LG's round 'G Watch R' smartwatch includes heartbeat sensor and barometer

Round is in.

Although some people like the square and boxy smartwatch design used by Samsung and others, most people prefer the round approach used by Motorola and now LG.

The Motorola 360 watch is proof: Our sources says that the watch is selling very, very well.

LG announced today that it had begun the worldwide rollout of its new G Watch R, which it previously debuted at the IFA 2014 tech conference in Berlin. The new LG watch, like its competitor the Moto 360, has a stainless steel frame, a calfskin leather strap, and a round face.

The new R watch also add the heartbeat monitor that the original G watch lacked, plus a barometer, which will allow fitness apps to detect when the wearer is biking up hills or climbing stairs.

LG’s entry into round watch territory is significant. The new watch, LG says, is meant to be a pure Android Wear device without much overlay in the interface from LG. But, the company says, the focus on aesthetics was intensified.

This unveiling came just two months after the release of its first smart watch, the G Watch, which was something of a flop.

The round G Watch R is powered by Android Wear and runs on a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor. It holds 4 GB of storage and has 512 MB of RAM.

Here are the full specs:

• Chipset: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 400
• Display: 1.3-inch P-OLED Display (320 x 320)
• Memory: 4GB eMMC / 512MB RAM
• Battery: 410mAh
• Operating System: Android Wear (compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above)
• Sensors: 9-Axis (Gyro / Accelerometer / Compass)
• Barometer
• PPG (Heart Rate Monitor)
• Color: Black
• Other: Dust and Water Resistant (IP67)