Google officially announces cellular support for Android Wear

The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition, the first Android Wear smartwatch to feature cellular connectivity, will begin rolling out to customers worldwide starting this month in the United States and Korea with key markets in Europe, Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States to follow in the months ahead. This development from the Android Wear team just made the support official.

Users will be able to perform usual operations with the watch like running apps, receiving notifications, send and receive messages, track fitness, get answers from Google, and most importantly, will also be able to take the phone calls through the watch.

Google has updated its Android Wear OS for smartwatches with cellular support, so wearables on the platform will be able to stay connected with a SIM card, even when the phones they pair with aren’t nearby.

The company LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. Of course, having that capability won’t be cheap, as you’ll have to pay a premium for that cellular support in your smartwatch as well as a monthly cellphone plan. Additional features on offer with the revised LG Watch Urbane include a 570 mAh capacity battery and an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance.

Since the watch will no more be completely dependent on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it will automatically latch to a cellular network, which will allow it to function as a standalone device even if your phone is not in handy.

Supporting cellular connection will bring in play a whole new set of use cases for the Android Wear which till now had to be hooked to the smartphone’s Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.