The LG Watch Urbane LTE (2015) made a brief appearance onto the market, being sold at AT&T for about $550-$600, only to be pulled shortly after its arrival due to “hardware issues.” A new report gives us a little more insight into the nature of the LG Watch Urbane LTE (2015) hardware issues as well as whether or not we can expect LG’s cellular-connected smartwatch to make a return to the consumer market.
Tech site CNET provides, in a new report, a claim about the LG LTE smartwatch, saying that the device was pulled the first time “due to display issues," not the vague hardware issue claim given the first time. Carriers failed to explain the exact reason behind why LG recalled its second-generation Urbane LTE smartwatch, though "defective" was a word used for the recall. Even though the phrase "display issues" gives slightly more insight than before, we still don't know the nature of the display flaws. It could be an issue with screen burn-in, "bleeding" graphics, and so on.
The new report explains that LG's new strategy is to focus on its own brand, so much so that the Korean manufacturer isn't even planning a Nexus 5X successor this year. LG manufactured the Nexus 5X with Google and was released in September. LG has partnered with Google to make the Nexus 4 (2012), Nexus 5 (2013), and the Nexus 5X (2015), so this change in strategy is a bit surprising.
In the same report, we're being told that LG will bring back its second-generation LTE smart watch later this year, though we've not yet been told when we can expect the second-gen. LTE wrist wearable to return.
In what may make many LG fans happy, LG says that it intends to release a second smartwatch, running Android Wear, not WebOS, this Year as well. We're assuming this refers to a third-generation LG Watch Urbane, though we have no idea right now as to the changes that will be made between the most recent smartwatch and the upcoming one.
LG is focusing on its own devices this year, and we applaud the Korean manufacturer for doing so. At the same time, however, LG will have a lot to prove to customers regarding why they should take a chance on LG again, after the last LTE smartwatch was recalled. The need to prove things are different this time around may prove to be too much for LG.
