By 
We’ve been slobbering over the Moto 360 for so long that we thought Motorola couldn’t slip in any surprises, but they did: two metal banded versions of the Moto 360 will launch in time for the holidays for $299.
Black titanium? Steel? Which one better suits your fancy? We know: holiday season sounds SO far away.
If you’re obsessed with having a premium style metal band to go with your premium looking smartwatch, you won’t have to wait until the Fall: the Moto 360 band can be removed and replaced with regular watch bands with relative ease (we’ll show you how soon enough).
Down the road you’ll also be able to buy these bands separately- it will just cost you a few extra bucks. The standard Moto 360 is $250 and the premium metal version will be $300, so you’re paying $50 more. It’s likely the band alone will cost around $80, which would mean an extra $30 down the drain (if you buy leather now and upgrade to metal rather than waiting for metal). But let’s not forget you’ll then have 2 bands instead of one.
Why buy these watch bands from Motorola at $80 a pop or wait for the ones you prefer if any old watch band will fit? Here is what Motorola has to say about just that:
Moto 360 comes with genuine leather straps that use a standard watch pin and are therefore removable. That said, we’ve created the straps to be a custom fit for Moto 360 and tested the materials for compatibility, so if you choose to go with an off-the-shelf band, we can’t guarantee it will be a great experience.
After seeing the extensive testing they do in their headquarters, I’m not inclined to disagree. That being said, I wouldn’t hesitate to invest in some alternative looks while I’m at it.
All the nitty gritty details on these premium metal bands have not yet emerged, but we’ll report back to you as soon as we hear back from Motorola.
Rob, you are killing it with all the info I want to know and haven’t found on any other site! Thanks! I’m curious which metal version YOU like the most. We’ve already had the same taste in terms of Moto X leather…I’m hoping you can help me decide on Moto 360 metal.
Updated article to address your question but TL;DR I prefer the steel look but think it makes the lower all-black portion of the watchface stand out more, so I’d probably opt for the darker grey/black combo myself.
Thanks for egtting back. I know what you mean, I was going for the black myself, but after examining that silver steel look, i think it just looks too good to pass up, black bar and all. I DO prefer the black on black leather option, though, over the silver and grey leather.
If what you say is true about replacing the bands with regular watch bands then I don’t know why anybody would pay extra for one of these. Unless they were look for that exact specific metal band (which is just silly) there’s no point in the extra investment. I’d just buy the leather banded one now and find a nice metal replacement band elsewhere for less money.
I’m not sure. I remember reading a while back that the width of the band on the moto 360 was a non-standard width. The LG and Samsung watch has a band of 22mm which is a standard width. I’m really liking the metal band version though.
I’ve updated the article to address this question… but TL;DR they’ve optimized the ergonomics for these particular watch face/strap combos.
If it’s truly swappable, I’ve got a black watch laying around to borrow the band from, which don’t work any longer.
Where can I get a metal band that matches what has been shown in the official renders? The metal band I see here is average at best.
Well was going to buy this @ noon today, but no metal band at launch and a $50 upcharge for it……… Moto FAIL! The only thing that was more disappointing was the battery life. What good is a watch that dies after about 20 hrs? If it can be fixed with a software update i’m back in on the 360, otherwise it will be G watch R or 360 2??
Not only no metal band but the metal band they are showing looks nothing like whats on the renders. This metal band looks like any other run of the mill $10 at flea market style watch band. If I bite I will just get the leather one and find me a premium metal band somewhere else.
The render looked beautiful. It looked like a cross between the stretchy metal band and a clasp. These bands do look cheap. Hell this watch for 100 bucks has a better looking band
LOL, yep.
The black one is MINE!!!
Only 20 hours battery life puts me in ‘wait and check out others’ camp.
Only 20?! Are you awake for more than 20 hours on a regular basis? Just throw it on the wireless charging dock when you go to bed and you’ll always have plenty of juice for the day.
Surely you are aware that battery ratings are never actually reached. And if the unit is used much, it will hit it even harder. Having to constantly charge a watch is not on my agenda. But, you can have at it.
Definitely not worth the wait.
so disapointed… these are not the metal bands they showed before and what happened to the 2.5 day battery life i heard about…. i will not be buying this, ill wait for v2
I’ll be buying this. If I don’t like it, I’ll return the damn thing, but I will be buying it.
I’ll be waiting until next year….I think smart watches and fitness bands Will be amazing upgrades over this years , not just slight bumps in specs but I really feel they will be amazing upgrades
Shaped up just like I expected, except Moto included the leather band to start (nice!). But, I guess that means that Chris is happy since the $249 price stuck?…LOL. He was hellbent on it being $349.
I have to admit that the black bar on the bottom bugs me too much to buy the watch.
Where are those who said the LG G Watch R (what a name) looks better? Yeah? Then look at this beauty!
I am getting , the 360, lg and samsung all 3 of them!
eh…not really a fan..the original moto mock up with the metal band…i want THAT band…that was slick looking and the band looked to cusp the watch face…these are just straight links from the buttom of the device not as nice a look…hopefully some company makes that band up
I just can’t get over the black bar on the bottom.