It's now been over a year since Google took the wraps off its first bid for the wearable operating system space in the form of Android Wear, which debuted in March 2014. Hot on the heels of said announcement was Motorola, being the first manufacturer onboard with the platform to come out and tell everyone what was in store - the Moto 360 smartwatch. While we've seen quite a few attempts from OEMs to perfect the smartwatch idea, Motorola has produced the most popular Android Wear device so far, purely because it's just so damn sexy. Android Wear devices more generally just haven't taken off though, and that's mainly due to the operating system itself being somewhat limited, and in fact, just the idea behind smartwatches - even the Apple Watch, while generating a reasonable amount of hype, doesn't seem to have convinced the consumer base at large that smartwatches are good, wanted, or needed.
Moto 360 Has Price SLASHED By $100
Ahead of the release of Moto’s second-generation Moto 360 smartwatch – it’s expected to land anytime soon – the company has reduced the cost of the original Moto 360 by $100. You can now pick on up for just $150 on the US Google Play Store. The Moto 360 is priced at £199.99 on the UK version of Google Play, however, though a price cut could follow in the coming days.
The Moto 360 had something in particular going for it; unlike offerings from Samsung and LG, and yes Apple, it actually looked like a real, traditional timepiece. Not long after word got out about the Moto 360, it quickly became the darling of the smartwatch space and was viewed by many as THE defining product in the category. If you don't count the more practical Pebble, that is.
And all that hype prior to release wasn’t just the internet blowing off steam, either. The Moto 360 is a true consumer product in the broadest sense of the term, dominating its rivals in the burgeoning Android Wear space. Just check out this little ditty from research firm Canalys:
"Over 720,000 Android Wear devices shipped in 2014 out of a total of 4.6 million smart wearable bands. Though the Moto 360 remained supply constrained through Q4, Motorola was the clear leader among Android Wear vendors. LG’s round G Watch R performed significantly better than its original G Watch, while Asus and Sony entered the market with their own Android Wear devices. Pebble meanwhile shipped a total of 1 million units from its 2013 launch through to the end of 2014. Continual software updates, more apps in its app store and price cuts in the fall helped maintain strong sales in the second half of the year."
"Samsung has launched six devices in just 14 months, on different platforms and still leads the smart band market. But it has struggled to keep consumers engaged and must work hard to attract developers while it focuses on Tizen for its wearables." said Canalys VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones.
And in March, Android Wear's darling will be available inside Motorola's unique Moto Maker service.
“According to a report published by WIRED,” reports Android and Me, “Motorola is gearing up to launch a new version of Moto Maker. With the new software doesn’t come a whole new suite of customisation options for the Moto X, but instead support for the Moto 360, the company’s Android Wear-based smartwatch. Beginning in March, potential buyers of the Moto 360 will be able to put the wearable through Moto Maker and choose individual pieces to give it a bit more personalisation from all the other Moto 360s out there.”
But there are still a lot of big questions surrounding this device. Yes, it's beautiful. But does it actually do anything useful? We spent a few weeks with the Moto 360 in order to find out.
Moto 360 Review: Design
Design is the big selling point for the Moto 360, the unique look compared to other smartwatches is what has made it stand out from the mostly disappointing crowd. When you spot the Moto 360, the first thing to stand out is the round watch face. All the tech of the device is hidden inside a circular body with a diameter of 46mm and thickness of 11.5mm.
It’s thicker than a good amount of normal watches now, but you never wear a watch to avoid getting noticed. To be fair, the Moto 360 was definitely larger than we’d initially anticipated but once it’s on and you’ve been wearing it for a couple of days, like anything, you kind of just get used to it. The shape of the actual thing, however, is far superior to the square offerings from LG and Samsung, as it sits more comfortably on your wrist. It looks less like a “smartwatch” than current models from Moto’s competitors too, but, again, we think this was the idea from the get go.
For those with daintier wrists, however, especially ladies, it may be a little large and clunky. I’d recommend trying one on for size before jumping right in and purchasing. The watch face comes with one crown on the right hand side and no other hardware buttons or ports. It is a very minimalist affair and the Moto 360 looks all the better for it.
On the back of the watch is a sensor for the optical heart rate monitor, but it sits flush with the stainless steel backing. The entire device is also IP67 water resistant meaning you can get it wet in the shower, though Motorola wouldn’t recommend taking it for a swim. Colour options have been kept to a minimum; your choices are either silver or black. The black model, pictured throughout this review, comes with a black Horween leather band, whilst the silver version either comes with grey or stone strap. The leather band feels nice on the wrist and offers a range of sizes for a wide variety of wrists.
Moto 360 New Metal Colours & Metal Bands Revealed
Motorola has officially announced its new Moto 360 colour options and band options on its blog. The announcement went out simultaneously in the US and the UK, although Moto has only updated its US product page at time of writing. We expect the new variants to hit the UK in short order though.
"Moto 360 now comes with metal bands that are as durable as they are beautiful," said a post on the official blog. "Crafted from aircraft-grade stainless steel, these bands feature a modern, contemporary tri-link design that complements the round face of Moto 360."
The company revealed the new variants will be available to buy from its webstore today in the US from $299 in dark and light metal. Slim band versions will follow in time for Christmas, a light metal model at $299 and a champagne gold edition for $329.
"Starting today, Moto 360 with light and dark metal bands are available on motorola.com for $299. Coming soon, we will offer Moto 360 with new slim bands, which is an option for smaller wrists or for people who want a different look. Slim bands will be available in time for the holidays in light metal ($299) and a brand new champagne gold finish ($329)."
If you've already taken the plunge and bought a Moto 360 smartwatch you might be kicking yourself, but don't worry as you will be able to buy bands seperately.
"Already have a Moto 360? We’ll offer interchangeable stone, black and cognac leather bands along with light and dark metal bands," said Motorola's post. "Plus, we’ve partnered with some really cool brands through our M4DE program to bring you even more choices. DODOcase will offer stitched leather bands in four new colors. TYLT is working on colorful silicone bands to give you an entirely new look."
You'll also be able to further customise your smartwatch with new virtual watchfaces, including ones you can tailor to your own tastes.
"Choose from new watch face designs or even create your own. The new My Design watch face option allows you to customize everything from the background image to the style of the tick marks and watch hands."
Moto 360 Review: Display
The Moto 360 comes with a 1.56in backlit LCD display. The screen resolution is 320 x 290 pixels, chalking up 205 pixels-per-inch (ppi). Reading text at an arms length is nice and clear on the display, there’s no need to bring it right up to your eyes to make out what you are seeing.
Colours could be better as it’s just a standard LCD rather than anything particularly fancy. An OLED display could have provided better quality.
The watch uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 protection to give it a little extra resistance to knocks and scratches. I don’t usually wear a watch, and wearing one for a week meant it had a few collisions with furniture - so far there are currently no scratches and no visible damage to the display.
Motorola has sold the Moto 360 on the unique round design but has stumbled at the final hurdle and not made a fully round display. Along the bottom of the screen is a thin black bar that takes up less than 10% of the full watch face. Even though it’s small, it still manages to ruin the round aesthetic. The reason that line is there in the first place is to make room for the ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the display depending on where you are - this allows you to put your hand over the whole display to send the watch to sleep.
I can’t see any reasoning why this small sensor couldn’t have been moved to one of the sides of the display to give a full round display. When you are using a black watch face on the device it doesn’t show up as much as a lighter version, but it’ll jump back to your attention once a notification comes in alongside the black bar.
In the grand scheme of things this is something of a nitpick, but if you are going to sell your device on having a round screen, why not go the full hog?
Moto 360 Review: Android Wear
Yet Another Moto 360 Update
Motorola is supporting the Moto 360 with regular updates, the last update proved impressive with much improved battery life. Now Motorola is aiming to do the same again. The new software is available now and yet again improves on the battery life, this time it’s only a small improvement, but every little helps.
The only new feature comes with the ability to turn off the Ambient Mode that usually kicks in to turn the screen brightness down when the battery reaches 15 percent or less. Minor UI changes come in tow as well as a bunch of bug fixes and some behind-the-scenes improvements to the Bluetooth connectivity.
All in all, it is worth the download just for the battery improvements alone. Let us just take the time to give Motorola another quick round of applause for some really sturdy support.
I’m going to keep this bit brief. If you want a full introduction to Android Wear we have a separate review that will go into a lot more detail than I’ll supply here.
All in all, Android Wear is still a very young platform. It is in its first iteration and without beating around the bush it does not push the smartwatch concept forward - it’s pretty much still useless.
Android Wear’s big selling point is it allows you to get push notifications directly to your wrist. Swipe them left to get rid of them or right to interact with them. It allows you to reply to text messages by using your voice, or there are a few simple commands just to auto-reply quickly.
But it's kind of redundant for notifications, because it relies on being synched to your phone to display them, and it has something of a delayed reaction. You'll find a message will appear on your phone first, you'll read it and go "oh, ok", then five minutes later your watch will remind you of the message you just read - useful. This becomes a longer daisy chain if you get Android's peculiarity of picking up Google chat or Facebook chat conversations you've had on your computer, first on your phone, and then on your watch.
Voice control is another key component which sadly falls short. If you double tap the display or say “OK Google” you’ll be thrown into the system. Here you can say “text mum” or “what was the score of the Liverpool game last night?”. Sometimes you’ll be given a straight up answer, other times you’ll be directed to your phone with the search results.
The microphone doesn’t always pick up what you are saying correctly either. During a busy pub session on a Friday night we decided to text KYM Reviews Editor Paul Briden via the Moto 360. T first problem was trying to get the 360 to understand Paul Briden wasn’t spelt like Paul Brydon (that's not surprising - everyone gets my name wrong - P). After a few attempts it began to catch on, and then we were free to dictate what we wanted the message to say.
A message along the lines of “Hello Paul, it’s Caroline, I miss you lots and can’t wait to see you again. Lots of love, bye.” Came out as the following screenshot.
By the time you read back what the watch thinks you’ve been dictating, it’s already sending the message and you have a matter of seconds to cancel the message. It’s not strong.
Moto 360 Review: Functionality
So what can the Moto 360 really do for your wrist? Overall, not an awful lot. It can send you notifications like we’ve covered in the Android Wear review and it’ll show a clock so you can tell the time.
Onboard you’ve got an optical heart rate monitor and a pedometer for the fitness functionality. The pedometer is always working and you can either request to see your steps or you’ll sometimes get a card notification informing you of how far you’ve walked today.
Unless you’re fitness minded, it’s not exactly going to make you rush out and pick up a Moto 360. Having an office bound job myself, being randomly reminded of how inactive I’ve been isn’t exactly the nicest feeling. Thanks for fat shaming me Motorola.
As for individual apps there isn’t really much available just yet. There are dedicated apps for odd things like Yo, Tinder and a game called Flopsy Droid. At the moment it’s all a little pointless, if you want to be using Tinder you’ll just whack it out of your pocket and begin swiping on your phone.
Moto 360 Review: Battery
After the first few days of using the Moto 360 I wasn’t impressed with the battery life. I put it down to the novelty of having a smartwatch on my wrist and thought maybe I was over-using the device. I thought as I got used to having it on I’d likely stop experimenting with the features night and day and only use it for the necessary functions.
Then an update flew in at the beginning of my second week with the smartwatch. I was skeptical to download it, but since then battery life has improved considerably.
The first time I pulled the Moto 360 out of the box it was about 4PM, with about 80% battery life. I headed off to a press event that evening and I was experimenting around with the watch so much it meant the 360 didn’t even last the journey home. It must have conked out by about 11PM that evening, nothing short of pathetic.
Since the latest update I’ve managed to survive through a full day, that night, and then well into the next day on a single charge. I’ve been checking texts, emails, and changing music through the device, checking it for the time every couple of hours, but still managed to survive through an evening and by the time it went back on charge at about 2PM the next day, I had 40% battery still left. The update has done wonders.
In order to provide the Moto 360 with a seamless design, Motorola has opted for Qi wireless charging. It comes with a nice looking rubber-feel stand where you place the watch to charge. The wireless charging stand connects up via a standard microUSB cable and you can just plonk the Moto 360 into the stand. It doesn’t take long to charge up, it managed to go from near drained battery to fully charged in just under two hours.
The problem here is when you head round to a mates house and you’ve forgotten your Qi wireless charging stand. If it’s not to hand and you stay away from your charger for an evening, it can mean you’re without a watch the next day as there isn’t a microUSB slot for emergencies. In addition, the stand itself, while portable, could be better. Sure you don't need the cable as any microUSB will do, but the stand itself is a bit bulky to throw in your pocket - some kind of thin, foldable design would have been preferable.
Initially, before the kickass battery update, I thought this was going to be a much bigger issue but with the increased battery life, there really isn’t much cause for complaint. It is something to bear in mind though for when you head off on holiday or a short trip.
Moto 360 Review: Conclusion
Motorola’s first attempt at a smartwatch has taken on board criticisms of all the other manufacturers attempts at smart wrist wear and tried to improve upon each. In some areas it has been a success, especially in the design department. The Moto 360 has got a lot of things right. The design is better than anything else available and it’s sure to improve yet again with the next iteration.
The battery since the update is also incredibly impressive. When you have a device that is primarily designed for checking the time, you need a strong battery and Motorola has managed to nail it.
The real problem here is the Moto 360 doesn’t offer much functionality. That’s the failing of all smartwatches; the Android Wear platform needs to mature before it becomes a true success and worth your hard earned cash.
If you’re an early adopter and you’re certain you want an Android Wear smartwatch or want to update your current smartwatch, this is as slick as they come. Bear in mind it is also the most expensive you can get, but if you don’t want a square slab sitting on your wrist it’ll be worth the extra cash.
Personally I wouldn’t go out and spend my money on a smartwatch yet. If you’re already finding enough functionality with Android Wear, this’ll be perfect for you. It all comes down to the design and there is no argument Motorola has made the best looking smartwatch money can buy right now.
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