st two months after releasing the pedestrian G tch, on dnesday unveiled the much more stylish G tch R, a round-faced Android ar smartwatch that could make you think twice about buying the Moto 360. haven’t yet seen the G tch R in person, but based on ’s images, it could be the most stylish Android ar watch yet.
Both the G tch R Moto 360 have circular displays, but ’s new wearable looks more like a traditional men’s sport watch. ile the Moto 360 is just a simple round case, the G tch R uses substantial lugs for its strap attachment points.
The lugs add a lot of visual interest, make the G tch R look more like a TAG Heuer or ex than a piece of consumer electronics—especially when adorned with a chronograph-style digital watch face.
th the right watch face, the G tch R looks like the kind of chronograph any respectable guy would love to wear while riding their motorcycle.
Most of the specs of the G tch R mirror those of other Android ar devices. Indeed, the processor, storage, RAM, battery capacity should all look familiar to anyone who’s been researching smartwatches lately:
- ocessor: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
- Ÿ Display: 1.3-inch OD Display (320×320)
- Ÿ Memory: 4GB eMMC 512MB RAM
- Ÿ Battery: 410mAh
- Dust water-resistant to the I7 spec
- Ÿ Sensors: Gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, barometer, G (heart rate monitor)
There are two important details worth focusing on. The first is the display. The round plastic-OD display, with a resolution of 320×320, is completely circular. This is in contrast to the Moto 360’s display, which features a non-functional black “slice” at the bottom (this is where the display’s control circuitry is housed). The upshot is that can brag that the G tch R “utilizes 100 percent of its circular display.”
The G tch R also adds a built-in photoplethysmograpgy (G) sensor, which is a fancy way of saying “heart rate monitor.” Samsung includes a heart rate monitor in all its Gear devices, they’re not terribly accurate or convenient, as they can’t provide continuous heart rate measurement during exercise. If ’s isn’t any better, it’s not worth getting excited about.
The G tch R won’t make you look like this model, but it will make you look like you have his awesome watch.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the G tch R. hasn’t announced the watch’s price, size, weight, or charging method. That information will have to wait until its formal preview at IFA in Berlin next week. Nor do we know pricing availability, save that the watch won’t arrive until Q4 2014.
The G tch R’s stylish good looks have us intrigued, however.
ile the Moto 360 is going for a minimalist, unisex appeal, ’s latest Android ar device looks very much like other men’s sports watches. It’s something we would put on our wrists even if it weren’t a smartwatch. And this may be its best feature of all.
