LG partners with Google for Android Wear smartwatch as rollout of LG G Pro 2 phablet across Asia-Pacific begins

LG has announced it is releasing a smartwatch, dubbed the LG G Watch, which will be powered by Google’s Android Wear platform.

The new device will prominently feature the use of Google’s Siri-like Google Now service.

The South Korean tech giant says it’s one of the leading partners in Google’s wearable device strategy, with the G Watch expected to launch during the second quarter of this year.

The company says it will announce additional details about the device, including hardware specifications over the coming months.

In a statement, LG says the new device is part of an ongoing partnership between the two companies, which has led to the creation of a series of Nexus-branded smartphones and tablets.

“The LG G Watch powered by Android Wear will present a low barrier to entry for developers and offer the best Google experience for users. LG engineers worked closely with Google from the initial stages of development to ensure that the LG G Watch worked perfectly with Android Wear.

“This is LG’s fourth device developed in close collaboration with Google following the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.”

News of the partnership comes as the electronics giant announced it has begun the rollout of the LG G Pro 2, its competitor to Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note 3 phablet, across the Asia-Pacific region.

The device, which was unveiled last month at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, is notable for its unique “knock code” unlock feature.

Rather than needing to enter a password or passcode, knock code unlocks the device after a user taps different parts of the screen in a pre-determined sequence.

While the company has not yet announced an Australian release, the rollout will see the new device become available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippine, Vietnam and Indonesia, suggesting a local release is drawing nearer.

Jong-seok Park, president and chief executive of LG Electronics Mobile Communications predicts strong sales for the device across the region.

“With its 5.9-inch Full HD IPS display, versatile camera functions and user-oriented UX features, we expect the LG G Pro 2 to make a strong impression with Asian customers.

“Asian consumers have been the biggest fans of smartphones with displays over five inches and we wanted to make sure that the G Pro 2 exceeded their high expectations.”

The new phablet runs Android 4.4 KitKat, and features a 5.9-inch Full HD IPS display, with a display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is marginally larger than the 5.7-inch display on Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3.

The device is powered by a 2.26 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a Qualcomm Adreno 330 GPU.