LG Watch Sport Vs. Apple Watch Series 2: Review

Google has partnered with LG to build a solid alternative to the Apple Watch Series 2.

Here are four of the most important metrics that make the LG Watch Sport (co-developed with Google) and Google Pixel XL a powerful combo for me. So powerful that it's a cinch for me to swap out (albeit temporarily) my iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2.*

For the uninitiated, smart watches are excellent companions for checking messages and taking quick phone calls. That alone covers a lot of mobile territory and allows me to keep both my Google Pixel XL and iPhone 7 Plus in my pocket a lot of the time.  (This is not a comprehensive review.)

(1) LG Watch Sport has built-in 4G/LTE cellular: big difference but with limitations: The Sport allows you to leave the phone behind. While the Apple Watch Series 2 has built-in GPS, it doesn't have cellular. That's a big difference. So, when I'm exercising with the LG Watch Sport, I am able to make phone calls, get/respond to messages, use Google Assistant (the voice-activated AI) and do pretty much everything the watch is meant to do -- on just the watch.

That said, on the whole, I prefer having it tethered to the Pixel. In short, the advantage of having it tethered becomes pretty obvious pretty quickly. The Watch's built-in 4G/LTE -- when turned on -- can do a number on battery life. And some things are better done on the Pixel's much bigger screen.

Reality check 1 -- screen size: while a cellular-capable watch is good to have in some cases (as illustrated above in the exercise example), the Watch Sport is really meant to be used with a smartphone most of the time. While that could change in the future, the obvious physical limitation of a tiny screen makes that seem unlikely. And that's one of the reasons that smart watch sales have been relatively tepid.

Reality check 2 -- setup: And getting the watch to work properly as a standalone "wristwatch phone" was not easy. That said, the LG Watch Sport version I'm using came with an AT&T SIM card, i.e., it was shipped as an AT&T device. I swapped out the AT&T SIM for a Verizon card (because my phones are on Verizon). That's likely the reason I had trouble getting it to work properly. Also, note that you have to pay separately for the cellular connection too -- though it's not much: Verizon charges $5/month and AT&T $10.

(2) Excellent physical design / amazing specs: the LG Watch Sport is gorgeous (imo). The Apple Watch is really no match on aesthetics. And, no, the LG Watch Sport is not "humongous" as every review seems obligated to say. Full-featured smart watches are always going to be bigger. Get used to it. Bottom line: it has never struck me as being too big. And if you look at the specs, it's amazing what LG and Google have packed into something you can wear comfortably on your wrist.  That includes:

--Android Wear 2.0

--Display 1.38" P-OLED (480 x 480 pixels), 348 ppi

--Processor 1.1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Quad-Core MSM8909w

--Battery Capacity 430 mAh

--Internal Memory 4 GB

--RAM 768 MB

--4G/LTE, Bluetooth Version 4.2 BLE (low energy), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

--Weight 3.15 oz.

(3) Google Android Wear 2.0: Great interface navigation. When navigating the two watches' features/interfaces, I prefer Android Wear 2.0 over Apple watchOS 3. Basically, that's due to the fact that it's easier to flip through a circular interface -- especially with the Watch Sport's rotating crown -- than a square one. This feature alone keeps me coming back to the LG Watch. And adding complications -- which are data snippets that show up on the watch face -- is easy.

(4) Google Fit: this app has been revamped for Android Wear 2.0. it now includes a wider range of workouts like walking, running, treadmill, biking, stationary biking, and stair climbing. It does the usual daily step tracking, logs your runs via GPS, has heart rate monitoring, and customizable goals. It also allows a variety of upper-body gym workouts and can count the number of reps and make a reasonable guess at what exercise you're doing (all editable, if it's wrong).  The Google Fit primer video (at bottom) gives you a quick overview of fitness tracking.

When tracking health/fitness, both Apple and Google do essentially the same thing: suck in data from the watch and fitness apps and then (try) to put that data into a comprehensible, easy-to-follow format. Fitness and health fanatics will find faults with both platforms because, let's face it, workouts are a very personal thing with specific demands.  I find both watches work for what I do: aerobics/calisthenics and multi-mile hikes. And I don't demand a lot of information (though I'm guessing other people do and therefore will find one platform or the other insufficient for their needs). In my case, I think the human brain does a pretty good job, all by itself, at tracking and logging data and doesn't need a lot of help.

For me, it's a toss-up between Android and Apple.

Conclusion: I could easily live exclusively within either platform. That said, I do like the fact that I have the option to use the LG Watch Sport as a standalone 4G/LTE device. I think it's important for Apple to offer this as at least an option at some point. I also prefer the circular design of the LG Watch Sport. On the other hand, the Apple Watch Series 2 is smaller/lighter than the LG Watch Sport, which may be important to fitness enthusiasts and people with smaller builds. And Apple, so far, has been better at attracting apps, though some reports indicate that recently developers aren't as enthusiastic about Apple Watch app development as they were.

*I switch between the Pixel XL/LG Watch Sport and iPhone 7 Plus/Apple Watch Series 2 every other week (roughly). And I just finished a long stint with Pixel XL and LG Watch Sport.