Introduction and display
The first Moto 360 has been one of the most popular, if not the most popular, smartwatches on the market. It's the top Android Wear watch that can go head to head with the Apple Watch, and then some.
It definitely had annoyances – like its flat tire-looking display and middling battery life – but in terms of design, comfort and overall functionality, the watch has done well.
About a year later, we get not just one highly anticipated sequel, but two sizes and two different styles: Moto 360, Moto 360 for Women and Moto 360 Sport.
At $299 (£229, AU$329), it's the same cost as the Gear S2, which is far pricier than the Asus ZenWatch 2. The base Moto is, of course, slightly more affordable than the Apple Watch's $349 (£299, AU$499) mark – but if you're going to customize it to your liking, the 360 can reach Apple's same price point.
The one I've tested out is the Moto 360 for Women. And while the "for Women" part of the name still bothers me, the new Moto 360 is one of the most comfortable smartwatches I've used – but it still has a ways to go before it's the all-around best.
Display
The new Moto 360 screen has a higher pixel density than last year's version, which extends to all the new size variations.
The 46mm watch measures in at 1.56 inches, with a resolution of 360 x 330 and 233 pixels per inch (ppi), while the 42mm watch has a 1.37-inch display with a resolution of 360 x 325 and 263ppi.
Compare these with the original Moto 360's 320 x 290 resolution and 205ppi, and it's no surprise there's a clear difference between the new and old displays. Switching between different apps and various watch faces shows that the new Moto is crisp and bright, but there's still some pixelation I can detect.
Gorilla Glass 3 protects the face from scratches, and a thin bezel surrounds it. However, the tradeoff for that design has resulted in the return of flat tire bezel on the bottom of the screen – though it's not as bad as the enormous amount of bezel on the Asus ZenWatch 2.
The Chicago-based company explained that the small black bar hides multiple key sensors while providing space for the 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.
Design and comfort
The first Moto 360 offered a lovely, circular design and the new Moto has continued with the popular round face and added more options for watch body finishes. Instead of just plain 'ol silver, you get rose gold and black as well.
The lugs sit differently on the new Moto 360. The original band is flush with the body of the smartwatch, while now it sits squarely on top and bottom, giving it a real watch look. The crown - which still serves as a home and back button - sits higher on the bezel as well.
My particular Moto is the rose gold flavor paired with a "blush"-colored Horween Leather band. It's absolutely eye catching for all the right reasons. Alone, the gold body looks more yellow and dull but next to the rose gold, it gives the whole watch a quality that positively radiates high-end.
At the same time, it remains modest, since it's not decked out with jewels or sparkles. Rather, it's simple with a solid amount of sophistication thrown in for good measure, making it an ideal accessory for any setting.
As mentioned before, there are three sizes you can pick from: a 42mm case that requires a 20mm band, a 46mm case that requires a 22mm band and the one I've tested out, a 42mm case with a 16mm band.
The designs in general are far better than the single option of last year. Horween is also a supple, comfy leather on the skin, but it ends up looking ragged over time. It does give it a worn-in look, but that may not be appealing to others.
If the latter is the case for you, Moto has several band options, like mono link steel and metal. There's also a double-wrapped leather strap that resembles the Hermes band attached to Apple Watch.
So far, it seems like you can't really go wrong with any of the new styles.
Comfort
The new Moto 360 is the most comfortable smartwatch I've worn. It could fit a smidgen better if there were a notch in between the second and third holes on the band. But I'm now accustomed to the second notch, which at first sat a little tight, but the Horween leather seems to have stretched to accommodate.
Saying a wearable actually fits well is saying a lot, considering my earlier lamentations over the bulky and ill-fitting smartwatches from the past year. Like many other second-generation smartwatches that have come out this year, Moto chose wisely in offering up a variety of sizes for a plethora of wrists. This has greatly improved my experience with smartwatches as a whole since they actually fit around my arm now.
I'm still not a fan of how Motorola has chosen to market its smartwatch, especially since I had many male colleagues try the larger original Moto 360 and the "Moto 360 for Women" with the majority stating the smaller face and band of the women's watch is more comfortable.
Specs, performance and apps
Where the first Moto was a bit slow and had some performance issues, the Moto 360 2 has, again, surpassed it. The biggest change comes with the processor. It's now a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip with 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and an Adreno 305 450MHz GPU.
The new Moto 360 is faster and more responsive, comes with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and is waterproof with an IP67 rating, or up to one meter submerged for 30 minutes. Just to be safe, I'd never recommend sticking it in water. Light splashes should be fine.
The operating system is Android Wear 5.1.1 out of the box, of course. Save for the Gear S2, and Apple Watch, the majority of popular smartwatches run on this platform.
Basically, notification and information cards pop up vertically from the bottom of the screen. You can flick through the available cards, and swiping from left to right will remove a card from the list. Moving your finger in the opposite direction will take you to more options. With the new OS, you can flick your wrist to scroll through without having to lift a finger.
Swiping left from the home watch face's edge will take you to the apps drawer. Your most recent app will be at the top of the scrolling list. Swiping left again brings you to a contacts page from which you can send and read messages. Another swipe in that direction takes you to Google-specific commands, like taking notes or vocalizing reminders and setting alarms. You can also draw out emojis to save or send out via text or email.
There's also Wi-Fi connectivity from the get-go, emoji messages, calls from the watch. Though, unlike Apple Watch, which can accept calls right on the watch, Moto 360 directs calls made and received to your phone.
I didn't have many issues with the new Moto, however one watchface did crash it briefly. It wasn't a stock face, rather it was one from the Google Play store, which leads me to believe it might have been buggy. Nonetheless, the smartwatch still crashed, leaving me stare at the screen while it fixed itself. Thankfully, it wasn't long (about a minute) before the device resumed its normal watch activity.
Apps and fitness
There aren't many specialized Moto apps running on the watch. You just get the same Android Wear options from the first time around.
The fitness portion of the Moto 360 seems better, with the Moto Body app that was released in September, though Google Fit is still on hand to use.
Moto Body is basically the brand's attempt at the now de rigeur activity tracking throughout the day – so you'll get the usual motion, step and heart rate tracking information recorded.
Similar to Apple Watch's Activity tracker, Moto Body notifies you of your fitness throughout the day, telling you how close you are to various goals. You can view all this on the watch or the dedicated Moto Body app on your Android phone. (The app, of course, is not available on iPhone.)
Moto Body clearly charts out your metrics, tracking daily and weekly activity while also monitoring your step and heart rate trends.
It's improved as a fitness feature but still isn't as comprehensive as say, a fitness tracker. It seems Motorola knows this, which can explain why there's a Moto 360 Sport smartwatch coming out soon.
With that, you'll get a sweat-proof, sleek silicon frame that comes with GPS, built-in music player and additional battery life on top of the hardware already in the new Moto – not to mention in a variety of colors. If tracking exercise is the main reason you want a wearable, it may be better to wait for the Sport version of the Moto 360.
Compatibility and battery life
Like the LG Watch Urbane, Asus ZenWatch 2 and so forth, the Moto 360 2015 edition is capable of syncing up with your iPhone.
However, like its fellow Android Wear watches, the compatibility is severely limiting. You get the basic notifications … and that's about it.
When it was first announced, it was an exciting bit of news. More smartwatches for Apple devices! But alas, you can't do much. I noted in the ZenWatch 2 review that it's not a complete loss if you want to only spend $149 (€149, £159.99, about AU$210) to pair up with your iPhone. But it's a bit different with the Moto 360, considering it costs far more.
For $299 (£229, AU$329), it hardly seems worth it to use a half functioning smartwatch with your iPhone.
Android devices are, of course, in the clear.
Battery life
The battery life of my second-generation Moto 360 has been tricky to determine. The first day I used it with my iPhone 6S, the battery lasted for one full day – nine in the morning until nine at night – with all notifications turned on. The second day, it lasted for over a day. I switched over to a Galaxy S6 for two days while using a few more features, like messaging through the watch, and that gave me the same results – one full day of usage and then one and a half days.
You can squeeze out two days if you use the watch sparingly. There's also priority mode wherein you'll only get certain notifications opposed to every single piece of, say, spam mail. Using this feature, I was actually able to get two days out of a single charge.
Charge time takes about 35 minutes on the Qi stand, or a bit closer to 45 if it's completely dead as a doornail.
Verdict
There's a lot to like about the refreshed Moto 360, which is a great sign that Motorola has taken our critiques to heart.
It fits better and there are more options to customize it to individual taste. The same can be said of the Asus ZenWatch 2 - which also greatly improved on its first iteration as well. However, the old Moto was already a great smartwatch that needed a few more tweaks here and there. The second Moto is definitely a much better device but again, could still be better.
Here's to hoping the third iteration will be the best.
We liked
The new size options give the Moto 360 the extra reach it needed the first time around. That, and the newfound comfortable fit (along with the added customization to the design), brings it all together as one of the best smartwatches of 2015.
The performance of the Moto 360 2 has also improved over the last-generation device. It's far snappier and responsive than before. The Moto Body app is nice addition to Google Fit since it gives you more choices between fitness apps.
We disliked
The battery life is still at the one-to-two day mark. This is average for today's smartwatches, but I was hoping Moto would prove itself above average here. The compatibility is also a sore point for iPhone owners since they won't be able to fully utilize the Moto 360's features.
I already sang my praises for the design of the Moto, but the flat tire is still hanging around the bottom of the screen.
Final verdict
The new Moto 360 certainly wins as the best-looking smartwatch that's come out this year. It's also the most comfortable wearable I've slapped on my wrist since my days of wearing analog watches.
There's a decent amount of customization, with more watch bodies and bands – a welcome change from the limited first offerings from Motorola last year. Apple Watch still dominates, with its huge array of watch bands and body finishes. But, when it comes down to the wire, the Moto's round face is simply prettier, and the Horween leather is more snug.
At this point, though, it's really just a pretty face. The addition of Moto Body is a nice change of pace for fitness, but I'm more interested in what the Moto 360 Sport has to offer in terms of tracking exercise routines.
Despite its Android 5.1.1 capabilities, which allow for Wi-Fi connectivity and various hands-free functions, the Moto 360 is still primarily a notification machine for iPhone users.
On Android phones, the 360 does a decent job as a secondary tech gadget. But I'm still not 100% convinced it's the best smartwatch you can get - rather, I'm 90% convinced. For $299 (£229, AU$329), or more if you opt for customizations, I'm expecting a fuller package that includes better options for iPhone users and even more features for Android users.
I do believe it's the best looking smartwatch out there and if you're determined to get a smartwatch, the new Moto 360 is as stylish as you can get for a wearable that can do almost as much as an Apple Watch.
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1jSi260
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