APPLE WATCH VS. LG G R WATCH

Produced By: Haya Al Jord

Grade : 10bg

WHAT IS A SMART WATCH?

• Smartphones are brilliant, portable computing and communications devices. But they have taken us back to the era of the pocket watch. We have to take a device out of your pocket to get at all that great information. The reason the dumb watch has remained a constant for decades is that it is almost a perfect form factor. Convenient and only as obtrusive as you wish it to be. Getting the information from your smartphone on to your wrist is highly useful. 

WHY THE APPLE WATCH MATTERS ?

• Apple Watch launch is truly significant. Apple rarely, if ever, truly innovates. What it does amazingly is take existing technology and create the first truly great consumer products in that space. It has done so several times: OS X, iPod, iPhone, iPad - none of these were the first in their respective classes, but all of them set the gold standard and gave life to markets.• So to an extent it doesn't matter how good,

bad or indifferent is the Apple Watch. The very fact that Apple is making one will generate sales, which will in turn lead to smartwatches and wearables in general looking normal and desirable. This is good news for the likes of LG with the LG G Watch R.

SMARTWATCH SOFTWARE

• Software makers are now creating apps for smartwatches - they know there will be an after market. In turn this also generates more of a market, almost regardless of consumer desire. Apple is not pitching at techie people, and its watch won't be cheap. It is aimed at people with disposable income who are style- and fashion conscious and who like to be seen to have the latest kit. There are plenty of them and they will snap up the Apple Watch, which will in turn create a market for cheaper alternative smartwatches.

APPLE WATCH VS LG G WATCH R COMPARISON: COMPATIBILITY

• Android users will be able to use the LG G Watch R or the Motorola Moto 360, or any other Android Wear-powered smartwatch, while iPhone users will have a choice of the Apple Watch or the Apple Watch.

• You can use the G Watch R with any Android device (normally a smartphone) running Android 4.3 Jelly or later. Meanwhile the Apple Watch works only with the iPhone (including the 5, 5c, 5s, 6 and 6 Plus). Neither smartwatch works independently of a smartphone.

APPLE WATCH HARDWARE

• As always with Apple, it cares more about what a product does and how it looks and behaves than what is inside; it hasn't announced the exact tech specs of its Apple Watch. For once we agree: while we want the battery to last at very least a full day.

LG G WATCH R

• the Android Wear smartwatches with a few little differences here and there. The core hardware is a familiar Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2 GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage.

• A battery size of 410 mAh is pretty typical and there's the usual array of sensors including a gyro, compass, accelerometer. 

APPLE WATCH DESIGN

• The Apple Watch comes in two sizes, for men and women, and in three collections. The Apple Watch collection has a polished silver or black case made from a custom alloy of stainless steel; the Apple Watch Sport collection has a 60 percent stronger anodized aluminum case in silver or space grey, with strengthened Ion-X glass; and the Apple Watch Edition collection uses 18-carat yellow- or rose gold, and features exquisitely crafted straps and closures. Then there are six strap options: Link Bracelet, Sport Band, Leather Loop, Classic Buckle, Modern Buckle and Milanese Loop.

LG G WATCH R DESIGN • the G Watch R has a round screen rather than square - again, like the Moto

360. It looks more like a traditional wristwatch than the square-faced Apple Watch. Indeed, this is probably the main reason to opt for the LG G Watch R over the regular version or other square screen smartwatches.

• The G Watch R looks great and will come with a stainless steel frame and a leather strap although the standard 22mm size means you can chop and change. The G Watch R is IP67 rated so is dust- and waterproof – up to 1m of water for 30 minutes.

• LG says the G Watch R will come in black but we also took a look at a silver model. The device is relatively thick but no bigger than a lot of analogue watches on the market.

APPLE WATCH VS LG G WATCH R COMPARISON: FEATURES

• While the LG G Watch R runs Android Wear, and the Apple Watch runs Apple's own iOS-based software. On either watch you can install apps, make calls and send texts, call up the voice assistant, check your email, control-, store- and play back music, display photos, view notifications from social media and more.

• The Apple Watch has a few extras, including Glances (swipe up from the bottom of the screen to see at-a-glance information on whatever you choose to have there), and Digital Touch. The latter lets you connect with your friends with a single touch