Motorola's new Moto 360 comes in three variants: Two for men, one for women
The new Moto 360 looks a lot like the first one, but a few new details stand out. First, where the band on the original awkwardly attached directly to the watch body, the new model has lugs. This immediately makes it appear more like a traditional watch. You’ll also notice the button has been shifted up from the 3 o’clock to the 2 o’clock position—a welcome feature we’re seeing on other new Android Wear watches.
Perhaps most surprising is that Motorola is offering three models, each with different color and band options. The large men’s size is 46mm, the same as the original Moto 360. There’s also a small men’s size at 42mm, and a women’s model that is also 42mm but features smaller, more streamlined lugs. You’ll be able to use the online Moto Maker to customize the look of your watch from among the multiple sizes, finishes, bezels, and bands. Prices will range from $299 to $429, depending on the options chosen.
Internally, the specs have been altered a bit. Gone is the OMAP processor in favor of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, though storage and RAM remain the same at 4GB and 512MB, respectively. The resolution has been increased to 360-by-330 on the large model and 360-by-325 on the smaller models. That’s a nice bump up from the 320-by-290 display of the original.
The battery in the large model is 400 mAh—fairly standard for new Android Wear watches of this size—which Motorola claims will last for a full day with Ambient Mode on, or two days with it off. The 42mm models have a 300mAh battery, which won’t last quite as long.
And yes, the display still has that little cutout on the bottom. This is required for Motorola to hide the display electronics while pushing the display right up to the very edge of the watch. With the original Moto 360, I found it far less annoying that I would have expected, but it’s still a shame that Motorola hasn’t found another solution.
Along with the new Moto 360, Motorola announced the Moto 360 Sport. This variant features a special “AnyLight hybrid display” that promises to offer great viewability in bright sunlight. It switches from front-lit reflective mode for outdoor viewing to traditional back-lit indoors. It doesn’t have the same lugs as the other models, but rather a sealed plastic sports band. It also features GPS to track your runs.
Motorola hasn’t given a release date or pricing for the Moto 360 Sport yet, but promises more details are coming soon.
A few weeks ago, when Motorola announced the new Moto X Style, Moto X Play, and Moto G, we let you know that the Play won’t come to the U.S. at all, and when the Style comes here it’ll be called the Pure Edition. Well, the Pure Edition begins preorders on Wednesday, September 2, with the phones shipping later in the month. Prices start at $399, and the phone should support all major U.S. carriers.
The Pure Edition is the third generation of Moto X, and features a huge 5.7-inch Quad HD display, Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 3000 mAh battery. Motorola claims its new 21MP camera is vastly improved over last year’s, and it has made the fast charging even faster.