Motorola's latest smartwatch "Moto 360" review: looks and feels good, but the price is a little better
Hello Moto 360.
Motorola's Moto 360 is still my dream smartwatch. I remember wanting a round display rather than a square one, which was really appealing to me.
Since the new model of Moto 360 was released at the end of last year, Gizmodo's Victoria Song reviewed it. What kind of smartwatch has the latest model, which came back four years after the previous model, been reborn as?
The new Moto 360 has no glitches and no major issues. But at the same time, it's not a special smartwatch either.
The Moto 360 is back
Why am I disappointed with the latest model? You can find out by exploring the past of Moto 360.
Moto 360 (first model), released in 2014, is one of the most popular models among smart watches equipped with Wear OS (formerly Android Wear), an OS for smart watches developed by Google. bottom. In addition to the touch screen type, it was also very popular as a smart watch that looks beautiful. But the Moto 360 also had some drawbacks. Especially unpopular was the black margin that cuts off the bottom of the round screen. This left a strong impression on both the first and second generations. Motorola then pulled out of smartwatches in late 2016, citing overall waning interest in wearables.
However, at the end of 2019, the latest model of Moto 360 was announced. The attractive design remains the same as the original, but the watch body has been upgraded. The new development is that the manufacturer is no longer Motorola. By the way, the new manufacturer has moved to eBuyNow.
Moto 360 (2019)
What is this? : What is the price of the 3rd generation model of Moto 360 (manufacturer is not Motorola)? : $350 (approximately 37,700 yen) Likes: Works well. Accurate fitness tracking accuracy. Not bad battery life for a smartwatch with Wear OS. What I don't like: The dim screen. At $350, it's pretty much on par with other Wear OS-powered smartwatches.
Not so different from other smartwatches
Since 2016, smartwatches have changed a lot. Wear OS-powered smartwatches are no longer brand new, with circular displays becoming the norm. What's inside the new Moto 360 is nothing groundbreaking. Specs are almost the same as Fossil Gen 5 and Skagen Falster 3.
The main specs of the new Moto 360 include a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and the accelerometer, barometer, optical heart rate sensor, and gyro found in modern Wear OS smartwatches. Sensors and more are also included in the Moto 360. It also has built-in GPS and supports NFC payments.
As for the battery, the Moto 360 supports fast charging, so it can be fully charged in about an hour. It's a really cool feature, but it's already implemented in the Fossil Sport launched in 2018.
The functionality and specs of the Moto 360 are almost identical to recent Wear OS smartwatches. The always-on 1.2-inch AMOLED screen was very dim, even in bright rooms and in direct sunlight.
When it comes to fitness tracking features, you'll have to rely on Google Fit. It's better than its predecessor, but it doesn't quite compete with the workout app that comes pre-installed on the Apple Watch. If you are a fitness enthusiast, I recommend downloading your favorite workout app.
Fewer Design Options
The new Moto 360 has no gloss. You can choose from three color variations: rose gold, steel gray, and black. I actually tried steel gray.
Originally, there should have been two types of bands (one made of silicone and the other made of leather), but the first one I received for my review was only a silicone band, and a leather band. A custom band was not included. Sample products for the press are rarely reused, so I think that's the reason. (It's a bit hygienic to reuse the band...) In the end, they sent me a leather band, so I took a closer look at it. The leather band looked as expected, but was scratched as soon as I took it out of the box.
Combining the leather band with the watch body gives the Moto 360 a nice overall look. As for the silicone band, it's not as uncomfortable as I usually find it. It's a design that will still work in 2020, but it's not particularly impressive either. The appearance of the silicone band was simple and gentle, and it was relatively comfortable to wear.
When it comes to circular displays, the Falster 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 are smartwatches that look better than the Moto 360. Perhaps the most distinctive design of the Moto 360 is the small Motorola M mark on one of the side buttons.
Fitness tracking accuracy is good
Moto 360 battery is not bad. Depending on how often I use the GPS function, I didn't need to charge it for an average of a day and a half to two days. Even with just 30 minutes of charging, I was able to use it all day long, not to mention commuting to work, thanks to fast charging.
Next, to measure fitness tracking accuracy, I wore the Moto 360 and performed two running tests. In conclusion, the results were good.
On my first run, I ran 4.58 miles on the Moto 360 and averaged a pace of 10:30. My phone records an average pace of 10:20 for a distance of 4.62 miles. The closeness of the measurement results clearly shows that the accuracy is very accurate. For further comparison, I ran under the same conditions, this time wearing the Apple Watch Series 5. The result was an average pace of 10 minutes and 40 seconds for a distance of 4.5 miles.
On my second run, my phone recorded an average pace of 9:55 for a distance of 3.1 miles. The Moto 360 once again showed impressive results on its second run. In his second run of Moto 360, he averaged a pace of 10:05 over a distance of 3.08 miles. The Apple Watch Series 5, on the other hand, recorded an average pace of 10 minutes and 11 seconds for a distance of 3.03 miles. These results are slightly different, but more importantly, the Moto 360's results were nearly identical when compared to the other two devices. The same is true for heart rate. Looking at my heart rate graphs while running, I found that my Apple Watch Series 5, Moto 360, and even the Polar H10 chest strap I was wearing had similar heart rate results.
Moto 360 not worth the money
The Moto 360 is almost a great smartwatch, but I'm not too excited about it. Price aside, the Moto 360 is on par with other Wear OS-powered smartwatches on the market today. The price of the Moto 360 is high at $350 (about 37,700 yen). Considering it's a Motorola-branded Fossil smartwatch, it doesn't quite make sense. Aside from the fancy metal band, you can get Fossil's smartwatch for $295. That's $55 cheaper than the latest Moto 360. Even the higher-end Gen 5 can be purchased for $345, which is $5 less. Even if these smartwatches were the same as the Moto 360 under the hood, the Moto 360's lack of design options and dark screen make the price unacceptable.
This also applies to the Galaxy Watch Active2. The Active2 starts at $300 in 42mm (the same size as the Moto 360) and $280 in the 40mm size. In fact Active2 is well worth the price. Samsung has developed an excellent OS called Tizen for smartwatches. The Active2 will feature a more innovative touch bezel and will even be able to acquire an ECG in a future update. We found some issues with fitness tracking accuracy during our running tests, but Samsung has since released several software updates. (For a fix?) On the other hand, the $200 Fitbit Versa 2 includes a lot of the same features and lets you add more color to your dial than the Moto 360.
Moto 360 is likely to be featured as a "discreet smartwatch"
Even with technology, memory correction can be powerful. At the time, it hyped Motorola-branded vertically-foldable smartphones, the Razr. Motorola messed up with the launch of the Razr, but people were still excited to see the technology they've grown accustomed coming back in "new ways." Unfortunately that was not the case with the Moto 360...
Few people were willing to pay for a $1500 foldable phone. This is the same for the Moto 360. Smartwatches are like a trigger for a nostalgic feeling hidden in a small percentage of gadget geeks.
Given that the Moto 360 doesn't have any major new features and costs more than other Wear OS smartwatches, it's interesting to see just how discreet it can be.
Summary
・The content of Moto 360 is the same as Fossil Gen 5. A smartwatch with Wear OS.
・Precise fitness tracking. But it doesn't include any unique apps.
・The price is 350 dollars (about 37,700 yen). The Moto 360 is expensive when you consider that the Bell Smartwatch is $50 cheaper, with the same specs and more designs to choose from.
