Moto 360 2nd Gen: What I Learned On The First Day

Earlier this month, Motorola officially announced and immediately launched its new Moto 360 2015 (2nd Gen) smartwatch. pre order the same day. I can enjoy it for over 24 hours and it’s a beautiful watch. Below are our first impressions of the Moto 360 2015 and a few details for potential buyers.

Last year the original Moto 360 was launched in September and remained one of the most popular smartwatches in all of 2014. We have a new round watch for 2015, slightly redesigned but still available in two different size options. More colours, tons of leather straps and over 400 possible versions thanks to lots of customization options.

Users will instantly see the brand new Moto 360 right out of the shipping box. Pack it in a clear package so it’s neatly displayed for its owners with a sticker showing one of the many new watch faces available. I went with an all black but textured silver face and frame. My first impressions so far have been very positive, but read on for a few things I learned on the first day.

The new Moto 360 for 2015 starts at $299 for the base model, $50 or $100 more than last year, but is again highly customizable so buyers get exactly what they want. The gold model, stainless steel straps and textured front cost extra, but are well worth it.

Some of the pricing probably went to the package, but the leather straps feel so much better than last year since I bought an extra one. However, our photos and my first impressions are of the pure stainless steel model pictured here today.

Moto 360 2015 Design

My first thoughts right out of the box were impressive, as it is extremely lightweight yet very well built. This year Motorola has opted for a design that closely resembles a real watch, with tabs for the straps and even a new easy-to-remove unlocking slider to easily attach and detach different straps.

The metal design is similar to last year, but that’s a good thing as it’s such a popular device. The protrusions make it look better and the textured front is very unique and different. We wish the bezel could rotate or rotate for navigation, similar to Samsung’s new watch, but maybe next year. For now, it’s all about looks. Little things like the Moto logo on the button are now easier to press and pointing upwards are a nice touch.

We still have the famous “flat tire” look, which is round and has a solid black dot at the bottom of the screen. It’s actually an ambient light sensor, so it adjusts the brightness on the go, which is extremely useful. However, it will cause the battery to drain faster than users turn this feature off. Those who use a black watch face will never notice this, this is what I use primarily for personal reasons and battery life, but more on that below.

Overall, there are very few changes in design from last year, but these are valuable changes. It’s more like a watch, it feels very comfortable, they’ve changed the straps a bit and everything is narrowly better than last year. I really like the textured front bezel.

view

This year Motorola has decided to offer buyers two different options: a 42mm face and a larger 46mm (1.56in) face that is the same size as last year. The larger model is the one we have here and it has an LCD screen and a resolution of 360×360.

So far I’m noticing a good improvement in terms of the screen. It looks better, brighter, and the colors are much better. Viewing angles are pretty good, but viewing the screen outdoors is still pretty poor. Even at maximum brightness, it’s hard to see unless it’s at the perfect angle. We were hoping for an improvement here but we didn’t see much on that front.

We don’t have much to say on screen for now, but we’ll have more details and additional comments in our full review.

battery life

There’s a lot that can be done inside the smaller screen on a smartwatch, but Motorola claims it has made some good improvements this time around. From a more efficient Qualcomm quad-core processor, a better display, and a bigger battery.

It’s worth noting that the larger 46mm model has a 400mAh battery and promises two days of mixed use, while the 42mm model has a 300mAh battery and has 1.5 days of battery life. This is very important to buyers. If you don’t want to charge the Moto 360 before the day is out, get the larger model if you can live with its size.

I used my Moto 360 a lot the first day. It’s more than what Motorola probably calls “mixed use,” and it lasts from 9:00 a.m. to the next morning. I woke up with 38% battery life. This was ambient mode off and brightness set to 3/5. Battery life can vary, but I’ve used it far more than most. Whether users can do it for two days as advertised depends on usage, but seems highly unlikely.

I connected to my Samsung Galaxy Note 5, did a few searches on Google, answered multiple messages, played a game or two to show off my friends or family, then wore it as usual for the rest of the day while changing watch faces. Several times. I used more than I expected, so the battery didn’t last a full two days.

The original Moto 360 never took a full day for me, like six hours at the most, so that’s a huge selling point this year. Being able to go all day and just charge overnight is a welcomed addition. If the poor battery life from the original has turned buyers away, the new 2015 Moto 360 is worth considering. As long as you buy the larger mod.

Stainless Steel Band

I chose the black stainless steel band, which costs $50 over the base model. And honestly, I wish I had gone with leather. This year the leather is thicker, more durable, smoother and of very high quality. On the other hand, metal bands sound like worse. It’s very light, which is nice but so light it feels cheap.

Even a family member said the same thing. It’s not about the watch, it’s about the band. The steel band makes a very hollow “tin” sound when you insert or remove it. Yes, it’s light and comfortable, but a little weight can give it a premium feel. I’m also used to wearing one of the heaviest watches around, the Nixon 51-50.

Personally, I would recommend buyers to buy leather, then try a steel band at stores like Best Buy and see if it’s worth the price premium. For now, the stainless steel band seems to handle the wear and tear during daily use and there aren’t any scratches yet, but the light feel and sound doesn’t give me a good feeling. It’s hard to explain, but it doesn’t give the “premium” feel you’d expect from a stainless steel strap or a $400 watch. Also it’s not about the strap, it’s about the screen and Android Wear, they all work great.

Just for fun, here’s a picture of the Moto 360 next to my 51mm-faced Nixon 51-50. The Moto 360 is big, it feels good, but it’s also light. This Nixon is one of the heaviest watches I own, but this is the watch I wear every day. Will the Moto 360 replace it? Stay tuned to find out.

Software

The Moto 360 2015 had a pending update right out of the box and is currently running the latest version of Android Wear. More powerful than before, highly customizable with 17 out-of-the-box watch faces; most of these are fully customizable with color changes and more, aside from a range of options in the Google Play Store. The initial sync took about 10 minutes even though it only found five apps on my phone that needed to be synced.

So far the new quad-core processor seems to make a significant difference in the new Moto 360. Last year it had an old OMAP processor from a company that no longer makes processors for mobile devices, which was weird. This year we have the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 with 512MB of RAM, making Android Wear more responsive than any watch I’ve ever used.

Android Wear is a version of Android built specifically for watches, and we’ll go into Android Wear in more detail in our full review. For now it’s more about hardware and how impressive Motorola’s new watch for 2015 is just a day after using it.

final thoughts

The Moto 360 on my wrist will cost buyers over $400 because I added a stainless steel and textured front bezel, and that’s a pretty decent sum. That’s more than many other watches available, but still, this is one of the best and most customizable watches on the planet.

Despite having spent the entire weekend, there was only one day where I was able to fully use it, and Android Wear has a lot to offer thanks to the latest version. I still can’t help but think that the lightweight design is both a pro and a minus. It’s so light you’ll almost forget you’re wearing it, but for $400 I was expecting a little more.

A leather strap completely solved this problem for me. I immediately found an old black leather strap from my old Kenneth Cole watch, put it on, and already love everything the Moto 360 has to offer.

The stainless steel strap is a nice touch and looks great, and the lightweight design can be something anyone can appreciate. It doesn’t have to be heavy to be a well-made and premium smartwatch, but that’s my impression after a few days of moderate use. So far I’m really enjoying the Moto 360 2nd Gen, but I plan to buy at least 2-3 more watch straps to fit all my needs and outfits. Again, it’s all about customization.

Stay tuned for more photos, videos, hands-on streams and more with the brand new Moto 360 2nd Gen for 2015.