A faulty component in LG’s Watch Urbane 2nd Edition, which had the potential to affect image quality, was behind the smartwatch’s removal from sale.

The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition, which was on sale for just six days before being pulled off shelves, contained a component with the potential to reduce image quality on the device, the company has confirmed.

LG said the reason for withdrawing the smartwatch from sale last week was not over safety fears, but over the component’s potential to affect the user experience over time. The component had not been used in any of the company’s wearables before.

“For competitive and supplier relations reasons we are not in a position to communicate the specifics of the issue that led to this decision. However, what we can share is that the hardware issue was related to a new advanced component that we had incorporated in the device that had never been used in an LG wearable device before,” the company said.

“During aggressive testing over thousands of hours under severe conditions, it was revealed that this component failed to meet LG’s quality standards and could potentially impact our image quality over the life of the device.”

The second edition of the Watch Urbane was the first smartwatch with mobile data connectivity and multiple function buttons, with inbuilt heart rate monitor and rounded 480 x 480 P-OLED display, the highest of any Android Wear-running smartwatch to date.

Cellular connectivity meant users could make calls directly from the watch, rather than having to be synced to a paired smartphone.

It is still unknown whether LG plans to recall any units sold, or whether the wearable will go back on sale at any point.

“We would like to make very clear that the issue in question has no bearing whatsoever on the safety of the device or the wearer. It is, simply, an issue that might affect the user experience of the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition over the long term,” the statement continued.

“We thank our customers and fans for their understanding that we did not take this decision lightly but when it comes to giving our customers the best LG experience, this was the right decision.”

Author: Rhiannon Williams
Source: Telegraph