Call-Capable LG Watch Urbane LTE Smartwatch Priced At $589 In South Korea

LG’s first effort in the Android Wear space, the G Watch, looked like a cheap prototype that should have never left the research lab. Its second offering, the G Watch R added a dash of style and a round display, but still didn’t look like a high-end wristwatch. LG announced the Watch Urbane in mid-February in an effort to up the luxury factor of its smartwatches. The Watch Urbane is available in silver and gold finishes, and comes with a leather band.

Not long after the announcement of the Watch Urbane, LG threw us all for a loop with the announcement of the Watch Urbane LTE, which doesn’t even run Android Wear like previous LG smartwatches. Instead, it uses a heavily revised version of webOS, which LG licenses from HP back in 2013. Another differentiator compared to Android Wear smartwatches is the inclusion of a SIM slot, which allows the Watch Urbane LTE to make and receive phone calls.

LG shocked us once again today with the announcement that the Watch Urbane LTE will be priced at $589 when it launches in South Korea. Even if we take into account that South Korean prices are typically a bit higher than in the United States (the G Watch R costs $318 in South Korea, but only $299 in the U.S.), it’s still a relative high price of entry. Samsung’s call-capable Gear S, which runs Tizen, is priced at $329 in the U.S.

We don’t know if LG has any plans to market the G Watch Urbane in the U.S., but with the smartwatch market heating up and the Gear S already gracing U.S. carrier networks, we wouldn’t be too surprised to see it make an appearance.