Skip to main content

A new LG smartwatch featuring Android Wear just earned FCC certification

LG Watch Urbane LTE 2nd gen
Malarie Gokey/Digital Trends
LG has been one of the most faithful Android Wear companies since the line of wearables was first launched, and it looks like the company is prepping yet another smartwatch for 2017. The Federal Communications Commission has issued certification for at least one device this year, but some rumors suggest that we may actually end up with as many as four LG smartwatches.

Unfortunately, the documents reveal very little information about what we should expect to see from LG’s upcoming smartwatch or smartwatches, but it did give us one detail — the watch will be round.

Recommended Videos

That’s because a few screenshots were provided as part of the listing, and all of those screenshots were images of a round smartwatch. Nothing in the screenshots really gave much away — they just depicted how to navigate to regulatory information, as well as the regulatory information itself. Based on the screenshots, we can also safely say that the device will run Android Wear.

The screenshots follow news from last year that suggested LG was prepping four new watches, to be called the LG Watch Style, Watch Pro, Watch Force, and Watch Sole. The news was discovered through trademark filings by Dutch website GSMInfo, but the names were really all that we know about the devices.

While we don’t know much official information about the watch, we can certainly speculate. It’s likely that the device will run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which promises to offer as much as 25 percent better battery efficiency than the Snapdragon 400, which can be found in many older smartwatches. The chip also supports 3G and 4G connectivity, so it’s possible that LG’s new watch or watches will need a data plan as well, to allow them to function perfectly fine without a connected smartphone.

It makes sense that companies like LG would want to launch multiple devices — companies are increasingly realizing that watches are a fashion statement, and as such, the “one-style-fits-all” approach that worked in the smartphone industry isn’t necessarily as effective in the smartwatch industry.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
Android 15 will give your phone an important new security feature
Android 15 logo on a Google Pixel 8.

Google is introducing a security feature in Android 15 to guard against "juice jacking" attacks, as reported by Android Authority, The new feature is currently being tested in the Android 15 beta.

Wondering what a "juice jacking" attack is? It describes an event where a hacker secretly sends data payloads to your device, should it have the ability to both charge and transfer data over the same USB connection. This includes most modern smartphones, and examples of hardware used for juice jacking include mobile charging stations. Should the attack be successful, hackers could compromise the device, wreak havoc, and endanger your privacy.

Read more
This new Android feature isn’t coming to your Samsung phone after all
Someone holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus.

A screenshot of the Instant Hotspot feature Google

Google has announced seven new features rolling out to Android phones soon, including message editing in Google messages, improved cross-device services, and perhaps most notably Instant Hotspot. This feature streamlines hotspot creation and tethering between your Android phone and tablet or Chromebook, letting you create hotspots without having to deal with passwords and QR codes.

Read more
Google just announced 7 big Android updates. Here’s what’s new
Text editing in Google Messages.

If you have an Android phone or tablet or a Wear OS watch, you should sit up and pay attention. Google has just announced a bundle of new features it's rolling out soon, and from Google Messages updates to a better hotspot experience, there's a lot to dig into.

Earlier this year, Google was spotted testing a new edit feature for its RCS-powered Google Messages app. Well, it has finally made its way to the app with the latest Android feature drop.

Read more