The original Moto 360 is arguably the smartwatch that put Android Wear on the map. Motorola's first wearable was simplistic yet stylish with customization options and, boldly, the first with a round face. It goes without saying that the new Moto 360 has a lot to live up to and it already seems to do so fairly well, but I can't help but feel this smartwatch is iterative whereas the original was revolutionary.
The new Moto 360 has a lot in common with last year's model, retaining the classic and minimalistic round body. Sadly, that little bit of chin on the bottom is still there, though it's a smidge smaller now. One noticeable change on the new Moto 360 is that the position of the side button has been shifted slightly upwards, putting it at an angle.
Make the smartwatch of your dreams
Motorola gave its smartwatch the Moto Maker treatment late in its life, but now the new Moto 360 comes with customization built into its identity.
For starters, the 2015 model comes in a new, smaller 42mm size in addition to the regular 46mm size. The smaller size wearable should appeal to those with smaller wrists. To better cater to women, Motorola is also making a new line of exclusive accessories, including watch bezels and a wrap band that goes around your wrist twice.
When you build your own Moto 360, you'll have the option to customize everything about the watch from its size to the color of the case, which includes a new gold option in addition to silver and black. You'll also be able to pick the texture and color of the bezel, whichever band you so choose and which watch face comes preloaded on the device.
The most basic of the new models rings up for $299 (about £195, AU$425). Going for something a bit fancier, like a gold paint job or metal band, will bump up the price to a maximum of $429 (about £280, AU$611).
Rolling flat
Of course, there's more to new Moto 360 than just a few new wristband and color options. Motorola has also upped the resolution of the 1.56-inch screen to 360 x 330 from the original watch's 320 x 290 display. In terms of pixels per inch, the smaller, 42mm watch is sharper simply by nature of packing 360 x 325 pixels into a 1.37-inch round display.
While other round-faced smartwatches have avoided the troublesome chin – including the Huawei Watch and LG Watch Urbane – Motorola staunchly defends the "display ledge" on the new Moto 360 as a necessary design element.
The Chicago-based company explained in part that the small black bar hides multiple key sensors while providing the a space LCD to fold underneath to maintain the wearable's compact size. Motorola also highlighted that its smartwatch has the most screen-to-body ratio, at 71.7% compared to its rivals.
In short, if the flat tire on the old watch bothered you, too bad.
Thankfully, Motorola went with a more modern 1.2GHz, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip for its brains, plus 4GB internal storage and 512MB RAM. The new chip is a big step up from the absolutely ancient Texas Instruments processor that powered the original smartwatch. Overall, the new model feels nice and snappy as I flick my way through the new interface.
The added power hasn't been to the detriment of battery life, either. Motorola rates the 46mm Moto 360 for up to two days of usage with a 400mAh battery. Meanwhile, the 42mm model is expected to last 1.5 days on a 300mAh battery.
We'll have to see how those battery life figures pan out in the real world in our full review, but I'm hopeful it will actually get me through a full day when the original Moto 360 couldn't.
Electronic chronographs
Android Wear has looked practically identical on every smartwatch thus far, but now Motorola has added a bit of added functionality with Live Dials. In place of the chronographs you might find on a traditional timepiece, this trio of live dials will show information like the date, weather, the watch's remaining battery life and steps you've taken.
On top of giving you more information at a glance, the added crop of dials on the watch also allow you to launch apps, like Shazam, with a tap.
Motorola has also expanded the capabilities of the preloaded Moto Body app with an instant summary of your daily or weekly workout progress. The simple interface lets you quickly tap into how many steps you've taken, how regular your heart rate is and the number of calories you've burned.
Early verdict
The original Moto 360 is a hard act to follow, because it got so much right on the first go around, but that's not to say that Motorola's new smartwatch isn't a noticeable upgrade. The resolution of the screen has been increased slightly, and the new processor alleviates the old fears of a wearable too slow for that glance-and-go experience.
To a lesser extent, the new software bits are helpful. But, ultimately, they'll more than likely trickle down to older models through a software update. By far, what will make you want to jump at the new Moto 360 is the new array of customization options, and who doesn't want a bit of gold in their life?
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1JzbsH3
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