For any smartwatch running on Android Wear, the screen interface and feature set is identical. So Android Wear makers use exterior design and add-on software to differentiate one from one other.
Here is what I feel about the 2nd-generation Moto 360 smartwatch by Motorola.
Less Geek, More Style
The Moto 360 2nd generation is a welcoming change for consumers who prefer the classic case look. Moto 360 can be customised when you make your order from the website, from the diameter size (42mm or 46mm), or the colour of the case, to the band size (16mm, 20mm, 22mm).
My review unit comes with silver case and brown Cognac leather band. The rear of the watch is black glossy plastic which tends to stick onto my skin. The purpose of the plastic back instead of metal is to allow wireless charging. The 22mm band is a good choice because most of the other smartwatches use this size, like Pebble Time, ZenWatch 2, LG G Watch R. This lets me share the band straps among the watches.
Huge Screen
One major differentiator of the Moto 360 2nd generation is the huge round screen. And I believe the 46mm variant is the largest screen Android Wear smartwatch. It makes reading notification messages a lot more comfortable. I can also read more text with less scrolls compared to the other smaller smartwatches. With the thin bezel, I can use watch faces with integrated rim designs without looking odd.
Moto Body and Moto Connect
The 2 companion apps are all Motorola provides to provide additional features to the Moto360. The Moto Connect offers customisation to the watch, like changing the Motorola’s pre-installed watch faces, or changing the display colours when docked for charging, or find your watch if it’s connected to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
The Moto Body is the health tracking app that tracks heart activity, steps, calorie burn, and running. I was puzzled with the way the app is designed. I do not seem to be able to configure anything on it. I cannot set the target steps or calorie burn, and I have no idea how the heart activity on the app is determined. The watch has a heart rate sensor but the app does not plot the heart rate, something that while may not be very important, can be interesting to display. Similarly, the other parameters offer at most daily aggregate without breaking down by hours of the day.
Moto Body Running
Taking the Moto 360 for a run, the running app utilises all the hardware technology on the watch to deliver the needed stats. You can start a session by indicating target time or distance, calorie burn or no target. The app captures distance, average pace, best pace, average heart rate, maximum heart rate, calorie burn, calories per minute, workout zone, and splits.
During the run, there are a few screens to flip around to show your live workout stats, like heart bpm, the workout zone you are in. Once you complete your run, you can see the full stats on the watch or on the smartphone. The app also displays the pace, calorie burn, heart rate over the workout period.
Tracking Analysis
Moto Body has a feature to present an analysis of average steps and calorie burn over 2 weeks. During the first 2 weeks, the data is empty. New data appears every 2 weeks as the watch gathers the activity stats before presenting the results again 2 weeks later. There is no way to change the period to analyse.
Battery Life
The Moto 360 manages to squeeze slightly more than a day of battery life with always-on screen mode. I would have to charge it every day since it could not last another working day. Charging is rather slow, taking about 2 hours to fill up the battery. Motorola has included an AC adapter in the package.
Conclusion
The Moto 360 is a very desirable watch for its clean design and the generous watch face with thin bezel that fills up the huge round display. My colleague appears to agree on that and he too bought one.
Beyond the looks department, there is little difference in wearing or interacting compared to other Android Wear watches. The 2 companion apps do not add much value to user satisfaction despite having a built-in heart rate sensor. In comparison, the ZenWatch 2 which costs half the price feels like a more satisfying purchase, with over 50 pre-loaded watch faces to customise, as well as a list of companion apps that add more use cases to the watch.
Price and Availability
The Moto 360 is available in Singapore in three attractive variations: 46mm Silver case with Cognac Leather band, 42mm Rose Gold case with Blush Leather band, and 42mm Black case with Black Leather band at S$549, S$499 and S$479 respectively. The smartwatches is available at selected Newstead, Challenger, Best Denki, Courts and Lenovo exclusive stores. You can also order directly from Moto Maker, the Moto 360 website based on U.S. where you can choose from a wider variety of colour options.
Product website: http://www.motorola.com/us/products/moto-360
