Despite being one of the original Android Wear devices, the Moto 360 has become one of the most popular smartwatches running Google’s OS thanks to its combination of a round face and attractive design. Now, more than one year after the debut of the Moto 360, Motorola has introduced its successor.
At first glance, the new Moto 360 may look similar to the original model, but it’s actually got an updated design. The extended lugs offer a better fit than those on the original 360, and the face of the new 360’s case includes an edge-to-edge display and a bezel that’s around 3mm thick.
Speaking of screen, Motorola’s new Moto 360 comes in two different screen sizes. There’s a men’s watch with a 1.56-inch screen and a smaller watch for men and women with a 1.37-inch screen, with the former offering a screen resolution of 360x325 and the latter coming in at 360x330, both of which are improved from the original 360’s 1.5-inch 320x290 screen. The cases of the watches measure 46mm and 42mm. The other difference between the two sizes are their batteries: The 46mm model has a 400mAh battery, while the 42mm version has a 300mAh juice pack.
In addition to different sizes, Motorola plans to offer the new Moto 360 in different colors. The men’s watches will be available in silver, black, and gold cases, bezels, and bands, as well as black and cognac leather bands. Those watches will also come with chamfer or micro knurl bezel treatments. Meanwhile, women will have silver, gold, or rose gold cases, bezels, and bands, as well as blush and grey leather bands and a blush double wrap band. The two bezel treatments available to women are peak and micro etch.
With all of those choices, you might think that the new Moto 360 will be available with Moto Maker, and you’d be right. You can use Motorola’s Moto Maker tool to build a watch that fits your personality and have it shipped to you “in just a few days.”
The new Moto 360 also features quick release bands that allow you to swap bands in just a few seconds.
In terms of raw specs, the new Moto 360 is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor and 512MB of RAM, and it also includes 4GB of storage, an optical heart rate monitor, and a bevy of other sensors like an accelerometer and an ambient light sensor. The Moto 360’s case is IP67 dust and water resistant, but Motorola notes that it’s not totally waterproof.
The new Moto 360 will be available for pre-order today in the US, with pricing ranging from $299.99 to $429.99. You can snag one from Motorola.com, BestBuy.com, and Google Play. The wearable will hit Nordstrom, Best Buy, and Verizon stores in November.
Motorola’s new Moto 360 looks like a solid improvement over the original model. Its Snapdragon 400 processor is a good replacement for the aging TI OMAP chip in the original version, and the fact that the Moto 360 is now available in multiple sizes means that folks that found the original model too large now have a smaller option to try. With all of the tweaks, the new Moto 360 definitely has a shot at repeating the success of its predecessor
