As the first circular smartwatch the
Moto 360 really wowed us, but its time
in the sun was short-lived, as LG has
since launched the G Watch R and the
Watch Urbane.
Both sport round faces along with
superior specs and longer battery lives,
while the Sony Smartwatch 3 has
greater fitness credentials and the
Apple Watch has premium appeal.
So the second generation Moto 360, or
the Moto 360 2.0 as we'll call it from
here on out, will need more than just a
circular screen to impress.
Thankfully it seems Lenovo is well
aware of this, as we've caught a
glimpse of what might be the Moto 360
2.0 and it looks like it will be available
in two different sizes and with a
variety of different finishes and straps.
That's certainly a step in the right
direction and would help to tick off
some of what we want to see, but
there's a whole lot more that we're
hoping for from the Moto 360 2.0.
1. Better battery life
Smartwatch makers are still yet to
work out how to get a decent amount
of juice out of their wearables and the
Moto 360 is one of the worst offenders,
generally conking out in one day.
That's nowhere near good enough.
The LG G Watch R can almost double it
with around two days of life and even
that's not as good as we'd like to see,
so two days of life should be the
minimum the Moto 360 2.0 offers. Any
less than that and it could be a hard
sell, but if it can stretch beyond two
days that would be a big point in its
favour.
2. A faster processor
Not only is the Moto 360 lacking for
battery life but it's also underpowered,
as while most rivals have opted for a
Snapdragon 400 processor, the 360 for
some reason has a Texas Instruments
OMAP 3 chip, which is both less
powerful and less efficient.
That's noticeable in use too, with the
watch sometimes proving
unresponsive, so the Moto 360 2.0
really needs to do better. A
Snapdragon 400 should be the
minimum we see, but as this is a next
generation device hopefully it will go
better still, while a boost from 512MB
to 1GB of RAM would be appreciated
too.
3. No more black bars
While the Moto 360 was the first
smartwatch with a circular screen
there's always going to be an asterisk
against it, because the face is circular
yes, but there's a black cut-out at the
bottom, which means the actual
screen is a circle with a chunk cut off
the bottom.
There's a reason for this - it houses
screen tech which otherwise would
have likely needed to go in the bezels
and by having it here the watch can
have smaller bezels, but having seen
the LG Watch Urbane and the Huawei
Watch we're not entirely convinced
that's preferable, so for the Moto 360
2.0 we'd love to see a fully circular
display.
4. A sharper screen
The Moto 360 has a 1.56-inch 320 x
290 display, for a pixel density of 205
pixels per inch and while that's not
terrible it's not great either. It's also
been beaten by the likes of the LG G
Watch R, which has a screen that's
both smaller and higher resolution,
making for a noticeably sharper
display overall.
So hopefully the Moto 360 2.0 ups the
resolution. We don't like squinting at
our watch, it makes us feel old.
5. A smaller screen
This might seem an odd wish, but with
a 1.56-inch screen / a 46mm diameter
the Moto 360 is actually pretty large.
It's bigger than the vast majority of
normal watches and dwarfs smaller
wrists, so we'd quite happily see the
Moto 360 2.0 get shrunk down.
Or better yet come in two or more size
variants like the Apple Watch does, so
it can be as big or small as you want it
to be.
6. A less chunky design
The Moto 360 is also a little bit chunky.
Sure it's stylish with its circular metal
face and leather straps, but it's
11.6mm high, aka over 1cm, which is
quite fat for a watch.
A sleeker design would definitely be
appreciated, then again a bigger
battery would be appreciated even
more, so if a chunky build is what it
takes for that then so be it.
7. Micro USB charging
The Moto 360 uses Qi wireless
charging, which is always nice to see,
plus the charging dock it comes with
turns it into a stylish bedside clock.
The problem is you need to remember
to take the charger with you if you're
out for a long day, because it won't
likely survive the night and no-one
else is likely to have a compatible
charger.
That's not the case with the micro USB
chargers that most smartphones and
some smartwatches, such as the Sony
Smartwatch 3, use, as everyone has at
least seven of them. So hopefully the
Moto 360 2.0 will have both Qi charging
and a micro USB port.
8. Built-in GPS
The Moto 360 already takes a decent
stab at fitness, with its built in heart
rate monitor alongside the expected
pedometer, but hopefully the Moto 360
2.0 will go even further and include
GPS.
It's not a big ask really, the Sony
Smartwatch 3 already has it after all,
and it would mean you could use it as
a proper running watch, rather than
still being reliant on your smartphone.
9. More storage
Android Wear allows you to use your
smartwatch as a standalone music
player, but with just 4GB of built in
storage you won't be able to fit a vast
amount of music on the Moto 360,
especially as that 4GB is for the OS and
apps too.
So if at all possible we'd like to see
more storage on the Moto 360 2.0.
We're not greedy, 8GB will do fine for
now.
10. More customisation options
There weren't many ways to
customise your Moto 360 at launch but
since then the Moto Maker service has
been extended to work with it, giving
you various customisation options in
the form of new bands, case finishes
and watch faces.
That's a good start but we want even
more customisation from the Moto 360
2.0. We're thinking Apple Watch levels
of customisation at a minimum, with
myriad different watch bands and
colour schemes and not just different
case finishes but different materials
too.
The Pebble Time shows that a
smartwatch is capable of good
battery life.
Moto 360 really wowed us, but its time
in the sun was short-lived, as LG has
since launched the G Watch R and the
Watch Urbane.
Both sport round faces along with
superior specs and longer battery lives,
while the Sony Smartwatch 3 has
greater fitness credentials and the
Apple Watch has premium appeal.
So the second generation Moto 360, or
the Moto 360 2.0 as we'll call it from
here on out, will need more than just a
circular screen to impress.
Thankfully it seems Lenovo is well
aware of this, as we've caught a
glimpse of what might be the Moto 360
2.0 and it looks like it will be available
in two different sizes and with a
variety of different finishes and straps.
That's certainly a step in the right
direction and would help to tick off
some of what we want to see, but
there's a whole lot more that we're
hoping for from the Moto 360 2.0.
1. Better battery life
Smartwatch makers are still yet to
work out how to get a decent amount
of juice out of their wearables and the
Moto 360 is one of the worst offenders,
generally conking out in one day.
That's nowhere near good enough.
The LG G Watch R can almost double it
with around two days of life and even
that's not as good as we'd like to see,
so two days of life should be the
minimum the Moto 360 2.0 offers. Any
less than that and it could be a hard
sell, but if it can stretch beyond two
days that would be a big point in its
favour.
2. A faster processor
Not only is the Moto 360 lacking for
battery life but it's also underpowered,
as while most rivals have opted for a
Snapdragon 400 processor, the 360 for
some reason has a Texas Instruments
OMAP 3 chip, which is both less
powerful and less efficient.
That's noticeable in use too, with the
watch sometimes proving
unresponsive, so the Moto 360 2.0
really needs to do better. A
Snapdragon 400 should be the
minimum we see, but as this is a next
generation device hopefully it will go
better still, while a boost from 512MB
to 1GB of RAM would be appreciated
too.
3. No more black bars
While the Moto 360 was the first
smartwatch with a circular screen
there's always going to be an asterisk
against it, because the face is circular
yes, but there's a black cut-out at the
bottom, which means the actual
screen is a circle with a chunk cut off
the bottom.
There's a reason for this - it houses
screen tech which otherwise would
have likely needed to go in the bezels
and by having it here the watch can
have smaller bezels, but having seen
the LG Watch Urbane and the Huawei
Watch we're not entirely convinced
that's preferable, so for the Moto 360
2.0 we'd love to see a fully circular
display.
4. A sharper screen
The Moto 360 has a 1.56-inch 320 x
290 display, for a pixel density of 205
pixels per inch and while that's not
terrible it's not great either. It's also
been beaten by the likes of the LG G
Watch R, which has a screen that's
both smaller and higher resolution,
making for a noticeably sharper
display overall.
So hopefully the Moto 360 2.0 ups the
resolution. We don't like squinting at
our watch, it makes us feel old.
5. A smaller screen
This might seem an odd wish, but with
a 1.56-inch screen / a 46mm diameter
the Moto 360 is actually pretty large.
It's bigger than the vast majority of
normal watches and dwarfs smaller
wrists, so we'd quite happily see the
Moto 360 2.0 get shrunk down.
Or better yet come in two or more size
variants like the Apple Watch does, so
it can be as big or small as you want it
to be.
6. A less chunky design
The Moto 360 is also a little bit chunky.
Sure it's stylish with its circular metal
face and leather straps, but it's
11.6mm high, aka over 1cm, which is
quite fat for a watch.
A sleeker design would definitely be
appreciated, then again a bigger
battery would be appreciated even
more, so if a chunky build is what it
takes for that then so be it.
7. Micro USB charging
The Moto 360 uses Qi wireless
charging, which is always nice to see,
plus the charging dock it comes with
turns it into a stylish bedside clock.
The problem is you need to remember
to take the charger with you if you're
out for a long day, because it won't
likely survive the night and no-one
else is likely to have a compatible
charger.
That's not the case with the micro USB
chargers that most smartphones and
some smartwatches, such as the Sony
Smartwatch 3, use, as everyone has at
least seven of them. So hopefully the
Moto 360 2.0 will have both Qi charging
and a micro USB port.
8. Built-in GPS
The Moto 360 already takes a decent
stab at fitness, with its built in heart
rate monitor alongside the expected
pedometer, but hopefully the Moto 360
2.0 will go even further and include
GPS.
It's not a big ask really, the Sony
Smartwatch 3 already has it after all,
and it would mean you could use it as
a proper running watch, rather than
still being reliant on your smartphone.
9. More storage
Android Wear allows you to use your
smartwatch as a standalone music
player, but with just 4GB of built in
storage you won't be able to fit a vast
amount of music on the Moto 360,
especially as that 4GB is for the OS and
apps too.
So if at all possible we'd like to see
more storage on the Moto 360 2.0.
We're not greedy, 8GB will do fine for
now.
10. More customisation options
There weren't many ways to
customise your Moto 360 at launch but
since then the Moto Maker service has
been extended to work with it, giving
you various customisation options in
the form of new bands, case finishes
and watch faces.
That's a good start but we want even
more customisation from the Moto 360
2.0. We're thinking Apple Watch levels
of customisation at a minimum, with
myriad different watch bands and
colour schemes and not just different
case finishes but different materials
too.
The Pebble Time shows that a
smartwatch is capable of good
battery life.
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