![]() While the Moto 360 has been extremely popular, it may not appeal to those who’d rather take a smartwatch outdoors, to the gym, or are into fitness. The Motorola 360 Sport is the companies first smartwach aimed at fitness, rather than offering a high-end customizable watch with leather bands and a beautiful aluminum frame. The sports and fitness-focused smartwatch is set to be available in the US on January 7th, and below is our first hands-on and unboxing for those interested. This should help fend off scrapes and dings pretty well and I haven’t suffered any scratches so far with my review model.Earlier this year Google announced the new Moto 360 2nd Gen smartwatch for 2015, and at the same time confirmed a “Sport” model would be coming soon. To add to the durable nature, the Sport’s screen is covered in Gorilla Glass 3. This saves battery, but means you’re not walking around with a blank piece of metal stuck to your wrist. Instead of staying full colour though, it switches to black and white when it knows you’re not looking at it. ![]() Just like every Android Wear watch released since the LG Watch Urbane, the Moto 360 has an always on display. Again, it’s slightly more forgivable on a fitness watch as you want to make sure all the sensors for the display work properly. Oh, and you know that annoying blacked out ‘flat-tyre’ portion of the display that has plagued each Moto 360 so far? Yeh, it’s still here. Yes, the actual display does seem a bit more recessed under the glass covering but this is a watch meant for activity and I’m willing to give up a pretty display for one that’s functional. While pretty much every other smartwatch, aside from maybe the Pebble Time, proves difficult to read in sunny conditions, the Moto 360 Sport doesn’t get bothered by strong reflections at all. Instead of being your typical smartwatch screen, Motorola’s new AnyLight display automatically adapts to the lighting conditions, making it nice and dim when you’re inside and bright and readable when it’s time for the morning run. In terms of pure tech, the coolest addition to the Moto 360 Sport is the new 1.37-inch LCD hybrid display. The rubber casing also makes it thicker than your typical Android Wear watch, but not to the point it sticks out too much. A metallic grey bezel runs around the display, adding a bit of contrast to the all-black look and the sleep/wake button is slightly indented to make it easier to find without looking but that aside, it’s forgettable. Strap aside, there isn’t much to the Moto 360 Sport. All of them are apparently covered in a special UV coating that’s supposed to fend off sweat, but it didn’t seem to help. There are a few colour options to choose from if black isn’t your thing: including orange and white. It’s a pain to get off too and happens so frequently I have given up trying to keep it clean. Put the Moto 360 on a table, in your pocket and all sorts of bits of dust and fluff will somehow attach itself. It’s also a complete and utter nightmare when it comes to picking up dust and grime. It’s nowhere near as nice as the fluoroelastomer used to make Apple’s Sport straps, which is much softer and sturdier. ![]() It feels on the cheap side, sticks annoyingly to my wrist when I’m running and pulls painfully when I take it off. It’s annoying then that Motorola seems to have skimped on the silicone used. That’s a shame, but it’s not as important for a watch designed mainly for running. This silicone also makes up the straps and, unlike the Moto 360 2, these can’t be removed or changed. You’ve still got that once standout, now fairly common circular display, but it’s covered in silicone here. There’s a lot of the Moto 360 DNA carried over to the Sport, though predictably the switch to make something more rugged and sweat-proof has altered the overall feel. But the Moto 360 2 is still a looker and in my opinion and is a lot nicer to wear over extended periods of time than the Apple Watch. The Huawei Watch pipped the Motorola Moto 360 2 to the title of best looking smartwatch last year. In theory it sounds like the perfect mix between smartwatch and running watch, but a slightly mixed end product means it struggles to be either. The metal exterior has been replaced, there’s now GPS inside for better tracking and the screen should perform better in varying light conditions. It takes the standard Moto 360, but turns things up a notch. Announced alongside the Moto 360 2 late last year, the Moto 360 Sport is – as the name suggests – a smartwatch meant to be worn with your tracksuit rather than your three-piece suit.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |