AT&T announced it will be “among the first U.S. carriers” to offer the LG G Watch. The carrier did not mention pricing and said it would be available in the coming weeks.
The G Watch showed up during Google’s Android Wear demo at Wednesday’s developer conference. The smartwatch—priced at $230 and shipping July 3—is now available for pre-order in the Google Play store.
Along with the G Watch, Google announced that Samsung had made the Gear Live, an Android Wear-running version of its smartwatch. The Gear Live, like a Gear 2 with no camera, is priced at $200 and shipping July 8.
The G Watch and Gear Live have near identical specifications but for the extra $30, the G Watch comes with a lot more device compatibility.
“A key differentiator of the LG G Watch is that it works on any smartphone with Android 4.3 or higher,” Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of devices at AT&T, said in a statement.
One of the biggest knocks against the Gear smartwatches is that they only work with Samsung devices and AT&T is keying in early on that. But Samsung has the market share to get away with compatibility exclusivity, an unaffordable luxury for LG and Motorola—whose Moto 360 is the other Android Wear smartwatch coming this summer.
If the vocal disappointment of the Google I/O crowd upon learning the 360 won’t be available until “later this summer” is any indication, Android Wear customers may wait for the circular 360 rather than opting in early for the G Watch or Gear Live.
Pricing and other specifications have yet to be announced for the 360 but it’s fair to assume the watch will be compatible with all Android devices.