LG reportedly working on WebOS and SIM-enabled smartwatches

More speculation is circulating about LG’s future smartwatch plans, this time from the sidelines of CES in Las Vegas. According to sources from LG, the company is looking to build a more flexible ecosystem for its future smartwatches, which could include switching over to WebOS sometime next year.

LG’s previous smartwatches have all been built on the Android Wear platform, but the company may be looking to break free of the restrictions of Google’s operating system. The most likely replacement would be WebOS, which LG purchased from Hewlett-Packard back in 2013 and has been using to power its recent Smart TV range.

We’re going to slowly try to build an (software) ecosystem around areas we can have more control over,

This is not the first time that we have heard about the possibility of a WebOS smartwatch from LG. Late last year a leaked LG hosted website for a WebOS watch appeared but was quickly taken down.

Apparently, LG plans to expand the use of the WebOS platform to more of its internet-connected televisions this year and then to home appliances and possibly mobile products later. However, the source stated that Android would remain the major platform behind LG’s mobile devices in the near future and there is no indication that LG will attempt to revive WebOS as an Android smartphone competitor. Instead, LG may be planning to trial WebOS on a single smartwatch to test the waters.

A separate source also repeated earlier rumors that LG is preparing to launch a SIM-enabled smartwatch early this year, which will free the watch from dependency on a paired smartphone. However, no details about the hardware or operating system were given.

LG may have been slightly slower than the competition at releasing its first smartwatch, but its latest G Watch R has proven to be one of the best wearables around. 2015 is going to be an important year for the smartwatch market, so we will be eagerly watching LG’s plans this year.