- Two of the driving forces in my life
are tech and nostalgia.
Motorola is gunning for both
with the new Moto Razor smartphone.
Now a company using Motorola's name is aiming
to do the same for smart watches.
This is the new Moto 360.
(upbeat music)
When the first Moto 360 was announced back in 2014
it was one of the launch smartwatches
for Google's new platform, Android wear,
and it was the only one you could get in the round.
As a result,
it was the best selling of that initial class
of what would eventually be called Wear OS watches,
despite some compromises like an ancient Texas instruments
chipset and that so-called flat tire on the bottom
of the screen, and despite its relative success,
the Moto 360 would only see two generations before Motorola
canceled the line, citing a lack of broad appeal.
Flash forward to late 2019, British Columbia based eBuyNow
announces that it's resurrecting the Moto 360 brand
for a new smartwatch.
Now we've been given plenty of reason to be dubious about
licensing deals like this, but when Hasselblad lent its name
to the old Motomod accessory for Moto Z phones,
the results were not that great and the new Palm phone
has nothing to do with the trailblazing company
of the same name.
So I was skeptical to say the least.
But then I got a sample of my own and you know what?
This thing hits a lot of the right notes.
For one, it comes with a choice of bands,
black rubber for the workouts,
brown leather for the cocktails afterward.
Not many companies give you that option right in the box
and with something as fashion centric as a watch,
more companies should.
Also the watch itself is a little chunky in the best way.
Its stainless steel casing is substantial but not ponderous,
stocky but not porky.
Compared to the previous generation,
the pushers are almost doubled in diameter,
doubled in number and the top one pulls double duty
as a rotating side button, which I love.
The Amoled watch faces, bright, beautiful
and completely round,
lacking the flat tire of the previous two,
an improvement that more than makes up
for the added bezel width it takes on in exchange.
And while it lacks the custom power saving modes
of the competition from Fossil Group,
its battery is beefy enough
to give it two full days of endurance,
even with always on display enabled.
That's about the best you can expect
from Wear OS in my experience.
When you need a recharge, there's no pedestal
in the box as there once was, sad,
but the doc that is included takes it from dead
to full in about an hour.
Everything else from the three atmosphere water resistance
to the NFC Google Pay is as you'd expect,
and really that's the problem.
When the first Moto 360 came out,
it was the only round smartwatch on a platform
still surfing the buzzy wave
of promise and potential.
In 2020 almost every smartwatch has a round screen
and the Wear OS platform is better known
for all the things it has to fix
and for anything it really does well.
I went into in some detail in my review of the latest
watches from Fossil, which I'll link here,
but suffice it to say that the inconsistent crown scrolling
and the random disconnects are only part of the story.
The Moto 360 is a beautiful timepiece that does a great job
of living up to the Motorola legacy
its brand name invokes.
Personally, I quite like it,
but it also costs $349.
You can buy a Fossil Carlyle
or Garrett HR or a Skagen Falster 3 for 295
and those watches include a speaker so you can make
and take phone calls.
Ultimately, I think all of these prices are too high
for watches running a platform as inconsistent
as Wear OS, and keep in mind you can pay even less
for the very popular Galaxy Watch Active 2 from Samsung.
Again, eBuyNow deserves a lot of credit for a solid
execution overall and the bonus watch band in the box.
But honestly, the Moto 360 is only worth considering
if you know you want a Wear OS watch.
And even then, I'd wait for the price to drop below 300
before you pull the trigger.
It's a big season for smartwatches
and next up in the review desk is the Skagen Falster 3,
who's unboxing experience is nowhere near as fun,
but maybe the looks and extra features will make up for it.
Follow me on Instagram for an early look
and subscribe to the Mr. Mobile on YouTube
so you don't miss the full review.
This video was made possible by a Moto 360 review sample
provided by eBuyNow.
As always, I don't take money
for reviews and the company did not receive a copy
of this video in advance.
They're seeing it for the first time right alongside you.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile my friends.