With Google's rebooted Android Wear 2.0 recently launching, we've now seen a few significant Wear smartwatch launches, for the first time in over a year. Let's see how the features and specs of two of those watches, the Huawei Watch 2 and LG Watch Sport, compare.
Size
These are two large smartwatches: Consider that each measures 25-percent wider than even the bigger of the two sizes of the Apple Watch. That all but completely pigeonholes these two as men's watches.
The Huawei Watch 2 does, however, measure 11-percent thinner.
Build
The standard (Sport, far left) Huawei Watch 2 has a ceramic bezel, while the Classic variant (center) replaces that with stainless steel – the same as the LG Watch Sport.
Colors
These are your color options. Note that the gray model of the standard Huawei Watch 2 is only available with Bluetooth (no cellular).
Band material
The Classic Huawei Watch 2 stands out with a default leather band (though it also has some rubbery plastic on its inside).
Swappable bands
You can only swap bands on the Classic Huawei Watch, with any standard 22-mm strap.
Display size
The LG Watch Sport gives you a 33-percent bigger screen (measured by area).
Display resolution
Both screens are very sharp, though the Watch Sport's pixel density is 7-percent sharper.
Display type
Both use OLED (or P-OLED) display panels.
Always-on display
Both give you the option of leaving a dimmed version of the display on at all times, though at least for the LG Watch Sport, that means its battery might not make it through a full day.
Scrolling input
The LG Watch Sport uses a knockoff of Apple's Digital Crown, where you wind the button to scroll through lists, messages and menus. (While it's wholly unoriginal, it's a nice addition to Android Wear.) Huawei didn't include any equivalent to its 2017 smartwatches.
Water resistance
Both have strong IP68 water resistance.
Standalone cellular
One of the hallmarks of Android Wear 2.0 is that it plays nice with LTE-connected watches, including a phone-free/onboard version of the Play Store.
The Watch Sport is cellular-connected by default, while the standard Huawei Watch 2 is sold in both LTE and Bluetooth-only models. The Huawei Watch 2 Classic doesn't offer a cellular option.
GPS
Both have built-in GPS (including the Huawei Watch 2 Classic), to track your treks without a phone.
Heart-rate tracking
All versions of the watches also have a heart-rate sensor (which was conspicuously absent from the Sport's smaller sibling).
Mobile payments
Both watches have the necessary NFC chip to enable Android Pay for wallet-free payments.
Battery
There's more to battery life than battery capacity, so you'll want to take this with a few grains of salt.
One thing worth noting is Huawei added a low-power mode to the Watch 2, which can supposedly extend its uptimes to 25 days (at the expense of losing all "smart" features).
Phone compatibility
Both are compatible with Android phones (naturally) as well as iPhones, though with the latter you might lose some perks like a smartphone-run Google Fit app.
Software
Both run the recently-launched Android Wear 2.0.
Release
The Huawei Watch 2 will be launching sometime in April.
Starting price (full retail)
We don't yet have US pricing info on the Huawei Watch 2, though for reference's sake, its European costs are €329 for the Bluetooth Watch 2, €379 for its LTE variant and €399 for the Classic. While direct currency exchanges rarely predict US pricing, those currently translate to around US$348, $401 and $422, respectively.
For more, you can check out New Atlas' hands-on with the Huawei Watch 2 and our full review of the LG Watch Sport.
