About time! LG and Google reveal first Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches in bid to topple Apple

• $349 Sport and $249 Style will take on Apple with Android Wear 2.0 
• Following launch, Android Wear 2.0 update will be rolled out to existing devices
• For iPhone owners, they will also have iOS compatibility 

Google is launching a fresh attack on the smartwatch market with a radically upgraded version of its Android wear software. 

Made by LG, the $349 Sport and $249 Style will take on Apple with Android Wear 2.0 - and the software is expected to be available on other watches within weeks as well.

The new software has an improved interface, including a new Google Maps app, and can also double as a Android Pay credit card.

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The new Style has a 1.2-inch display, and is designed with a basic set of features. 

The wearable sports a 240mAh battery, 1.1GHz Snapdragon Wear processor, 4GB of internal storage and 512MB of RAM. 

However, only the more expensive Sport has a heart rate sensor and NFC chip for payments.  

The larger device also features LTE, for wireless data and calls, which can be made through an on-board speaker and mic system, along with a bigger battery.

It has a 1.38inch  always-on display features a pixel density of 348ppi, with better water and dust resistance.

Both will be available through Best Buy and the Google Store, along with carrier partners AT&T and Verizon, in the case of the Sport. 

The Style supports interchangeable straps but unfortunately the Sport does not because some of the connectivity is built right into the strap

The two watches will go on sale tomorrow in the US, and the rest of the world later in the year, probably following Mobile World Congress which starts on February 27 in Barcelona. 

Teasing the upcoming launch, Jeff Chang, product manager of Android Wear at Google, confirmed the future watch plans in a recent interview. 

As well as new hardware, Chang, speaking with The Verge, confirmed the new watches would be the first to run the heavily updated Android Wear 2.0 operating system.

Revamping the software's awkward user interface, the update will also introduce a number of new features.

These include Android Pay support, standalone apps that don't require a phone to work, and the recently released voice-controlled Google Assistant.

Both will also use adigital crown button to navigate as well as a touchscreen. 

For iPhone owners, they will also have iOS compatibility.  

Despite having been overtaken by Apple and its Apple Watch at the top of smartwatch sales charts, Chang says Google remains 'quite optimistic' about the future of smartwatches.

Unlike Apple, Google doesn't make its own watches, instead partnering with third-party manufacturers and licensing out its software, a move it believes gives it the long-term edge.

'We've enabled a lot of diversity with our hardware partners to target different types of consumers and preferences,' Chang said.

'This is a marathon, not a sprint.

'This category of products is here with us to stay.'

Despite dodging manufacturing duties on the first Android Wear 2.0 watches, Google is no stranger to making its own gadgets.

Earlier this year, the company launched its first own-brand smartphone, the Google Pixel.

The new watches have been confirmed for release on an unspecified date in Q1 2017, a period that runs from January 1 to March 31.

With Mobile World Congress, the Barcelona-based mobile technology show, to run between February 27 and March 2, it's likely the new devices will make their first official appearance around this time.

Once the new devices are released, Google has confirmed the Android Wear 2.0 update will be rolled out to a number of existing devices.