As timepieces become more and more novel by the minute, the competition becomes progressively stiff. Google, for example, is continuing to enrich its wearable lineup with spanking new watch wonders. The search engine giant has not wasted any second in creating smartwatches to stand out in the dome as it even introduced the brand-new Tizen OS for its future watch offerings. But it all comes down to two of its premier groundbreakers, Tizen-running Samsung Gear S and Android Wear's LG G Watch R.
The Samsung Gear S is of curved-rectangle shape, endowing it a futuristic look. There is a home button embedded beneath its screen. It has a rubbery plastic band that is replaceable. The LG G Watch R, on the other hand, went for the traditional look, which makes it a favorite. Its round watch face and its winder/ power button gets it closer to the customary wristwatch, giving it an impressively subtle smartwatch feel while giving it conspicuous wearable features. It comes with a leather strap that is replaceable as well. While the two took on design poles apart, it's the buyer's preference that will take over.
The Samsung wearable comes with a 2-inch curved Super AMOLED screen with a 360 x 480 display resolution. This translates to a 300 ppi pixel density. The LG watch, on the other hand, boasts a 1.3-inch full-circle Plastic OLED, with a 320 x 320 pixel resolution and a 246 ppi pixel density. This should make Gear S's display sharper than its rival.
The G Watch R is packed with a 1.2 GHz qualcomm Snapdragon 400 while the Gear S is powered by a 1 GHz processor. Both wearables are loaded with 512 RAM and a 4 GB internal storage capacity.
CNET calls the Gear S as a "smartwatch that doubles as a full standalone smartphone." Text and calls will appear in the wearable and with the rather awkward onscreen keyboard, users can instantly reply to messages. With the in-built speakerphone, users can also take calls. However, it has fared better with its take on fitness as it partnered with Nike. It can calculate the number steps the user has taken, how long the workout was, the heart rate and even the number of hours slept. Furthermore, it has a built-in GPS, which the G Watch R lacks. The LG wearable has Google Maps instead. A heart sensor and a step counter are also on hand, and users can just talk to the watch to activate them by saying, "Okay Google, show me my steps/heart rate." The G Watch R has pre-encoded messages ready, such as "Yes" or "I'm in a meeting," to help the user respond to messages without much typing. As far as reviews are concerned, the LG G Watch R will best the Samsung Gear S in social networking.
Both watches promise a 2-day long battery life. The two are also made more durable as they are dust and water resistant. The Samsung Gear S is at $400. CNET reports the smartwatch's eligibility to a contract with U.S. carriers. The LG G Watch R costs $370.
