Verizon has cancelled its LTE-ready variant of the LG Watch Sport, Droid Life has learned.
This flagship smartwatch was set to spark Android Wear 2.0’s fleet of LTE-connected smartwatches that capitalize on the platform’s newfound independence from your smartphone. While 9to5Google points out that the Watch Sport available through the Google Store works with GSM networks like T-Mobile and AT&T, Verizon customers will have to sit this one out.
Piggybacking off the growing catalog of Android Wear apps available natively on the wrist-based Google Play Store, cellular access would have given Verizon users the ability to take calls and send texts without bringing their phone along for the ride.
Android Wear, you ok?
While the cancellation of this watch certainly doesn’t bode well for Verizon customers, it doesn’t necessarily speak for the overall health of its connected wearables with other carriers. Other models like the ZTE Quartz, and the Huawei Watch 2 Classic, which has not yet released in the US, seem to be faring just fine.
While the Wi-Fi only model is still widely available, this is an unfortunate flop for those who were hoping to get their hands on this LTE-injected smartwatch.
For now, the only choice right now for those who were interested in the Verizon-flavored Watch Sport is the carrier’s own Wear24 smartwatch, which fills most of the blanks left by LG’s, minus the NFC capability and twistable crown.
