LG watches get Android Pay, while LG Pay's future dims

LG this week rolled out its first smartwatch enabling Android Pay, while reports suggest the South Korean hardware maker separately may be shelving plans to enable LG Pay on its newest smartphones.

For more than a year LG has been working on a virtual payment card concept called LG Pay that would enable mobile payments within its smartphones through partnerships with banks including KB Kookmin Bank in South Korea. But LG is rethinking its strategy around LG Pay and its newest smartphone, the G6, won’t include that mobile payments feature when it’s unveiled later this month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, reports suggest.

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

LG’s $349 Watch Sport went on sale today a few days after the release of Android Wear 2.0, enabling contactless payments with the watch via embedded Near Field Communication, Google said in a Feb. 10 press release. Users may press a dedicated Android Pay button on the watch to complete a payment, according to the release. (The $249 LG Watch Style does not feature NFC support.)

Apps for Android Wear 2.0 are available on the Google Play Store for users to download directly to devices like LG’s new smartwatches, bypassing the need to first download apps to a connected handset, Google said in the release.