Android Wear smartwatches are becoming more common with every passing year, even though they’re not exactly taking the consumer electronics market by storm the way smartphones have, over the past decade or so. The one persistent complaint from many smartwatch owners or prospective smartwatch buyers is that most such devices on offer from leading manufacturers do not come with cellular receivers, which means people with those devices still have to carry around their smartphones in order to make and receive phone calls. In an effort to address that gap in the market, LG last November released an LTE-enabled smartwatch called the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE. However, shortly after the launch, LG pulled the device from store shelves across the country citing “a hardware issue which affects the day-to-day functionality of the device”.
Finally, after all these months, LG and AT&T have some good news for those wanting to get their hands on the smartwatch, now that the South Korean consumer electronics company seems to have sorted out its faulty hardware, which apparently resulted in deteriorating image quality over a period of time. So those wanting to buy an Android smartwatch with a built-in cellular radio are now in luck. The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE will now be back in stores, starting with AT&T. While Verizon had also started selling the watch last year before it was recalled, there’s no word from the big red just as yet on its plans regarding the device this time around.
Those wanting to buy the smartwatch should note that it is compatible with Android smartphones running 4.3 Jelly Bean and newer versions of Android, and also with Android Wear for iOS. Coming to the pricing of the 2nd Edition Watch Urbane LTE, the device comes with a price-tag that starts at $199.99 with qualified AT&T services. What’s interesting is that AT&T is also slashing a full 50 percent off that price for those buying the LG G5. What it essentially means is that customers who buy the G5 from AT&T will be able to get the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE for only $99.99, provided they sign a two-year contract, opting for a Mobile Share Plan on AT&T Next.