Lovely design, premium build, ambient light sensor, wireless charging
Battery life not great, 'flat tyre' at bottom of screen, not cheap
The Moto 360 is Motorola (read: Google's) first physical foray into the smart watch world and it makes a splash by focusing on style and taking the tech more or less for granted. The result is arguably the first smart watch not entirely aimed at geeks.
Screen & chassis It's well made, with a water resistant stainless steel casing and Corning Gorilla Glass on the face. It also comes with a classy Horween leather strap (sourced from some fancy tannery in Chicago, apparently). There's a choice of dark or light metal and stainless steel straps are promised later in the year.
Basically, it looks and feels like a good quality watch, and that's really as it should be, but it's certainly on the chunky side with a depth of a little under 12mm (thicker than most phones these days) -- this certainly isn't a device for delicate wrists.
A double tap brings it to life and you can choose from a range of different watch faces ranging from Breitling-style chronographs to digital minimalism and all of them look better than rivals like the Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch (though that may change with the arrival of the Apple Watch).
The most distinctive feature is also the most familiar. With its round face surrounding a 1.56-inch display, it actually looks like a traditional watch. The screen reaches virtually to the edges and it looks pretty sharp as well, its resolution of 320x290 pixels (205ppi) proving ample for a screen this size. It's a shame about the "flat tyre" effect at the bottom of the screen, where the image doesn't quite reach the bottom of the circle. But that's where the 360's ambient light sensor resides, which boosts the brightness so it's easily readable in sunlight without putting a constant drain on the underpowered battery. That's pretty important for a smart watch generally, and in particular for this one as it turns out.
Software & processor As for the functionality, it's pretty much the same as other Android Wear watches. The button on the side switches the display on, as does a double tap to the screen, and a long press brings up the menu. You link it to your smartphone via Bluetooth and you can receive text and email alerts, as well as notifications from a growing number of apps including Facebook Messenger and Pinterest.
There's also a built-in pedometer so you can track your exercise through the day and there's a heart rate monitor too. You can also use it to track your progress and get a basic idea of how you've been performing.
It has voice control, as you'd expect, so you can say 'OK Google' even when it's in repose and then either run a Google search, send a text, set a reminder, check the weather or ask for directions. For directions it will present you with a map or give you the option to display it on your phone.
As ever with smartwatches though, the big problem is battery life, and the Moto 360 is actually worse than most. It managed to make it through each day that we used it, but not by much, and if you opt for the ambient setting that keeps the screen visible but dim even when not in use, and you use it a lot, you may not even make it that far.
Motorola has found a pretty good workaround with its wireless charging dock designed to sit by your bedside which shows off the display at right angles so you can use it as an alarm clock. It's a neat system, but since it's designed to be left at home, and there's no plug on the watch for a quick charge-up on the move, the poor battery life is still very much an issue.
Conclusion The Moto 360 is the best-looking smart watch so far but of course that's very much a subjective opinion. Not everyone will care for its chunky dimensions or even its round face -- and the price certainly puts it beyond the 'try it and see' range. It performs its Android Wear functions well though, and is only really let down by its poor battery life.
Software: Works with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or higher
Processor: TI OMAP 3
Memory: 4GB + 512MB RAM
Display: 1.5in LCD 320x290 pixels
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0
Sensors: Pedometer, optical heart rate monitor
Water resistance: IP67
Battery: 320mAh
Size: 46x11.5mm
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
