When it launched in 2014, the Moto 360 showed all the other smartwatches how to be round. While they sat clunky and square on geeky wrists, the Moto 360 looked like watches always did. Motorola took a lot of effort to design the 360 to look classic and not stick out like a sore thumb and scream I’m a computer on your wrist.
There was one flaw in its otherwise perfect circularity though: at the bottom of the screen was a flat tyre, or a black little band. This was a deliberate choice by Motorola and though others have made round smartwatches subsequently, they haven’t managed to use so much screen space as the 360. The flat tyre annoys a lot of users, but I found I didn’t even notice it after about half an hour.
Flat tyre or not, many people have found the Moto 360 cool and appealing and have been waiting eagerly for Motorola to launch the second generation of the smartwatch. The new 360 has just been made available in India for between Rs 19,999 and Rs 23,999, depending on the size and style chosen.
Disappointingly, it’s not that different from the original except for a few design enhancements and a bump up in specs — and an increase in price.
The second gen Moto 360 comes in one new colour — rose gold, with a beige strap. The straps are swappable and it’s the fact that you can use new bands and specify the colour of the bezel that users in the US really like this watch for. At launch, that option isn’t available for India though a spokesman did say bands would be coming sometime later.
That aside, the Moto 360 is a great looking watch, now in two sizes, 42mm and 46mm. The leather and steel straps are beautiful looking and the screen is now able to be always-on and dimmed, making the watchface visible at times — like a regular watch.
The Moto 360 was also the first device to be wearing Android Wear, Google’s operating system for wearables, and now it comes with the newest version of the software. You connect it to any Android phone via the Android Wear and Motorola Connect apps. Front and centre, it’s a Google-centric watch giving you updates in context with Google Now cards, Google Maps and access to the Play Store from where you can explore Android Wear apps. You can also get notifications from the phone on the watch, and although that sounds like it will be a nuisance, it turns out less work than picking up the phone each time.
You can glance and dismiss more easily from the watch. If you use the watch to call, you’ll be speaking on the phone with the watch acting like a remote control. The battery on the 360 has been taking me through the day on light to moderate usage. I often have about 25 per cent battery left at the end of the day and late into the night. I think one has to fall into the habit of a nightly charge. The watch comes with a wonderful wireless charging dock which you can keep connected to the wall socket, dropping the watch on to it whenever you need to top up the battery.
No one who already owns the first gen Moto 360 really needs to upgrade to the second gen version. The difference just isn’t enough. But new buyers of a smartwatch should seriously consider what is often thought of as the best Android Wear watch around. The two reasons to opt for an expensive gadget like this one are that you want to go beyond the stats you get from fitness bands and you want to look exceedingly cool.
(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 11-01-2016)
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
