Source: The first new smartwatch with Android Pay, the LG Watch Sport, will cost $349
After revealing late last week that LG's Watch Style will come in at $249, today we can confirm via one of trusted sources that its bigger, LTE-enabled brother will cost $100 more.
Context & Ripple Effects
LG has been testing how much a wrist-bound radio is worth for years: its Urbane Android Wear watch landed in the US at $349 in 2015, while the LTE-equipped Urbane LTE commanded roughly $590 in South Korea. The Watch Sport's reported $349 tag against the Watch Style's $249 extends that same split — a $100 premium for cellular — now attached to the first devices running Android Wear 2.0.
What makes this pricing leak more than a spec-sheet footnote is the software: as the debut hardware for Android Wear 2.0, the Sport is positioned as the first smartwatch where Android Pay works from the wrist, tying LG's top-tier price point directly to Google's wallet push.
First-order effects
- Buyers now face a concrete $100 decision between the Style and the Sport, with LTE connectivity and the larger body as the delta — and early Android Wear 2.0 adopters must buy the Sport to get on-wrist Android Pay.
Second-order effects
- Rivals in the round-metal-watch bracket, where Huawei priced its traditional-looking watch from $350 to $800, are forced to answer a $349 device that bundles cellular and payments rather than just aesthetics.
- Carriers gain a new LTE wearable to bundle into data plans, giving them a second screen to attach subscriptions to alongside phones.
Third-order effects
- If the LTE premium holds, Android Wear splits structurally into tethered companions and standalone devices, with Google's payment platform anchoring the standalone tier — a split LG itself doubled down on later with the $449 Watch W7.
The trend: Smartwatches are stratifying into cheap tethered companions and pricier standalone LTE devices, with contactless payments as the feature that justifies the premium.