Smartwatches are meant to make tasks that are usually performed by a smartphone simple and accessible right from your wrist. While this holds true for many tasks such as checking messages, seeing your schedule at a glance, answering voice calls, various health and fitness tracking tasks, and more, most smartwatches have to be paired with a smartphone to perform even basic tasks like responding to a text.

Even relatively new smartwatch maker Apple recognizes that this proverbial ball and chain setup is not ideal, with rumors suggesting the second generation Apple Watch, due sometime in early 2016, will feature improved Wi-Fi capability to allow the Watch to be less dependent on a connected iPhone.

Other manufacturers are beating them to it, though. Both LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. have launched smartwatches, the LG Watch Urbane Second Edition, and Samsung Gear S2 respectively, that can be untethered from a smartphone and still perform functions like making and receiving calls.

LG Watch Urbane Second Edition

LG Watch Urbane Second Edition with Cellular

At the same time as unveiling its V10 Android smartphone, LG gave a sneak peek of the LG Watch Urbane Second Edition, touting that it’s the first Android Wear smartwatch to feature cellular connectivity.

Connecting via 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, the Watch Urbane Second Edition can be paired with Android smartphones as well as iOS devices or function untethered – although there may be some limitations to cellular connectivity when paired with an iOS device, according to LG.

The LG Watch Urbane Second Edition is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and, at 480 x 480 pixels with 348ppi, its 1.38-inch round P-OLED display sports the highest resolution display in a smartwatch to date.

The watch casing has a diameter of 44.5mm, in keeping with traditional watch sizes, and has a “hairline-etched” stainless steel body paired with a hypoallergenic TPSiV elastomer band.

According to LG, the Watch Urbane Second Edition will run all day and then some on a single charge, thanks to a high-capacity 570mAh battery and a Power Saving Mode.

Users can access settings such as contacts, LG Health and apps via three buttons on the right side of the casing while ambient mode can be enabled or disabled by pressing the crown button.

The Watch Urbane Second Edition includes 16 watch faces and fitness and activity tracking features like heart rate tracking, workout tips, and stress level monitoring.

LG has yet to share pricing and availability details, but the Watch Urbane Second Edition will go on sale first in the U.S. and Korea, followed by Europe, CIS, Asia, and the Middle East.

Samsung Gear S2 3G

Samsung Gear S2

First announced a month ago, Samsung’s Gear S2 comes in three versions, but it’s the 3G-enabled Gear S2 we’d like to focus on here as it can be untethered from a smartphone.

The Gear S2 3G features a 1.2-inch circular AMOLED display with 320 x 320 pixels at 302ppi and is powered by a 1.0GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM and has 4GB of onboard storage. Unlike the LG Watch Urbane Second Edition, it runs on Samsung’s own Tizen-based wearable platform.

At 300mAh, the Gear S2 3G has much smaller battery than the LG Watch Urbane Second Edition, but Samsung claims a single charge will provide from two to three days of typical use.

The Gear S2 3G measures in at 42.3×49.8×11.4mm and, in addition to touchscreen navigation, has a unique rotating bezel and Home and Back buttons to navigate through the UI in order to access notifications and apps. Like the LG, the Samsung can be customized with a range of watch faces in addition to a selection of watch bands.

The Gears S2 3G incorporates what Samsung calls “the first-ever e-SIM with voice capability,” allowing users to perform functions on their smartwatch without being tethered to their phone.

The Gear S2 3G can be paired with any Android phone that runs Android 4.4 or higher and has at least 1.5GB or more of RAM.

The Gear S2 3G (and other models) go on sale in the U.S. on Friday, October 2^nd, with prices starting at $299.99.

Image credit: Main image: LG; LG Watch Urbane Second Edition: LG; Samsung Gear S2: Samsung