LG Electronics said Wednesday that it was developing a smart watch with Google with the aim of introducing it to the global market in the second quarter of this year.

The company is in talks with the search giant regarding features of the LG G Watch, using Google’s Android Wear operating platform. The product would directly compete with Samsung Electronics’ Tizen OS-based wearables.

“We are also in discussions with Google about exactly when to release the LG G Watch,” said an LG Electronics spokesperson.

He added that the features of the smart watch would be similar to those of the Moto 360 by Motorola, which also unveiled plans to introduce a smart watch equipped with Google’s Android Wear.

Both of them will also feature Google’s Ok Google voice recognition.

They introduced their respective wearable products immediately after Google announced that it would showcase its Android Wear operating system for smart watches Tuesday.

LG Electronics’ G Watch could be connected to any Android-based smart devices, the LG spokesperson said.

An industry source in the smart technology sector said that Google’s new OS for smart watches would have a considerable impact on the market and on Samsung’s Tizen-based wearables, as was the case with its Android OS for smart phones, which eventually overtook Apple’s iOS.

“The wearable competition will be won by a player with an OS that will be able to spur the application ecosystem for mobile wristwatches in the future,” the source said.

“Even though the market has to see what will happen, Tizen is fairly new, while Android has ... gained worldwide user recognition mostly due to the growing ecosystem surrounding apps.”

Samsung’s open-source Tizen-powered Galaxy Gear 2 smart watch, which will hit the markets next month, is said only to be compatible with Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

LG Electronics said in a press release that the LG G Watch marked its fourth technical collaboration with Google.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)