LG Explains Why They Pulled the Urbane 2nd Edition LTE from Store Shelves

[dgstorm]

We have to admit, here at HQ we were quite disappointed to hear that LG had pulled the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE smartwatch from store shelves. We were pretty excited that the first Android Wear smartwatch with LTE and cellular connectivity would be ushering in Dick Tracy style communication devices.

The watch was available at AT&T for about a week before LG suddenly (and without a complete explanation) yanked it from store shelves and effectively canceled it (for now at least). They shared that the recall was due to a "hardware issue" but didn't elaborate beyond that. Today they shared the details of the problem.

It turns out there was a display component problem that would eventually cause the screen's image quality to degrade over time. Here's LG's statement on the issue:

“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.

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.”

It basically boils down to a quality assurance issue that slipped through the initial testing process. If you think about it, this is actually impressive that LG decided to recall all of the units rather than try to address it with repairs down the line. It shows that LG cares about keeping a solid reputation in the electronics industry.

Let's hope they fix the issue soon so they can release a 3rd Edition version with all the problems addressed.

Source: LG says component affecting image quality behind smartwatch recall

 

[Vepaot]

Good guy LG strikes again. They could just have kept manufacturing a defective product but they decided to take what is probably going to be a pretty big financial hit, to recall their device so they can release a quality version instead.