By It’s finally official, folks — this is the Moto 360 (2015), and its sporty alternative Moto 360 Sport. The watches define refinement — they follow a tried-and-true formula while bringing us enough improvements over predecessors to make it a real consideration to upgrade. Here’s everything you need to know about them!
Moto 360 (2015) Design and Style
The Moto 360 (2015) comes in two distinct styles, so you should be able to find a style that fits you no matter who you are and what you prefer. Men get a 46mm case option while women can opt for the smaller 42mm if they prefer something a bit more petite.
All watches feature stainless steel metal builds with IP67 certification for dust and water resistance. The watches also feature Corning Gorilla Glass. Extending from each end of the case are metal lugs for easily swapping watch bands in and out. The lugs are smaller and more elegant on the women’s version. And size is only the beginning of the customization you can look forward to.
Moto Maker for the Moto 360 (2015)
That brings us to this marvel. Thanks to the advent of Moto Maker, you’ll be able to get your Moto 360 in the exact color and style you want. There is a wide range of options to be had, and you can mix and match exactly how you want.
Men
- Watch Sizes: 42mm, 46mm
- Case Colors: Silver, Black, Gold
- Bezel Treatments: Chamfer, Micro Knurl
- Bezel Colors: Silver, Black, Gold
- Bands: Silver Metal, Black Metal, Gold Metal, Black Leather, Cognac Leather
Women
- Watch Size: 42mm
- Case Colors: Silver, Black, Rose Gold
- Bezel Treatments: Peak, Micro Etch
- Bezel Colors: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold
- Bands: Silver Metal, Gold Metal, Rose Gold Metal, Blush Leather, Grey Leather, Blush Double Wrap
It’s also comforting to know that you won’t be totally locked into your choice after you order your watch. You can order multiple bands, and they feature an easy quick release button so you can swap bands in and out with ease.
Moto 360 (2015) Software and Features
This is pure Android Wear, folks. That means it comes with all the latest features like the Wear Together watch faces, single tap watch face gestures, motion gestures, WiFi support, turn-by-turn navigation, Google Play Music, voice dictation, always-on apps and a ton more. That also means it’s compatible with any Android 4.3 phone and iOS 8.2 or higher (on the iPhone 5 or higher) thanks to the latest Android Wear update.
Motorola also throws in Moto Body, a fitness app that lets you track your steps, calories burned, heart rate activity and even a personalized wellness coach. Moto Connect will let you easily change watch faces and styles from your Android phone, and will help you find your watch in the unfortunate event that you lose it. Finally, a custom-made Motorola watch face takes advantage of the new single-tap API by giving you quick shortcuts to your most needed apps and information.
Of course, all of this is combined with the thousands of apps which support Android Wear already in Google Play. Kevo’s smart door lock, MapMyFitness, Google Play Music and a ton more should help you do whatever it is you need to do right from your wrist.
Moto 360 (2015) Specs
There isn’t anything out of the ordinary that you wouldn’t find on any other Android Wear watch, but here’s a quick rundown of the watch’s specs in case you’re curious.
Display
This is perhaps the most important piece of the Moto 360 puzzle. What we’re getting is a fully circular display with ample resolution for the utmost clarity. There are two different sizes and resolutions, depending on model:
- Men (46mm): 1.56-inch diameter, 360 x 330 resolution for 233ppi
- Women (42mm): 1.37-inch diameter, 360 x 325 resolution for 263ppi
One negative point on the Moto 360 is that the flat tire has made its return. That said, Motorola isn’t making any apologies for it. They still maintain that the flat tire design is necessary for maintaining optimal display-to-body ratio. It’s hard to argue when they put it this way:
Some have warmed up to it, if not outright accepted it thanks to clever stuff like this. Whether it’s a big enough deterrent to keep you from buying the watch is up to your personal taste, so be sure to consider it carefully.
Moto 360 (2015) Battery and Wireless Charging
The Moto 360 comes with a 300mAh battery for women and a 400mah battery for the bigger men’s variant. This comes with a substantial difference in battery life, as the men’s variant boasts a full 2 days of typical usage vs 1.5 days for the women’s.
Both watches are only promised to last a full day with Ambient Display on, which is a feature that keeps your display active, but only brightly illuminates it when you need to bring it up to your eyes. The Moto 360 also features wireless charging as standard and comes with a wireless charging dock out of the box to help make that happen.
The Rest
There aren’t many surprises or gotchas to be had here: the Moto 360 has all the other usual bells and whistles to make for a fine smart watch:
- Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz Quad-Core chipset
- 512MB RAM + 4GB storage
- Bluetooth 4.0 LE and WiFi 802.11 b/g
- Optical Heart Rate Monitor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyroscope, Vibration Engine, Dual Microphones
All that should be enough to make for a comprehensive Android Wear experience.
Moto 360 (2015) Sport
Motorola also had a third smartwatch to show off today. The Moto 360 Sport forgoes a lush and elegant build for a watch that should prove valuable to any active individual.
It unsurprisingly dons a sporty look with a chassis and watch strap which should be able to withstand a good deal of punishment. It may not be as pretty as the metal-based Moto 360, but it doesn’t need to be.
The only downside to that is you probably won’t get as much customization freedom as you’ll get on the 2nd Gen Moto 360, but there should be a decent number of color options available to you once it’s available. the Moto 360 Sport also has the distinction of being the only Android Wear smart watch on the market built specifically for fitness, so there’s that.
One of the cool features Motorola’s touting with it is an AnyLight Hybrid display, a new technology which uses a backlit transmissive screen with reflective front-lit screen. This combination makes it easy to see the Moto 360 Sport in even the brightest of days, and will obviously deliver more than enough visibility for situations where the sun isn’t beaming a hole into your skull.
This thing also has built-in GPS, so you won’t have to rely on your phone’s GPS radio to get location-based features. This is great for someone who wants to go on a run and track their distance, speed and route without having to leave their house with the phone.
Moto 360 (2015) or Moto 360 Sport: Let us help you decide which to get!
Moto 360 (2015) and Moto 360 Sport Price and Release Date
Decide you want one of these things? You’ll need to know when you can buy the, where you can buy them, and for how much. The 2nd Gen Moto 360 will range between $299.99 and $429.99 depending on which options you choose, and it’s coming to North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, with pre-sales beginning in the US as soon as today at the following places:
And Motorola promises the Moto 360’s final release date will be at some point at the end of the month, with Verizon and Nordstrom joining the list of retail stores you’ll be able to find it.
As for the Moto 360 Sport, Motorola didn’t have much to share in the here and now, though we’re assured availability information will be coming along shortly.
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