold and titanium—and compatible with snap-and-swap 18mm leather and silicone bands out of the box, so you can quickly switch bands to match your look or the occasion.”
Whereas the LG Watch Sport is “available in titanium and dark blue, the LG Watch Sport comes with a high performance elastomer strap, NFC for payments, GPS for tracking exercise and navigation, a heart rate sensor for your workouts, and cellular connectivity.”
In the US, Starting February 10, the LG Watch Style is available at Best Buy and the Google Store and the LG Watch Sport at AT&T, Verizon and the Google Store. In the following weeks, the LG watches will be available in Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE and UK.