Develop Bugs

Moto 360: Form over Function? [Review]

I'm sure most of you on this forum have heard of Android Wear (if you haven't, it's Google's operating system for wearables), so I won't go too in depth about the software and it's functionality (although for the entirety of my review period I've used the latest 4.4W.1 software revision, which I installed straight out of the box).
This review is about all the good, bad, and the ugly of the Moto 360.
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Now, when Motorola first announced this watch almost six months ago, I was one of the first to board the hype train. After wearing and using one at Google I/O, I moved to first class. And as soon as we heard of the TI OMAP 3 SoC inside, I climbed out the window and bailed.
If it isn't already obvious, I downright dreaded the prospect of four year-old silicon running my $250 smartwatch.
But we all know Motorola's pulled off impressive feats with low-specced hardware in the past (Moto G, 1st Gen Moto X), so when my free unit for being a Google I/O attendee came I figured I'd give it a shot.
When you first see this watch, you'll immediately notice the display. With the Gorilla Glass 3s beveled edges, punchy colors, and surprisingly good viewing angles, it gives a great first (and lasting) impression.
My only complaints here are the extremely low resolution (text is huge and noticeably pixelated), and how the bevel causes the parts of some notifications to distort when viewed on an angle (albeit only with watch faces that have 'large' notification cards such as Google's 'Simple').
But then there's that "flat tire effect" on the bottom. But I'll be honest with you, I actually prefer this to a fully round display.
I find Google now cards look infinitely better with a straight line on the top and bottom, rather than in a semicircle:
Image credit: Mashable.com
Image credit: CNET.com
As you can see, most of the space taken up by the bezel on the Moto watch is just blank white on the G Watch R. Hence is why I like Moto's approach here.
Now, onto battery life. Unfortunately, it's a real rough spot for this smartwatch. And that's not saying much, because I like to charge it every night. It keeps it a routine, makes a nice alarm clock, and it's almost easier to place it in the magnetic dock (that uses Qi inductive charging, mind you) than on the table next to it.
And while I may be fine placing my watch on a charger each night, I'm not OK with worrying about the battery life before that time comes. With my G Watch, I can go a 20+ hour day without even breaching 30%.
But this thing can't last a 16 hour day. Even a with light use (on Auto Brightness), just three or four notifications, and little interaction otherwise (no Google Now, either). After about 11 or 12 hours, it begins its automatic shutdown.
And that was with Ambient Mode on.
Oh, but a little something on Ambient Mode first. Every single review I've seen has gotten this wrong.
Ambient Mode does NOT keep the display on all the time.
What it does, is it makes the watch come on in it's dimmed state with less motion than it takes for a full activation (pay attention to the angle of the watch screen in the pictures below. It shows the minimum amount of movement required to change from black to dimmed to active.)
(It's a little dark, but the screen is flat and not tilted to the side like the others)
While you can get significantly improved battery life (2-3x better) turning Ambient Mode off, it's no use to me to have a watch that doesn't tell me the time all the time. My LG G watch, on the other hand, gets better battery life with its screen on 24/7 than the Moto does with the screen off. That's a real shame.
However, if the abysmal battery life wasn't enough of a downfall, the horrendous performance just adds insult to injury.
"Horrendous" may be too strong of a word. But only half the time. Half the time I tap the screen when it's off, and it doesn't wake up. Half the time when I rotate it all the way, the screen stays dim. Half the time when I scroll, it drops about half the frames. And half the time when I say "OK Google", it just sits there, and the rest of the bus stares at me like I have three heads (which is strange since Motorola has bragged about their superior voice technology and including two microphones).
Inconsistency is something you'll experience quite often while using the Moto 360—you never know if it'll work perfectly... Or freeze.
If I had to guess, I'd say the performance hiccups are from throttling. While the device is off, it undoubtedly lowers CPU+GPU clock speeds to save power, and it may just take a couple seconds once awoken to ramp back up again. Hopefully these issues (amongst others) can be addressed in a future software update.
Well fortunately, that's most of the bad stuff. The rest is almost purely positive.
The stainless steel construction feels great, the leather strap is high-quality, and even on my miniscule wrists the Moto 360 fits like a glove. The gold trim around the sleep/wake button (that can also open settings if held) shows how much attention to detail Motorola took in designing this watch.
Lastly, the heartrate sensor is pretty cool. It tends to take a long time if activated on demand, but it does a good job of measuring how much "active time" (with a heart rate between 100 and 120 beats per minute) I've had in a day, and alerting me when I've completed the daily 30 minutes (although I'd really like to be able to change the heartrate window and time amount, as I usually meet this preset goal by noon).
So now it's conclusion time, and I have pretty mixed feelings about the Moto 360. But I think Ron Amadeo from Ars Technical got it right by calling it "Beautiful outside, ugly inside".
It's an astounding piece of hardware, but the lackluster internals hold it back from the true glory I feel it deserves.
While hopefully battery life and performance can be (at least partially) addressed in future updates, I think I'd have to wait until the 2nd generation to wholeheartedly recommend this watch to anyone.
If you wear watches solely as a fashion statement, work short days, or are fine with the screen off, this is the best smartwatch you can buy.
But if you aren't part of that niche, I feel you'd be better with the ($70 cheaper) LG G Watch.
You've likely realized by now that I've drawn numerous comparisons to LG's first Android Wear offering. I've been using mine every day since I got it at Google I/O, and it's straight up more polished than the 360. Everything works, all the time. No muss, no fuss, as they say.
With smartwatches, I don't just want another gadget to mess around with. I want something that will simplify my life. In its current stage, the Moto 360 does the opposite.
All things considered, I have to give the Motorola Moto 360 a solid 80%, mostly because that beautiful screen just doesn't make a difference when it's dead.
It's the age-old question of form over function, and it's up to you what matters most.
Feel free to contact @SolarTrans on Twitter with questions, comments, or criticisms!
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

Nice photos.
I've read a number of forums discussing the battery life. Almost every single forum comes to the conclusion that the battery life improves and stabilizes after about 4-5 days. Can you tell me how many days you wore the watch before writing this review?

OP
Thank you for climbing inside of my brain and stealing all of my thoughts to write this review. It saved me a ton of time! I highly doubt the battery life can be improved upon drastically with software updates so I think I have to return this one. What a shame. Ick I may actually have to go back to a gear live and its horrible charging cradle....

The clear difference with this watch is the Qi charging. It completely outweighs the battery issues in my opinion. But, I agree faster is much better.
As stated elsewhere it might be better to have an even thinner watch with even smaller battery since the ability to Qi charge and OTG quick charge is possible. But, since the watch is *new* we have not (yet) seen innovative OTG Qi quick charge accessories.
Good review.

Bob Smith42 said:
The clear difference with this watch is the Qi charging. It completely outweighs the battery issues in my opinion. But, I agree faster is much better.
As stated elsewhere it might be better to have an even thinner watch with even smaller battery since the ability to Qi charge and OTG quick charge is possible. But, since the watch is *new* we have not (yet) seen innovative OTG Qi quick charge accessories.
Good review.
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Click to collapse
We shouldn't have to charge the watch but once a day, overnight and thats it. I'm not carrying around a second charger just to keep my watch going. The gear 2 I had lasted 48 hours with extremely heavy use. The gear live with a screen that never turned off (only dimmed), last 24 hours with some to spare, with very heavy use. I don't need it to last a week. I need it to last ONE DAY. The fact that motorola let this device out of the gates blows my mind.

Great review, obviously the internals was a bad choice, but after using for days my 360, it wont be going back. The watch looks good, its lightweight, doesn't have a great battery, but the qi charging and how fast it charges makes me forget the battery life. I have a qi charging at work, and the other at home.
I think the problem its people expected too much of first version of the device from moto and a it to be a flawless one, early adopters always are the beta testers for products.

TabGuy said:
Nice photos.
I've read a number of forums discussing the battery life. Almost every single forum comes to the conclusion that the battery life improves and stabilizes after about 4-5 days. Can you tell me how many days you wore the watch before writing this review?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd used it for about a week before writing this review
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

2fastkuztoms said:
Great review, obviously the internals was a bad choice, but after using for days my 360, it wont be going back. The watch looks good, its lightweight, doesn't have a great battery, but the qi charging and how fast it charges makes me forget the battery life. I have a qi charging at work, and the other at home.
I think the problem its people expected too much of first version of the device from moto and a it to be a flawless one, early adopters always are the beta testers for products.
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Click to collapse
I would argue the Moto 360 shouldn't have been a 'beta' device. The G Watch and Gear Live were. Motorola waited an extra 3 months to release theirs to smooth out bugs and optimize it, but when it's buggier, slower, and has worse battery life than the real 'beta' devices I have to wonder what Moto was doing all that time.
And about the Qi thing: I didn't mention it in the review mainly because I forgot it even was a feature XD. I never once thought "Oh cool, this has Qi". I'm definitely not planning to use any third party chargers, and I'm guessing most others who buy this will just stick with the dock that it shipped with as well.
It's kinda cool, but I find LG's implementation with the G Watch just as good if not better, but then again I never lose stuff like charging docks
Also, I (along with a majority of Android users) don't have any other Qi devices, and even though I could add the functionality to my G3 if I wanted to it just charges larger capacity devices too slow for my tastes.
I'm not trying to hate on Qi, only I don't quite get all the hype/praise about wireless charging in a watch when 99% of people are just gonna use the dock it came with.
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

SolarTrans said:
I would argue the Moto 360 shouldn't have been a 'beta' device. The G Watch and Gear Live were. Motorola waited an extra 3 months to release theirs to smooth out bugs and optimize it, but when it's buggier, slower, and has worse battery life than the real 'beta' devices I have to wonder what Moto was doing all that time.
And about the Qi thing: I didn't mention it in the review mainly because I forgot it even was a feature XD. I never once thought "Oh cool, this has Qi". I'm definitely not planning to use any third party chargers, and I'm guessing most others who buy this will just stick with the dock that it shipped with as well.
It's kinda cool, but I find LG's implementation with the G Watch just as good if not better, but then again I never lose stuff like charging docks
Also, I (along with a majority of Android users) don't have any other Qi devices, and even though I could add the functionality to my G3 if I wanted to it just charges larger capacity devices too slow for my tastes.
I'm not trying to hate on Qi, only I don't quite get all the hype/praise about wireless charging in a watch when 99% of people are just gonna use the dock it came with.
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know motorola did bad, but a this moment like you title said, i prefer form over function. I am techaholic and when i saw in my hand the g watch i hated it, i dont want to feel that i have a smartphone on my wrist.
I understand that for you qi charging isnt great and i know isnt a feature, for me its another story, after using it on my nexus 5, i ordered the qi back for the g3, because I missed it, i hate plugin in and out usb cables, even more using cheap ones that doesnt last, apple nail it with lightning connector but thats another story. I work 8-9 hours and having slow charge at desk doesnt bother and for me qi charging its a bonus vs propietary connectors.

SolarTrans said:
I would argue the Moto 360 shouldn't have been a 'beta' device. The G Watch and Gear Live were. Motorola waited an extra 3 months to release theirs to smooth out bugs and optimize it, but when it's buggier, slower, and has worse battery life than the real 'beta' devices I have to wonder what Moto was doing all that time.
And about the Qi thing: I didn't mention it in the review mainly because I forgot it even was a feature XD. I never once thought "Oh cool, this has Qi". I'm definitely not planning to use any third party chargers, and I'm guessing most others who buy this will just stick with the dock that it shipped with as well.
It's kinda cool, but I find LG's implementation with the G Watch just as good if not better, but then again I never lose stuff like charging docks
Also, I (along with a majority of Android users) don't have any other Qi devices, and even though I could add the functionality to my G3 if I wanted to it just charges larger capacity devices too slow for my tastes.
I'm not trying to hate on Qi, only I don't quite get all the hype/praise about wireless charging in a watch when 99% of people are just gonna use the dock it came with.
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like 99% of ChromeCast users are not going to use the mirroring feature. But, I use CC mirroring almost every day. I guess that is why I liked your review - more about value from the typical user's perspective.
Yet, Qi on the Moto 360 is inexpensive ($15 small chargers already) and the Qi technology is expanding to portable external battery power/recharger units. I think innovation on Qi quick chargers could be very helpful to wearable technology.
Again, good review, especially the comments about beta quality device stuff.

Edited to mention Qi support.
Thanks for the reminder guys!
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

Wireless charging is cool, but hardly a deal maker, lol. It's not like I've ever been too lazy to connect something to a charger!
Also, it provides the USB connection necessary to send large amounts of data to the watch (custom roms?), which may be a problem for the 360...

TabGuy said:
Nice photos.
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Click to collapse
Thanks! They were taken on my G3 haha
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

slaydog said:
Wireless charging is cool, but hardly a deal maker, lol. It's not like I've ever been too lazy to connect something to a charger!
Also, it provides the USB connection necessary to send large amounts of data to the watch (custom roms?), which may be a problem for the 360...
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Click to collapse
No, but most of us have Qi chargers on our desk, night stand and I even have one in my car. I have a 7,000 mah battery that's about the size of my Note 3 that has a built-in Qi charger. They're everywhere.
If you have a watch with a proprietary charger you only have one charger. I don't know of any of the other smart watches where you can buy an extra charger. So far, the Moto 360 is the only one.
To me that's a big deal.

TabGuy said:
No, but most of us have Qi chargers on our desk, night stand and I even have one in my car. I have a 7,000 mah battery that's smaller than my Note 3 that has a built-in Qi charger. They're everywhere.
If you have a watch with a proprietary charger you only have one charger. I don't know of any of the other smart watches where you can buy an extra charger. So far, the Moto 360 is the only one.
To me that's a big deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point... That would have been helpful, as I brought my stock charger to work a couple of times and accidentally left it there. I actually had to turn my car around once because it was a Friday, lol

TabGuy said:
No, but most of us have Qi chargers on our desk, night stand and I even have one in my car. I have a 7,000 mah battery that's about the size of my Note 3 that has a built-in Qi charger. They're everywhere.
If you have a watch with a proprietary charger you only have one charger. I don't know of any of the other smart watches where you can buy an extra charger. So far, the Moto 360 is the only one.
To me that's a big deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get an extra charger from the Play Store for the G Watch.
It's true though, if you charge your devices in multiple locations it's nice.
But IMO we really should only have to charge our watches when we go to sleep.
At least the G Watch and Gear Live can do that
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

I wrote my LG G Watch vs Moto 360 comparison at the bottom of my thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360/general/moto-360-compared-to-lg-g-watch-t2874806
And I completely agree with you on everything, except the voice recognition. My LG G Watch would sit there sometimes and not understand what I said, or it would just take a long time before it showed what I said. With the Moto 360 I've been able to talk to it even in noisy situations and the text appears almost instantly.
But I said the same exact thing how I think the CPU is underclocked until you touch the screen, then you notice the laggy animations for half a second before the CPU ramps up. Pretty annoying. But a gen 2 will definitely fix all the flaws on this device, and updates to this gen may even fix most of them.

SolarTrans said:
Thanks! They were taken on my G3 haha
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That explains it all. Great camera module and that laser thingie comes always handy.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1

Cr4z33 said:
That explains it all. Great camera module and that laser thingie comes always handy.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true haha
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

play2lose said:
I wrote my LG G Watch vs Moto 360 comparison at the bottom of my thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360/general/moto-360-compared-to-lg-g-watch-t2874806
And I completely agree with you on everything, except the voice recognition. My LG G Watch would sit there sometimes and not understand what I said, or it would just take a long time before it showed what I said. With the Moto 360 I've been able to talk to it even in noisy situations and the text appears almost instantly.
But I said the same exact thing how I think the CPU is underclocked until you touch the screen, then you notice the laggy animations for half a second before the CPU ramps up. Pretty annoying. But a gen 2 will definitely fix all the flaws on this device, and updates to this gen may even fix most of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's been the opposite for me. Unless I wait for the CPU to ramp up, the 360 rarely hears me correctly.
Sent from my LG G3 Cat.6 using Tapatalk

Lifespan of Moto 360

Looking at picking up a smart watch, like the round look. So it's either this or the lg r. Only hesitation is the "old" hardware. Do you guys think the old chip can hold up to future updates? Also lg has discontinued the lg r so worried about lack of upgrades there too?
Thanks

I still think we have another year of updates. But if you are worried and willing to pay full price for the device like us early adopters, I'd wait for the second generation 360.

Just got the 5.1.1 update so that is a good thing. The watch is really nice, got mine in April when it dropped to $150 on sale. I think now you can get it for close to $100-$125 on sale. This will be about a third of a cost of the second generation. Will the second generation be better? More than likely, will it be work a couple hundred more? That is the question you will have to answer. The only thing I would like that this watch does not have is stand alone GPS so I could go on a run without my phone and be able to till have Runkeeper track my GPS. The other would be a small speaker that you could use for phone calls.

Bought mine yesterday and returning it today. To heavy, I did have the metal band. Running 5.1.1 and it crashed/rebooted serval times. Did 3 factory resets. Battery would drain from 100 to about mid 80 in about an hour.
Loved the look of the all silver with metal band.
I'll just wait for the next generation in hopes that it will be lighter and better battery life. Really hoping it can be used without having to have my phone but I'm doubting Android wear will be at that point when the 360 2 is released.
So I'm holding out for the second generation.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

jcarlm said:
Bought mine yesterday and returning it today. To heavy, I did have the metal band. Running 5.1.1 and it crashed/rebooted serval times. Did 3 factory resets. Battery would drain from 100 to about mid 80 in about an hour.
Loved the look of the all silver with metal band.
I'll just wait for the next generation in hopes that it will be lighter and better battery life. Really hoping it can be used without having to have my phone but I'm doubting Android wear will be at that point when the 360 2 is released.
So I'm holding out for the second generation.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
everytime you reset the watch, it will eat 30-40% in the first couple hours as its doing all the SYNC-ing (thats normal)
since you have had it less than a day, and reset it 3 times, its obvious that you havent had a chance to really use it or let it settle
u should set it up, wait a few hours and fully charge it... and you will see how it will consume 4-6% an hour on a stock watchface and about 5-7% per hr on a fancy watchmaker face
but hey, if you really cant wait and wanna get rid of it, u should sell it to the OP

chaco81 said:
everytime you reset the watch, it will eat 30-40% in the first couple hours as its doing all the SYNC-ing (thats normal)
since you have had it less than a day, and reset it 3 times, its obvious that you havent had a chance to really use it or let it settle
u should set it up, wait a few hours and fully charge it... and you will see how it will consume 4-6% an hour on a stock watchface and about 5-7% per hr on a fancy watchmaker face
but hey, if you really cant wait and wanna get rid of it, u should sell it to the OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am aware that resetting the device will take a toll on the battery percentage as well as syncing. But the watch should not have rebooted on its own 4 times as to why I kept resetting it. I believe the unit that i required to be defective.
I returned the device for a full refund.
The device was eye candy for sure and I'm looking forward to getting the moto 360 2 when it comes out. Just hoping its lighter with better internals and no flat tire.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

jcarlm said:
I am aware that resetting the device will take a toll on the battery percentage as well as syncing. But the watch should not have rebooted on its own 4 times as to why I kept resetting it. I believe the unit that i required to be defective.
I returned the device for a full refund.
The device was eye candy for sure and I'm looking forward to getting the moto 360 2 when it comes out. Just hoping its lighter with better internals and no flat tire.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying not to be negative and rude, but you sound like you might not be the person smartwatches were designed for - or you didn't do your homework and made an impulse purchase.
Again, trying not to be rude - but people who make purchases like you and make returns like you did are one of the reasons return, exchange, and warranty conditions are so strict these days.

fwayfarer said:
I'm trying not to be negative and rude, but you sound like you might not be the person smartwatches were designed for - or you didn't do your homework and made an impulse purchase.
Again, trying not to be rude - but people who make purchases like you and make returns like you did are one of the reasons return, exchange, and warranty conditions are so strict these days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol..... Own all nexus except nexus one. I have 3 chromecast, 2 nexus players, 4 nexus tablets. I'm a pretty big Android fan.. Root a lot of these devices and not afraid to mess with adb and fastboot. I research before I make any purchase and I know a little about Android.
As stated the watch was defective. Kept rebooting on its own. And at this time frame I might as well wait till the second generation.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Allow me to clarify, I agree fully it was defective. I do not agree with you being surprised by the flat tire or the weight, specifically I don't agree with the watch being too heavy - all of my mid-to-high end mechanical watches are two or three times as heavy.

fwayfarer said:
Allow me to clarify, I agree fully it was defective. I do not agree with you being surprised by the flat tire or the weight, specifically I don't agree with the watch being too heavy - all of my mid-to-high end mechanical watches are two or three times as heavy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When holding the watch in the store is different than wearing it for hours, that is a personal preference as it was my preference. Flat tire I knew but figure with the right face it wouldn't bother me and started I hope they get rid of it on the next one. There are smart watches that are lighter.
Any ways just wanted to share my thoughts, that is all. Can't wait to see what the next generation will be as the rumors are stating lighter, smaller, better processor and I hope these are all true. And by smaller I hope they mean the thickness....
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
---------- Post added at 03:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------
Plus the next one should be coming soon and for me I have no problem waiting..
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Wipe

I just bought mine on same and I love the thing heck it's lighter then my eco-drive watch and sent a text with voice.....I had the Samsung galaxy gear 2 neo and this thing is in a league of its own compared to the neo, also another thing a person actually saw it and asked how I liked Android wear
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Moving from an automatic metal band watch to the leather band 360 was like going from a dumbell to a paper sticker... I think overall design is fantastic, as long as it keeps working like it does with 5.1, I'm keeping mine for years to come!

should I STILL get a 360 this late in the game?

I'm eventually going to make the plunge in getting a smartwatch, and always liked the 360, but with the 360 2 so close to being announced, is it even worth getting the 360 now?
I love modding and stretching the limits of a device. When the 360 came out, i wanted it, but couldn't afford it. Recently I saw someone running youtube videos on the 360 and it sold me. Then i noticed the huge price drop and it started really pushing me toward a purchase.
What are the current limits of the device? I know running youtube on a watch is considered impracticable by most people (small screen, batt life), but it's right up my alley. Can you remote a pc or phone with the 360? I'm always streaming youtube to listen to music in my car, screen off, and I never know what i want to listen to next. I love the freedom of being able to pull up any track that strikes me in the moment, without having to store thousands and thousands of mp3s on a device. If video running directly on the watch isnt very efficient, can the watch remote the phone to change youtube videos without interacting with the phone?
Also, if you were me, would you get the 360?
wait for the 360 2?
or is there another device out there that is even more capable of outside-of-the-box kind of applications??
Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

Hi there!
I recommend reading this thread, it's about a similar topic and it should at least answer some of your questions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360/help/wait-model-buy-t3146347

Pyvesb said:
Hi there!
I recommend reading this thread, it's about a similar topic and it should at least answer some of your questions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360/help/wait-model-buy-t3146347
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll probably pull the trigger at this price point just to get in.. then resell once the 2 comes out..
any differences between the best buy, google store, and amazon versions of the watch?
I know sometimes phones will have different hardware specs with different vendors

also, the free 'youtube app' that allows you to watch youtube on the watch itself also claims to be able to google cast the video to another device, ie: chromecast tv. Is it also capable of sending the video to a phone? My theory is, I can pull up the app on the watch, say what i want to listen to with the voice search, and beam it to my phone which is still holstered and wired to my car stereo. Think that would work? Anyone with a moto360 want to try it out?

I was pretty much in the same boat but I made the plunge (arr, matey).
I never had much money to spare for a smartwatch but I knew one day I would get one. I finally bought one last week, not even second hand how I usually buy things, because the price was finally acceptable for me (and a 14-day free return policy at the store was a great way to test the device - I'll probably keep it). I wasn't even considering the potential successor of the Moto 360, two reasons:
1. It would be way too expensive. I'd have to wait another year after its release until the price would finally be right for me.
2. There isn't much to improve with Android Wear smartwatches, as my only disappointment is battery life (though I love how easily and quickly it charges wirelessly to make up for it).
I'd say if you're like me, you don't have much money for a smartwatch, then the Moto 360 is currently still an awesome device. Especially since it received this huge update very recently which enabled Wi-Fi. This device is much more capable than the limited number of apps in the Play Store would suggest. I'll see if I can make any useful apps myself :fingers-crossed:

Hermantje said:
I was pretty much in the same boat but I made the plunge (arr, matey).
I never had much money to spare for a smartwatch but I knew one day I would get one. I finally bought one last week, not even second hand how I usually buy things, because the price was finally acceptable for me (and a 14-day free return policy at the store was a great way to test the device - I'll probably keep it). I wasn't even considering the potential successor of the Moto 360, two reasons:
1. It would be way too expensive. I'd have to wait another year after its release until the price would finally be right for me.
2. There isn't much to improve with Android Wear smartwatches, as my only disappointment is battery life (though I love how easily and quickly it charges wirelessly to make up for it).
I'd say if you're like me, you don't have much money for a smartwatch, then the Moto 360 is currently still an awesome device. Especially since it received this huge update very recently which enabled Wi-Fi. This device is much more capable than the limited number of apps in the Play Store would suggest. I'll see if I can make any useful apps myself :fingers-crossed:
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Click to collapse
Agree, there is not much difference between all the available smartwatches besides design and hardware. The software is the same on all of them (almost).
I can't see how people can complain about battery life. It's not a phone or a computer for that matter. The screen should not be on all the time. I normally charge mine before bed, sleep with it and wake up with around 85-90% left and then around 50% left when day is over, 20-30% if ambient screen.
It's a watch and you should only use it to check the clock, notifications and weather (or other features) not play games and such on it. In the first few weeks, mine died after a day use too. The battery began to stabilize + you begin to see it as a watch + notification thing only. I barely look at it all day. Only read the message I get and then decide if I should answer on phone or not.
So the Moto 360 will be almost the same as the Moto 360 V2 besides some new design and maybe some new hardware features, like GPS.

Honestly I can't wait for V2 of the Moto360. Granted, price will be much higher than the current sale, and or permanent retail price of the first... But im excited about losing the "flat tire" look. I just bought my Moto360 about a week ago now, and don't get me wrong, I love everything about it and the flat tire doesn't really bother me at all. Aside from speed improvements, possibly better battery, sharper display, and over all improvement of a V2 ( all assuming those come to pass in the new one) the OG Moto360 is still amazing and does its job, and imo, does it well. I will be passing this one on to my wife when V2 hits the scene anyway so it will have a long life ahead of it.
At the price its set at right now, this is def a great smartwatch to own, especially for someone who has never owned a smartwatch before.
So (even tho I've obviously stated I have already) absolutely I would buy it. (again)?

I think it's still a nice smartwatch. I've owned the Pebble Steel, 360, Zenwatch, and G Watch R, and I've come back to the 360... out of all of them, it was my favourite. It also helped I scored an open-box 23mm SS one for $130 tax in, lol.

I have a pebble time and a motor 360 I also have the first pebble and I take most of the time the old pebble. First battery life is so good last me all week and also water proof. Which the time is too but the pebble feels more durable than the 360 and so on. Also a reminder when you wanna sell the 360 one day you only can sell it to someone with an android phone.
But the 360 is pretty good.
Sent from my SM-G920W8 using XDA Free mobile app

I was waiting for the Moto 360 2 but after it wasn't announced with the new Moto X and G I finally got bored and decided to purchase one, especially as I'd seen it for a great price £120 ($180). First impressions are I love the watch and it looks really stylish, it actually does more than I thought it would, which is a bonus.
Plus when the Moto 360 2 does get announced I'll sell this on.

Maybe I should have waited another few weeks and I would have seen the Moto 360 2 starting to be teased. Oh well you live and learn, lol.

Zammo76 said:
Maybe I should have waited another few weeks and I would have seen the Moto 360 2 starting to be teased. Oh well you live and learn, lol.
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I waited all summer for the 360 v2 to come out. I waited through MWC, through Google and Motorola events that we thought might be a 360 v2 announcement, and even after all that we still have no release date. The newly "leaked" images of the new Moto 360 v2 are not terribly impressive.
Since Moto has given us ZERO real info on the new version, I decided to get a 360 this week (it's also pretty cheap on Amazon). Today is my first day with it and I like how it looks and functions, but I am disappointed in the vibration strength. I have a Sony Smartwatch 3 and I can easily feel the vibration patterns on it. The 360 has a much weaker vibration motor and I am just going to have to get used to missing some notifications. That being said, the display is MUCH better on the 360 and it looks really good on the wrist.
The new 360 is not at all likely going to be worth the money they will ask for it. We also really have no idea when it will come out. Motorola really screwed up with their launch of the v2. By the time it comes out there will likely be other players out there, and the holiday season is just over 2 months away. I'll enjoy my 360 v1 until then and see what's available in December.

Still love my 360 v1. Looks great on the wrist, but since the infamous Apple Watch has been released I always get questions if its the Apple Watch. Replaced my grey leather band with a mesh metal band and its made the watch look even better. So I would still buy if you can snag a deal from Amazon, eBay etc...

mrhumble1 said:
I waited all summer for the 360 v2 to come out. I waited through MWC, through Google and Motorola events that we thought might be a 360 v2 announcement, and even after all that we still have no release date. The newly "leaked" images of the new Moto 360 v2 are not terribly impressive.
Since Moto has given us ZERO real info on the new version, I decided to get a 360 this week (it's also pretty cheap on Amazon). Today is my first day with it and I like how it looks and functions, but I am disappointed in the vibration strength. I have a Sony Smartwatch 3 and I can easily feel the vibration patterns on it. The 360 has a much weaker vibration motor and I am just going to have to get used to missing some notifications. That being said, the display is MUCH better on the 360 and it looks really good on the wrist.
The new 360 is not at all likely going to be worth the money they will ask for it. We also really have no idea when it will come out. Motorola really screwed up with their launch of the v2. By the time it comes out there will likely be other players out there, and the holiday season is just over 2 months away. I'll enjoy my 360 v1 until then and see what's available in December.
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I just got the 360 last week to try. I'm going to return it after a couple weeks unless things magically get better all the sudden. Coming from the lg g watch the battery on this 360 is terrible in comparison and ui lags more often then I'm used to in the g watch also. If price is a major concern then the og 360 is still good enough if the battery is good enough for your use. It isn't for mine. I don't want to disable everything to make it barely last a day.

The battery on mine was draining pretty fast the first few days of use. Not sure if it was a bedding in issue or it was just me fiddling with it every few minutes. It seems to have stabilized now and I can get through a day and its on around 15-20% when I stick it on charge at 11pm. I have my brightness on 1 and flick to wake up on.

I've just got one and love it. Didn't want to wait for the 360 2 or pay the higher price for it, as it would probably cost a bit more, maybe?
Battery life for me is good. Only had it a few days, but got me through a full day (08:00 - 22:30) with 3% left. That was with a bit of playing and for some of the time ambient mode turned on. I now have ambient mode turned off, flick to wake on and auto brightness on. It was at 59% when I put it on this morning at 08:00. It's now 13:38 and it's on 36%.

I waited for the v2 teasers and immediately went and purchased a v1 360. I am not seeing much in design or spec that make me want to pay more for the v2.
And both have the flat tire!
I already have an LG G Watch R, which I intend to continue using as my daily driver. The v1, will be for business and formal type affairs. It just looks very nice to me.
---------- Post added at 07:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:52 PM ----------
And it looks like when you click the Moto Maker button for the 360 on Motorola's site it no longer works. Got in just under the wire!

http://moofi.woot.com/offers/motorola-moto-360-smart-watch-1 $150 for metal band

best buy still has it for $150 if you want it faster thank woot

after going through warranty service with motorola i would say dont ever buy anything from this company.

Moto 360 after several months of use, my findings

So I've had my Moto 360 for about 4 months or so now and wanted to just say a bit about my experiences with it.
The battery life for me at first was a bit of a problem and it was touch and go if I could go a full day. I don't know if this is because I was fiddling with it so much or if later versions of android wear optimised the battery better, but now I could probably go a couple of days without charging.
I find the standard launcher on android wear quite cumbersome and pants. I've since installed Android Mini Wear which is infinitely better. Unfortunately this doesn't replace the stock launcher but works side by side to it, so you can sometimes end up swiping one way and launching Mini Wear and then swiping the other way and getting the stock launcher, then you have to close both to get back to the main watch screen, bit of a pain. But the devs for Mini Wear say they are working on a way you'll be able to press a small button that shows up on the watch face to launch the full Mini Wear app draw (they currently have this feature but it launches a cut down version of Mini Wear).
A few things I'd love to be able to do with android wear is be able to adjust the timeout screen duration, sometimes it flicks off before I can do what I need to. Also being able to adjust vibrate duration wouldnt go a miss either.
Lastly I've started getting a pain in my wrist, I'm hoping this is unrelated to my watch but I'd be interested to know if any other users get it? Maybe the heart rate monitor constantly reading my pulse could be causing this? Shame you can't stop this from happening as well.

To adjust screen timeout duration try this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phonephreak.extendedlight
And I use my watch now for 2 Month and don't have any pain in the wrist

I see some people wear a watch very tight, I myself a personal preference always wear it abit loose like jewelry or a bracelet, I've worn Swatch's for years so maybe I'm just use to it. Never pain.
Sent from my LG-VS980

I've been wearing it since the week it came out. No pains in my wrist from it. I wore it tight with the leather band, and just tight enough that I can't fit my pinky with the metal band. My back is cracked and the plastic pieces that adapt the metal band in are broken and missing pieces, but the screen is pristine after a year, the battery still lasts a whole day, and it's never felt sluggish to me. I don't use a launcher - I don't see the need for one. I pretty much don't use apps - unless it's a card, the face switcher or stopwatch/timer I don't use it.
I love my 360. The 360 V2 is a slight incremental upgrade really offering nothing over the 360 except a much better placement of the crown and the band lugs. I won't be giving up my original 360 for a while.
Though I know my next watch WILL be a Moto watch, because nobody else does wireless charging and I refuse to give it up.

Zammo76 said:
I find the standard launcher on android wear quite cumbersome and pants.
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Best review quote of the day. Bravo! hah.
When I first got my 360 the battery life sucked. For an unrelated issue I had to reset the watch, and decided to click "No" to the Google Fit permissions during setup. This has drastically improved my battery life. I'll easily get to the end of the day with more than 50% battery, and that's taking the watch off the charging cradle at 6:40am. So, pretty good! And, the funny thing is, it's the Moto Fit app that's checking your heart rate in the background, not the Google Fit app. So, even with Moto Fit firing up the heart rate sensor all day the battery life is still awesome. Seems like some poor optimisation of the Google Fit app to me. And, on that note, I haven't noticed any pain in my wrist at all and I've been wearing it every day for about two months now. Maybe its an RSI from playing with the watch too much hah

MikusP said:
Best review quote of the day. Bravo! hah.
When I first got my 360 the battery life sucked. For an unrelated issue I had to reset the watch, and decided to click "No" to the Google Fit permissions during setup. This has drastically improved my battery life. I'll easily get to the end of the day with more than 50% battery, and that's taking the watch off the charging cradle at 6:40am. So, pretty good! And, the funny thing is, it's the Moto Fit app that's checking your heart rate in the background, not the Google Fit app. So, even with Moto Fit firing up the heart rate sensor all day the battery life is still awesome. Seems like some poor optimisation of the Google Fit app to me. And, on that note, I haven't noticed any pain in my wrist at all and I've been wearing it every day for about two months now. Maybe its an RSI from playing with the watch too much hah
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just got a 360 with 5.1.1 and battery life does suck indeed. Going to deny G-Fit and see what happens, I am hoping for a drastic battery improvement at least 2 days. Right now I can barely get one.

Takiyon said:
just got a 360 with 5.1.1 and battery life does suck indeed. Going to deny G-Fit and see what happens, I am hoping for a drastic battery improvement at least 2 days. Right now I can barely get one.
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Man What a difference... Turn all that **** off and the watch will last for 2 days. Dont need it anyway..

Takiyon said:
just got a 360 with 5.1.1 and battery life does suck indeed. Going to deny G-Fit and see what happens, I am hoping for a drastic battery improvement at least 2 days. Right now I can barely get one.
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Click to collapse
I killed google fit, turned off the gestures and ambient mode and I can squeeze out 48hrs between charges.

Takiyon said:
Man What a difference... Turn all that **** off and the watch will last for 2 days. Dont need it anyway..
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Hah, glad it made a difference! Genuinely surprised how much impact Google Fit has, makes an amazing device seem like junk when it's running

Heyo! Looking to get into the smartwatch market this holiday and I figured a $99 moto 360 (if I can find them in stock) would be a nice way to do that. So, is this still a good buy in 2015? I have read the OMAP processor is slow and ancient but, does it get the job done on this watch?

triguyrn said:
Heyo! Looking to get into the smartwatch market this holiday and I figured a $99 moto 360 (if I can find them in stock) would be a nice way to do that. So, is this still a good buy in 2015? I have read the OMAP processor is slow and ancient but, does it get the job done on this watch?
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Click to collapse
I also have this doubt.

I'll be honest, I got the first gen 360 a few weeks ago because of a credit from Sprint and really wish I would've just put a few more dollars with it and got the Huawei watch.

For $99 you can't really go wrong. Yeah the processor might be a bit long in the tooth, but I don't really have any issues with mine. Plus the 2nd Gen costs loads more and doesn't really add any new functionality apart from looks.
I just find having mine really convenient, with my job I can't be looking at my phone all the time, so its perfect for me. I also find the ability to control music on my phone with my watch very handy when commuting. I'm now about to purchase a set of bluetooth headphones so I can listen to music stored on my watch. I'm in the minority who actually use Google Fit (I charge my phone every night but usually have around 40%-50% of battery left). Its just had strength training incorporated into it, so it can count how many sit ups, press ups or squats your doing, which is useful.

Even better now with the 6.0.1 update! Great value.

Should I get a Moto 360 or bad idea?

I wanted to buy a Moto 360 as a normal watch + some nice options like music controls which will help in sports last year, though I abandoned this idea as I was afraid of 2 things: I have astigmatism meaning I have to use big screens (+5.2'') phones with big fonts to be able to read without glasses, I am afraid I won't be able to read small sms messages on the Moto 360 small screen, but given we hold the watch at a further distance than a phone perhaps it won't be such a pain. 2ns problem which I have found in this forum is the battery life, by battery life I don't mean only how long a single charge can hold with ''always on'' but the battery itself as you can't replace it.
So here are my questions:
If I can get a used Moto 360 in mint condition for 60-70$ should I get it?
What about battery?
Anyone of you have short sighted problem due to astigmatism and can share his experience with the Moto 360?
Should I get the 2nd gen (knowing it's more than double price as used)?

Hello,
I think is a bad ideia.
Motorola/Lenovo said will not update Moto 360 1st gen. to Android Wear 2.0 .
My Moto 360 is turning off suddenly.
The specs of Moto 360 2nd gen. is not so different of 1st gen.
My two cents.
Enviado de meu MotoG3 usando Tapatalk

If you aren't going to be frustrated by some hiccups in performance, I honestly think it will be ok. The fonts can be made larger under settings and my battery still holds up pretty much as well as when I got it, though it still doesn't get the best battery life. I still have to charge it more or less once a day, a solid once a day if I'm using it as a calculator for something or for voice dictation in replying to a ton of messages. An average day I end at 40% battery life so I could use it more and still get a full day but couldn't really drag it out for two. If you can afford the second one and plan on maybe using it for more than music control and as a watch then I'd get the 2nd gen, but if somewhat worse performance and possible lack of future updates is ok it should be fine.

Mine isnt particularly old (January 2015) and the back is still cracked(never bothered with RMA) but the screen now has a blue patch and its suddenly died about 10 times now. They were great 1st gen products, but very very first gen.
If you can get a second hand Gen 2 isntead, get that. Really as wearables take more punishment it'd be something Id tend to buy new.