Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “A Stunning Smartwatch With A Familiar Failing – New Moto 360 Review”.
Two of the driving forces in my life are tech and nostalgia.. Motorola is gunning for both with the new Moto Razor smartphone.. Now a company using Motorola’s name is aiming to do the same for smart watches.. This is the new Moto 360. ( upbeat music ). When the first Moto 360 was announced back in 2014, it was one of the launch smartwatches for Google’s new platform, Android wear and it was the only one you could get in the round.. As a result, it was the best selling of that initial class of what would eventually be called Wear OS watches, despite some compromises like an ancient Texas instruments, chipset and that so-called flat tire on the bottom of the screen and despite its relative success, the Moto 360 Would only see two generations before Motorola canceled the line citing a lack of broad appeal. Flash forward to late 2019 British Columbia based eBuyNow announces that it’s resurrecting the Moto 360 brand for a new smartwatch.. Now we’ve been given plenty of reason to be dubious, about licensing deals like this, but when Hasselblad lent its name to the old Motomod accessory for Moto Z phones, the results were not that great and the new Palm phone has nothing to do with the trailblazing company Of the same name., So I was skeptical to say the least., But then I got a sample of my own and you know what This thing hits a lot of the right notes. For one. It comes with a choice of bands, black rubber for the workouts brown leather, for the cocktails afterward.. Not many companies give you that option right in the box and with something as fashion centric as a watch more companies should.. Also.
The watch itself is a little chunky in the best way.. Its stainless steel casing is substantial, but not ponderous stocky, but not porky.. Compared to the previous generation, the pushers are almost doubled in diameter doubled in number, and the top one pulls double duty. As a rotating side button, which I love., The Amoled watch faces bright, beautiful and completely round lacking the flat tire of the previous two, an improvement that more than makes up for the added bezel width it takes on in exchange..
And while it lacks the custom power. Saving modes of the competition from Fossil Group, its battery is beefy enough to give it two full days of endurance, even with always on display enabled., That’s about the best you can expect from Wear OS in my experience. When you need a recharge, there’s no pedestal in The box, as there once was sad, but the doc that is included, takes it from dead to full in about an hour. Everything else from the three atmosphere: water resistance to the NFC.
Google Pay is as you’d expect and really that’s the problem.. When the first Moto 360 came out, it was the only round smartwatch on a platform still surfing the buzzy wave of promise and potential.. In 2020, almost every smartwatch has a round screen, and the Wear OS platform is better known for all the things it has to fix and for anything it really does well.. I went into in some detail in my review of the latest watches from Fossil, which I’ll link here, but suffice it to say that the inconsistent crown scrolling and the random disconnects are only part of the story..
The Moto 360 is a beautiful timepiece. That does a great job of living up to the Motorola legacy, its brand name invokes.. Personally, I quite like it, but it also costs $ 349.. You can buy a Fossil Carlyle or Garrett HR or a Skagen Falster 3 for 295, and those watches include a speaker. So you can make and take phone calls.. Ultimately, I think all of these prices are too high for watches running a platform as inconsistent as Wear OS and keep in mind you can pay even less for the very popular Galaxy Watch.
Active 2 from Samsung. Again eBuyNow deserves a lot of credit for a solid execution overall and the bonus watch band in the box.. But honestly, the Moto 360 is only worth considering. If you know you want a Wear OS watch. And even then I’d wait for the price to drop below 300 before you pull the trigger.. It’S a big season for smartwatches and next up in the review desk is the Skagen Falster 3 who’s unboxing experience is nowhere near as fun, but maybe the looks and extra features will make up for it..
Follow me on Instagram for an early look and subscribe to the Mr. Mobile on YouTube. So you don’t miss the full review.. This video was made possible by a Moto 360 review sample provided by eBuyNow.. As always, I don’t take money for reviews and the company did not receive a copy of this video in advance. They’re, seeing it for the first time right alongside you.
Until next time, thanks for watching and stay mobile, my friends .