The range of the Moto 360 now extends to two. We have the original and handsome looking Moto 360. And then we have this, the Moto 360 Sport. You've guessed it: It's the rough and tumble sibling to the Moto 360. But what do you really get with the Sport model? Well, let's dive in.
The Moto 360 Sport only comes in one size, a 45mm diameter that's between the larger 46mm and the 42mm of the 360. It features almost all the same hardware, for example the same Snapdragon 400 processor, the same Adreno 305 GPU and the same 4GB of internal storage and 512MB of RAM. However, the displays of the normal 360 and the Sport do differ. On the Sport, we have an Any Light hybrid display. Think of two displays, one for indoors where it's relatively dim and one for outdoors where the sun is shining. What happens is that the display sort of turns into a black and white panel outside and goes back to a color panel inside. Other hardware bits that are not found on the normal 360 that are on the Moto 360 Sport include a barometer and a built-in GPS chip. The rest of the hardware, like the heart rate monitor, are found on both.
And the last big difference is obviously in the band. It's wrapped in a silicon band that is non-removable. And while it's soft and plush, the fact that you can't swap it out for another color is sort of a big misstep. So basically, the color you buy is the color you have to stick with. So what if the band gets ruined or torn? You have to buy an entirely new watch? That's not the biggest issue in my opinion.
The experience is basically the same as the normal Moto 360-- same Android Wear, same performance, same everything. Other than the display, which you can't even tell it's different indoors, is exactly the same. And for the most part, most of you will not need things like the barometer and built-in GPS because you'll have your phone on you almost all times. And the lack of differences between the normal Moto 360 and the Sport raises the question of why this product exists. I would understand if it was less expensive but both start at the same $300. They both run the same software experience, almost the same hardware, and they look very similar. But if it were up to me, I would just buy the normal 360 and customize it on Moto Maker.
Now I know there isn't a Sport band available for the normal 360 and this is where I would recommend to Motorola to make one. So instead of having two product lines, why not just have one product line with more band options. It definitely makes a whole lot more sense to me. However, overall, if you dig the look of the Moto 360 Sport, then why not? Though for me, I'm afraid not.