LG Urbane 2 Update: Smartwatch Pulled Due to Hardware Issues
The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE has reportedly been officially canceled because of serious hardware issues.
The cancellation of the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE was first reported on Monday. The release date of the smartwatch was suspended earlier due to persistent hardware problems, and LG will issue a full refund for U.S. customers who have pre-ordered the device, according to an iDigital Times report cited by Realty Today (RT).
"We understand that you are currently reviewing our latest smartwatch … our engineers were made aware of a hardware issue which affects the day-to-day functionality of the device," RT quotes LG's official announcement about the decision to pull out the Urbane 2nd Edition LTE. "After further investigation, the decision was made to cancel the rollout of the Urbane 2nd Edition LTE due to the complicated nature of the issue."
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LG added that the fate of the Urbane 2nd Edition LTE is yet to be determined, but the company assured its customers that they will only sell products that have met their quality standards. It seems that the issues that have cropped up are too complex to be resolved immediately, thus the decision to simply pull out the smartwatch, The Next Digit reports.
Although the exact hardware problem of the LG Urbane 2nd Edition LTE was not specified, Computer World said the decision to pull off the device stemmed from the fact that they are not "carrier-locked." Along this line, one theory came up about the concern of AT&T and other mobile carriers over the fact that customers can purchase the device from them but still use other cellular networks, the report explains.
Another report from Wearable says the problem is definitely not a safety issue, or else LG would already have disclosed it, the report adds.
The cancellation of the Android Wear smartwatch is a big disappointment not only for Google and LG but also for customers. It was supposed to be the first device of its kind to have cellular connectivity. It was reported previously that the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition enables users to receive and make calls from the device even if their smartphone is far away.
