Hip to be square: Google smartwatch specs take shape in latest leak

Google smartwatch by LG
Square in every way imaginable

Google and LG have reportedly been tinkering away on a smartwatch and a new leak indicates that their ticking timepiece's display will be square, unlike the Samsung Gear Fit.

The LG-made Google smartwatch is supposed to feature a 1.65-inch IPS LCD with a 280 x 280 resolution, giving it a square screen, according to evleaks.

That resolution, if accurate, means its design would be more akin to the Samsung Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and original Android-powered Galaxy Gear smartwatches.

By contrast, the more cutting-edge looking Gear Fit, which received praise at its MWC 2014 unveiling, has a stretched-out 1.84-inch Super AMOLED display with a 432 x 128-pixel resolution.

More Google watch specs

The Google smartwatch internals tipped by today's spec leak point to 512MB RAM and 4GB of storage on board, but the processor is listed as TBD.

These specs seem on par for the course when it comes to smartwatches, and because of the lower memory and storage configuration, it's likely to still rely on a tethered Android device to power apps.

While this would be the first Google-made smartwatch to make it past prototype form, it wouldn't be the only Android-powered smartwatch to rival the Samsung's Gear line.

The Sony Smartwatch 2 is square-shaped wearable that connects to Android phones that run Android 4.0 or higher, and HTC has plans a smartwatch before Christmas.

By that time, we expect to see an Apple iWatch shake up the smartwatch market. If this LG-made Google watch is released by then, it may move the iOS vs Android battle a few inches, from the handset to the wrist.

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Matt Swider