Introduction
It's already the 5th of May, and we've been tearing down watches like clockwork. Guess what we found when we cracked open our piñata: LG's latest smartwatch, the LG Watch Urbane. Will it compare to last year's LG G Watch or will we make some alarming discoveries?
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What you need
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Urbane legend has it that this is the first smartwatch to closely resemble a traditional watch, rather than a wearable smartphone. Let's see what else this timepiece has to offer:
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1.3-inch 320 x 320 (~245 ppi) P-OLED display
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410 mAh battery
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Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Cortex A7
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512 MB RAM and 4 GB storage
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9-axis combination (Gyro + Accelerometer + Compass)
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Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy
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Barring the dark watch face, this device could certainly be mistaken for a mechanical watch, until you flip it over...
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The rear of the watch features a heart rate sensor, charging dock contacts, and the model number (LG-W150).
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While the Urbane eliminated a handful of face options included in the LG G Watch, this timepiece introduces plenty of faces to choose from.
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However, it's still not quite as sharp at super-close distances as the Apple Watch, with its 290 ppi (for the 38 mm, 302 for the 42 mm) screen.
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Tool used on this step:Tweezers$3.99
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The 22 mm standard leather watch band can be swapped out for other bands of various colors and materials.
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Our handy pointy angled tweezers are once again invaluable spring bar removers.
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Removing the band exposes a couple of ports, likely for the microphone—or microphones?
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The last time we tore down an LG smartwatch, we were pleased to find screws securing an o-ring sealed rear door. Today we're heating our iOpener and feeling a little sad.
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However, thanks to a handy pry notch, things aren't too bad. But you will need to replace the adhesive before re-sealing the watch, to maintain that IP67 water resistant rating.
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Apart from the glue, the rear case comes away nice and clean—no cables, no booby traps. We like it.
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Power from the charger feeds through the rear case onto a tidy row of spring contacts beside the motherboard.
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Speaking of the motherboard, it's time to start digging out the Urbane's silicon. Starting with the battery, we flick away a few cable connectors and twist out the tiny watch-sized screws.
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We peel the motherboard out of the chassis to get a better look at this wearable's hardware:
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SK Hynix H9TU32A4GDMC 512 MB mobile DDR2. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC is hidden beneath this DRAM device.
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Qualcomm PM8226 PMIC
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Broadcom BCM4343 integrated communications module
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Single microphone—we're not sure why there were two ports; maybe just symmetry?
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Vibrator motor—soldered in place on the motherboard
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With a quick twist of our opening pick, we remove the battery faster than a mariachi player running through his scales.
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The Urbane rocks a 410 mAh battery—just like its primo, the LG G Watch R.
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Two screws and some mild adhesive are all that stand between us and picking out the plastic midframe.
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On the whole, this has been bad news for repairs—but in this case, LG seems to have found the secret recipe that balances construction strength with pry-ability.
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Picking out the watch's midframe reveals a single cable responsible for the crown button and charging cradle ports, and a pair of spring contacts that connect the motherboard to the watch body, perhaps to use the body as an antenna.
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Peeling up the display
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Now that it's free of the case, we can get a closer look at the Urbane's 245ppi P-OLED screen.
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The next layer off the screen sandwich is the digitizer. Also held in with sticky adhesive on both sides, it bears the LG Display co., Ltd marking.
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LG produces their own displays for their gadgets—something not every manufacturer is able to do.
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We put our curved blade to work, and pop out the display glass.
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The glass floats away intact, in all its perfect circularness, and the last layer of the display—which looks like a polarizing film—peels off, leaving behind some gooey optically clear adhesive (OCA) residue.
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Unfortunately, it seems like the procedure we just endured is the only way to replace a cracked screen—the display and digitizer are adhered to the back of the glass after it is installed in the watch body.
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LG Watch Urbane Repairability Score: 7 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
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Once you're inside, the motherboard is very easy to remove—three Phillips screws and a few connectors.
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With the motherboard out, the battery is very easy to replace; only mild adhesive holds it in.
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Features a standard 22 mm band secured with spring bars—replacement and style swaps are easy.
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Glued back requires heat and prying to open, and replacement adhesive to properly re-seal.
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Because the display is adhered to the back of the front glass, which is removed from the front, screen replacement is very difficult and will require re-adhering the display layers.
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