The Moto 360: A Smartwatch Review

I've been testing the Moto 360, a smartwatch that I was excited to try out. While it has its limitations, I found several features that make it a great choice for Android users.

One of the biggest reasons I like the Moto 360 is that it's always on display. However, there is one caveat - the screen doesn't stay on all the time. Instead, it wakes up when you raise your wrist, which is a decent compromise. Although the gesture isn't quite as accurate as I would like if you want to always be able to see the time.

There is an ambient screen mode that keeps your watch face on almost always. This feature hurts battery life quite a bit, though, so I kept it off most of the time. One really nice touch about the Moto 360 is its charger - it's magnetic and wireless, making it easy to charge the watch by simply dropping it onto the dock.

Since the Moto 360 basically has to be charged every night, it can be a bit of an annoyance when traveling. You need to take a micro USB cable and charger with you, as well as the dock for your watch. The Moto 360 is IP67 certified, which means it's really not meant to get wet but still works in such situations.

There is also a heart rate sensor built into the back of the watch, like most smartwatches I've tried. It's not particularly accurate, needing firm contact with your wrist and failing quite a bit for me. I've had better luck flipping the watch over, though it could definitely be a better experience.

On the other hand, the pedometer does a good job of tracking your steps throughout the day. This is a nice addition, as being able to track your fitness is always a plus.

As an Android Wear device, the Moto 360 works with basically any phone running Android 4.3 or higher. I paired it with my new Moto X, and most newer phones will work with it just fine.

If you haven't tried Android Wear yet, it's a very nicely put together OS. Everything is big and easy to control, allowing you to read things like email right on your watch and quickly archive or open on your phone with a couple of taps. You also get Google Now cards from your phone, such as weather, flight info, and calendar notifications.

There's also pretty decent voice recognition, using Ok Google. Set a timer for 3 minutes - you do have to keep the Moto 360 tethered to your Android phone with Bluetooth, though. The range is more than long enough for me, however, as I couldn't get the 360 to drop connection anywhere in my apartment.

One thing that's really bizarre about the Moto 360 is its internals. It's powered by an OMAP3 processor from the 4-year-old Droid X, which doesn't do performance any favors. The watch runs reasonably smooth for the most part but some animations can be a bit choppy and battery life would likely be quite a bit better with a more modern SOC.

Another auto-mission is having any kind of speaker when you get a notification - the 360 vibrates softly on your wrist, which is great. However, it would be nice to have the option to have some audio for $250.

The biggest question is, is the Moto 360 worth it for me? The biggest advantage was how much less often I have to check my phone being able to triage notifications right from my wrist is a huge plus and the looks are also a big part of the appeal. Everyone I've shown the 362 is love the look and being able to have all of my Google Now cards at a glance is surprisingly useful.

Even though I've never really worn watches, the 360 has me convinced that Motorola really has something special here.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enas one of the first android wear devices the moto 360 sports an awesome round display but is it worth your 250 dollars the biggest thing that sets the 360 apart from other smart watches is the round display after years of rectangular screens the moto 360 almost looks fake it's got a very thin bezel and in silver it really does look like the kind of watch everyone imagined we would be wearing in the year 2014 there is a small window on the bottom which houses the light sensor and display connectors which does break the circular illusion a bit but it's not something i really ever notice in normal use with a one and a half inch 320 by 290 resolution display it's respectably sharp and holds up nicely even in direct sunlight something i can't say about a lot of other smartphones as a guy who doesn't usually wear watches the 360 feels just about right on my average sized wrist it's not particularly thick or heavy and the round case helps to make sure it stays comfortable if you have small wrists it might be a bit too big and if you have big wrists it might even be a little bit too small but for most people i think it's a good compromise you've got two choices right now a black moto 360 with black leather band or the silver 360 with a gray band like i have there will be a few more options later this year including metal bands but i like the leather personally one big question about the 360 is battery life i've been using it every day for over a week and it's never quit on me before the end of the day it's usually around 30 by the time i drop it on the charger at night however a big reason why is because the screen doesn't stay on all the time instead it wakes up when you raise your wrist which is a decent compromise although the gesture isn't quite as accurate as i would like if you want to always be able to see the time there's the ambient screen mode which keeps your watch face on almost always this hurts your battery life quite a bit though so i kept it off one really nice touch is the charger it's magnetic and wireless so all you need to do is drop the watch onto the dock and it lights up softly with the time on the flip side since the moto 360 basically has to be charged every night it can be a bit of an annoyance when traveling to have to not only take a micro usb cable and charger but also the dock for your watch the moto 360 is ip67 certified which means that while it can get a little wet it's really not meant to do this still works though there's also a heart rate sensor built into the back like most smart watches i've tried it's not particularly accurate needing firm contact with your wrist and even then it fails quite a bit for me i've had better luck flipping the watch over but it could definitely be a better experience on the other hand the pedometer does a good job of tracking your steps throughout the day it's not a huge feature but being able to track your fitness is a nice addition as an android wear device the moto 360 works with basically any phone running android 4.3 or higher i paired it with the new moto x but most newer phones will work with it just fine if you haven't tried android wear yet it's a very nicely put together os everything is big and easy to control you can read things like email right on your watch and quickly archive or open on your phone with a couple taps you also get google now cards from your phone such as weather flight info and calendar notifications there's also pretty decent voice recognition ok google set a timer for 3 minutes you do have to keep the moto 360 tethered to your android phone with bluetooth but the range is more than long enough for me i couldn't get the 360 to drop connection anywhere in my apartment one thing that is really bizarre are the internals it's powered by an omap3 processor from the 4 year old droid x which doesn't do performance any favors it runs reasonably smooth for the most part but some animations can be a bit choppy and battery life would likely be quite a bit better with a more modern soc another auto mission is any kind of speaker when you get a notification the 360 vibrates softly on your wrist which is great but it would be nice to have the option to have some audio for 250 dollars the big question is is the moto 360 worth it for me the biggest advantage was how much less often i have to check my phone being able to triage notifications right from my wrist is a huge plus and the looks are also a big part of the appeal everyone i've shown the 362 is love the look and being able to have all of my google now cards at a glance is surprisingly useful even though i've never really worn watches the 360 has me convinced motorola really has something special here so what do you guys think would you ever pick up a moto 360 definitely be sure to let me know in the comments below anyway i've got to give a big shout out to squarespace for making this video possible squarespace is the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website or online store i've recommended squarespace to friends for a long time because it really is dead simple you don't need to spend all day learning how to code it just works there are tons of great looking templates to choose from that let you drag and drop content right in and they all work great on a phone tablet and computer automatically it starts at just eight dollars a month however for a free trial head over to squarespace.com austin when you decide to sign up just make sure you use the offer code austin to get 10 off and let them know i sent you anyway guys thank you so much for watching and i will catch you in the next oneas one of the first android wear devices the moto 360 sports an awesome round display but is it worth your 250 dollars the biggest thing that sets the 360 apart from other smart watches is the round display after years of rectangular screens the moto 360 almost looks fake it's got a very thin bezel and in silver it really does look like the kind of watch everyone imagined we would be wearing in the year 2014 there is a small window on the bottom which houses the light sensor and display connectors which does break the circular illusion a bit but it's not something i really ever notice in normal use with a one and a half inch 320 by 290 resolution display it's respectably sharp and holds up nicely even in direct sunlight something i can't say about a lot of other smartphones as a guy who doesn't usually wear watches the 360 feels just about right on my average sized wrist it's not particularly thick or heavy and the round case helps to make sure it stays comfortable if you have small wrists it might be a bit too big and if you have big wrists it might even be a little bit too small but for most people i think it's a good compromise you've got two choices right now a black moto 360 with black leather band or the silver 360 with a gray band like i have there will be a few more options later this year including metal bands but i like the leather personally one big question about the 360 is battery life i've been using it every day for over a week and it's never quit on me before the end of the day it's usually around 30 by the time i drop it on the charger at night however a big reason why is because the screen doesn't stay on all the time instead it wakes up when you raise your wrist which is a decent compromise although the gesture isn't quite as accurate as i would like if you want to always be able to see the time there's the ambient screen mode which keeps your watch face on almost always this hurts your battery life quite a bit though so i kept it off one really nice touch is the charger it's magnetic and wireless so all you need to do is drop the watch onto the dock and it lights up softly with the time on the flip side since the moto 360 basically has to be charged every night it can be a bit of an annoyance when traveling to have to not only take a micro usb cable and charger but also the dock for your watch the moto 360 is ip67 certified which means that while it can get a little wet it's really not meant to do this still works though there's also a heart rate sensor built into the back like most smart watches i've tried it's not particularly accurate needing firm contact with your wrist and even then it fails quite a bit for me i've had better luck flipping the watch over but it could definitely be a better experience on the other hand the pedometer does a good job of tracking your steps throughout the day it's not a huge feature but being able to track your fitness is a nice addition as an android wear device the moto 360 works with basically any phone running android 4.3 or higher i paired it with the new moto x but most newer phones will work with it just fine if you haven't tried android wear yet it's a very nicely put together os everything is big and easy to control you can read things like email right on your watch and quickly archive or open on your phone with a couple taps you also get google now cards from your phone such as weather flight info and calendar notifications there's also pretty decent voice recognition ok google set a timer for 3 minutes you do have to keep the moto 360 tethered to your android phone with bluetooth but the range is more than long enough for me i couldn't get the 360 to drop connection anywhere in my apartment one thing that is really bizarre are the internals it's powered by an omap3 processor from the 4 year old droid x which doesn't do performance any favors it runs reasonably smooth for the most part but some animations can be a bit choppy and battery life would likely be quite a bit better with a more modern soc another auto mission is any kind of speaker when you get a notification the 360 vibrates softly on your wrist which is great but it would be nice to have the option to have some audio for 250 dollars the big question is is the moto 360 worth it for me the biggest advantage was how much less often i have to check my phone being able to triage notifications right from my wrist is a huge plus and the looks are also a big part of the appeal everyone i've shown the 362 is love the look and being able to have all of my google now cards at a glance is surprisingly useful even though i've never really worn watches the 360 has me convinced motorola really has something special here so what do you guys think would you ever pick up a moto 360 definitely be sure to let me know in the comments below anyway i've got to give a big shout out to squarespace for making this video possible squarespace is the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website or online store i've recommended squarespace to friends for a long time because it really is dead simple you don't need to spend all day learning how to code it just works there are tons of great looking templates to choose from that let you drag and drop content right in and they all work great on a phone tablet and computer automatically it starts at just eight dollars a month however for a free trial head over to squarespace.com austin when you decide to sign up just make sure you use the offer code austin to get 10 off and let them know i sent you anyway guys thank you so much for watching and i will catch you in the next one