LG's quirky Watch W7 is half smartwatch, half analog

In addition to launching its LG V40 ThinQ phone, LG announced the Watch W7 smartwatch. The wearable is a hybrid between a Wear OS smartwatch and a real Swiss watch.

For more information, read CNET's LG Watch W7 hands-on.

The LG Watch W7 is the company's first smartwatch since the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style in early 2017.   

Instead of aiming at pure fitness, the Watch W7 goes high fashion with a twist: It's a hybrid Wear OS smartwatch that combines a display and a real Swiss watch.   

Many smartwatches still face the problem of battery life. Some watches have tried to solve battery life with improved low-power chips, simplified functions, using mechanical hands or running off body heat. 

But because it's a hybrid device, the W7 Watch promises a longer battery life. There's a catch though -- its battery lasts long only when smartwatch features are turned off.

Despite the unique in concept, photos make it look completely normal.  

The round watch looks even more normal thanks to its physical watch hands.     

The LED display beneath adds extra design for watch faces, and also shows information like other Google Wear OS watches.   

The W7 Watch is an interesting choice for a "I want a smartwatch that looks like a normal watch" sort of user.   

On the side, two buttons and a spinning crown control extra features, similar to other Wear OS watches we've seen.   

Another view of the watch's backside.

The Apple Watch lasts a day and a half. Google Wear OS watches, on the other hand, last about a day.   

With the OLED display and Wear OS connected, the \Watch W7 lasts two days, similar to many other smartwatches.   

The mechanical watch part of the LG Watch W7, made by Swiss watch component manufacturer Soprod SA, works independently from Wear OS and basically lets the watch last for 100 days in a nonsmartwatch, basic time-telling mode.   

Despite aiming for better battery life, the Watch W7 does not use Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip, which aims to offer longer-life standard watch modes that last up to 30 days.  

Instead, the W7 runs off the older Wear 2100 chip platform, and the 240mAh battery isn't particularly large by smartwatch standards.   

The W7 doesn't have onboard GPS and drops heart rate altogether. It only has IP68 water resistance, which is rated for 30 minutes of water immersion, but not swimming.   

It also does have an altimeter/barometer, though. It also offers NFC for Google Pay.   

The watch has completely real hands, lit up for night viewing. But that also means part of the display's obscured.   

The hands can move aside temporarily when showing notifications, but it seems like it could get weird at times, too.   

The LG Watch W7 is targeted at fashion-watch folk, for those who want an everyday mechanical-type watch. 

But Google and Qualcomm are working with high-end Swiss watch manufacturers already, and those pricey Wear OS smartwatches from Tag Heuer and Montblanc, among others, don't have any mechanical aspect at all.

The watch's design is clearly in the bigger-men's-watch category as far as style, something many other round smartwatches tend to fall into.  

We'll be reviewing the LG Watch W7 as soon as we can, and will follow up with hands-on impressions. In the meantime, for more information, read CNET's LG Watch W7 hands-on.