Google's
Android Wear software is designed to be a broad platform for wearables, but the watch that's stealing the show right now is the Moto 360.
That's because Motorola's ambitious smartwatch with an even more ambitious summer release date features a unique circular watch face, not a square-shaped display like every other smartwatch out there.
It's a bold design choice that makes the all-metal Moto 360 look more sophisticated and natural next to the boxy
Pebble Steel and
Samsung Gear 2.
Paired with customizable leather and metal straps that fit variety-seeking 21 century wrists, the Moto 360 is shaping up to be Google's answer to the inevitable Apple
iWatch.
Moto 360 watch face and battery life
The computerized Moto 360 watch screen is rumored to be a custom-made
OLED display, which would make sense given its circular shape and need to conserve battery life.
OLEDs consume as much as 40% less power when displaying black images vs LCDs because they can turn off individual pixels. The opposite is true for battery-draining white backgrounds.
This could be why almost all Moto 360 renders exhibit a black analog watch face when Android Wear menus are inactive. The timepiece could easily throw up a black analog dial "screensaver."
Such a power-saving move would make the Moto 360 look and act even more like a traditional watch and give it an always-on screen, a feature confirmed for the rival
LG G Watch this week.
Motorola perfected a similar active display on its
Moto X smartphone, which always includes the time and notifications on the lock screen, and it could do the same here. Battery life is even more important on a wearable; no one wants to charge a watch before the day is out.
Moto 360 specs
Motorola has been upfront about its Android Wear smartwatch plans, but it's still shy about revealing the official Moto 360 specs. We know more about the outside of this device.
For example, Motorola has confirmed that the Moto 360 can be worn on the left hand or the right hand thanks to its clever orientation-free design.
Yes, there's a classic watch knob on one side of the face and not the other, but remember, this is a digital watch face. The UI can be flipped around so that the knob always points to your elbow.
Whether the Moto 360 is on your right or left wrist, it's equally susceptible to dings and scratches. Scuffing a wrist-worn wearable is just as common as dropping a smartphone.
Moto 360's beautiful watch face stands a better chance of staying in pristine condition if it's protected by sapphire glass vs Gorilla Glass.
Sapphire glass has a hardness level that is said to be
four times greater than the Gorilla Glass that protects many of today's smartphones.
It's also the same glass material that is rumored to protect the
iPhone 6 and iWatch. The one downside is that it could put the Moto 360 price at a premium.
Moto 360 battery charging
You won't find charging contacts or a micro USB port on the Moto 360 because this
Google watch has a "secret" charging method. It's the device's "
secret sauce," teased Motorola earlier this year.
Inspecting the handful of Moto 360 photos that exist reveals that the rear of the watch features a strange purple backing instead. That suggests some sort of wireless charging method.
All the signs are here that the Moto 360 will ditch wires in favor of a wireless charger that could easily sit on a nightstand before you go to bed.
Compatibility
Motorola has confirmed that that unlike the
Samsung Gear 2,
Geo 2 Neo and
Gear Fit, its smartwatch will work with more than just its own hardware. It won't be limited to the Moto X and
Moto G.
In fact, the Moto 360 is compatible with all Android 4.3 and
Android 4.4 phones and tablets that take advantage of battery-sipping Bluetooth 4.0 technology.
That seems to rule out the possibility that Apple devices like the
iPhone 5S and the
iPad Air will be able to tether to the Moto 360. For now, it's an Android-only device.
Water makes for a completely different compatibility test. The Moto 360 isn't waterproof, but it is water resistant, according to Motorola.
That should make wearing the new smartwatch a carefree experience, whether you're in the rain or on the wrong end of a splash while bathing a child.
Moto 360 release date and price
The Moto 360 will be one of the first Android Wear watches along with the LG G Watch this summer in the US, but the exact release date and its global plans remain a mystery.
Its launch could be timed with the Google IO conference that's happening on June 25 and 26 in San Francisco, or we could hear new details about the device's battery life and price.
Motorola hasn't thrown around hints about the Moto 360 price either, but that hasn't stopped everyone from coming up with estimates based on the watch's rumored components.
The Pebble Steel costs $229 (about £136, AUS$244) for the brushed stainless steel version of the smartwatch with a leather band. The metal band edition is $249 (about £148, AU$266).
Moto 360's wireless charging and circular screen and glass components could push the device north of that price, closer to $299 (about £178, AU$319).
Even if the Moto 360 costs more than a smartphone on-contract, early adopters like us are likely to pay for the convenience of offloading notifications from the phone to the wrist.
Every time we dig our phone out of our pockets or rush to our device charging in another room and see a friends' SMS that just says something irrelevant "Cool" or "K," our love of technology dies a little inside.
Android Wear promises to do much more than yet, but solving that one pet peeve with easy-to-dismiss notifications on the wrist could make the sleek-looking Moto 360 the must-have wearable of 2014.
