Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)
Android Wear 2.0 is officially out and Google has welcomed the update into the world with two new smartwatches: the LG Sport Watch and the LG Style Watch. While Android Wear now has a bunch of new and improved features, I wanted to take a new look at Google Fit.
Shortly after Apple came out with the Health app and HealthKit framework, Google came out with Fit as its way of collecting and storing everyday activity data from multiple sources. Android Wear, along with third-party app integrations, allows you to use Google Fit more efficiently by tracking workouts with hardware that should be more accurate than the motion sensors inside your smartphone. Google Fit was updated last year, so I spent some time with LG’s Style Watch and Google Fit to see how the fitness app has evolved, how well it interacts with one of the newest Android Wear devices, and if it will really be able to stand up to Apple’s and Fitbit’s programs going forward.
LG Style Watch overview
Ars’ Ron Amadeo spent some time with the $349 LG Sport Watch, and I tested the $249 LG Style Watch. While the Style is certainly more svelte than its counterpart, that ultimately leads to it being a less-equipped a fitness device. Unlike the Sport, which has built-in GPS, an optical heart rate monitor, and barometer, the Style only has an accelerometer and gyroscope inside. That means this $250 device will tell you as much as the $79 Fitbit Flex 2 or $99 Fitbit Alta, if fitness is biggest reason why you’re buying a smartwatch.
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Source: Ars Technica – Necessary updates, but the work’s not done: A closer look at the new Google Fit