• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
Tech

Motorola’s new Moto 360 a much-needed improvement

By
Jason Cipriani
Jason Cipriani
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jason Cipriani
Jason Cipriani
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 30, 2015, 12:50 PM ET
Courtesy Motorola
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Motorola’s first-generation Moto 360 was one of the first Android Wear-powered smartwatches to hit the market in 2014. The 360 garnered attention for its circular design, chamfered edges, and high-quality leather bands, but was far from perfect. The super-sized watch suffered from poor battery life, and was a little too big for some critics.

With the second-generation Moto 360, Motorola improved the device’s design, increased battery life, and now offers three different sizes (two for men, one for women).

For the past week, I’ve been wearing a 46 mm Moto 360, customized with a silver housing, “micro knurl” bezel, and a leather watch band. In total, this configuration cost $369, which is $70 more the firm’s 42 mm model.

You can build a customized Moto 360 using Motorola’s Moto Maker website. The site lets you mix and match colors and finishes, along with change watch bands and set the default watchface. As you make changes, a live preview of your creation is shown. If you want a black housing with a gold bezel and a silver watch band, Moto Maker can make that possible.

Some changes, such as color, are included in the base price, whereas adding a metal band or changing the bezel will add to the overall cost. The second-generation Moto 360 starts at $299, with a fully customized gold version maxing out at $450.

The end result is a watch hand selected by consumers; a stark contrast to the one-size-fits-all purchasing options we’ve grown accustomed to over the years.

The new Moto 360 is far more responsive than last year’s model, with apps opening quicker and voice commands registering faster (when paired with an Android device). Battery life has also improved, increasing from a single day (if you were lucky) to nearly one-and-a-half days on a single charge. With light usage I was able to stretch battery life to two full days.

Another notable improvement is the strength of the device’s vibration alert. I would frequently miss alerts on the original Moto 360 due to not feeling the vibration. With the new model, however, the alert is more prominent and harder to miss.

During my time with the device, I used the Moto 360 with the Moto X Pure Edition for half the week, and an iPhone 6 for the other half. Support for the iPhone was recently added to the Android Wear platform.

When connected to my iPhone, alerts would come through without issue, but I found the inability to take action on an alert frustrating. For example, you can reply to a text message with your voice or archive an email without touching your phone.

Furthermore, the watch’s “OK Google” voice command failed to work on multiple occasions, often timing out or prompting me to make sure my watch was connected to my iPhone, which it always was. Another downside is the lack of available Android Wear apps. You’re essentially limited to using only the apps Google includes in Android Wear out of the box.

Despite having the ability to use an Android Wear watch with an iPhone, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Overall, the second-generation Moto 360 is a respectable upgrade over last year’s model. I would have no issue recommending it to an Android user in the market for a smartwatch. It’s faster, looks fantastic, and has enough battery-life to get through the day.

Unlike last year, however, Motorola now faces competition from other Android Wear partners. Huawei offers an Android Wear smartwatch that looks just as good—if not better than—the Moto 360, and the LG Urbane is just as svelte. Heck, the new Pebble Time Round smartwatch is $50 cheaper and works just fine when paired with an Android device.

In a sense, this year’s competition is giving Motorola exactly what it wanted: more choices for customers.

Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

For more on Motorola, check out the following Fortune video:

About the Author
By Jason Cipriani
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

AI is overwhelming our senses—Edward Enninful has an answer for that 
EuropeLetter from London
AI is overwhelming our senses—Edward Enninful has an answer for that 
By Kamal AhmedJune 26, 2026
2 hours ago
kid
SuccessSocial Media
Kids want to be influencers when they grow up, because they ‘gets lots of money’ and ‘they want to be famous’
By Matthew Simoneau and The ConversationJune 26, 2026
2 hours ago
cuban
AIJobs
Everyone agrees that you hate AI, but only Mark Cuban sees why Silicon Valley is powerless to fix it
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
3 hours ago
Meet Micron, the under-the-radar chipmaker that just reported a 346% sales surge and helped stop a global AI selloff
AITech
Meet Micron, the under-the-radar chipmaker that just reported a 346% sales surge and helped stop a global AI selloff
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 26, 2026
3 hours ago
gas
LawAntitrust
Gas station owners have found a use case for AI, lawsuit says: colluding to fix prices
By R.J. Rico and The Associated PressJune 25, 2026
12 hours ago
g
AIunemployment
One of the Democratic Party’s brightest stars is co-founding a group to help with the coming AI jobs earthquake
By Josh Boak and The Associated PressJune 25, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
1 day ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
2 days ago
Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
Success
Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 25, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 25, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 25, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 25, 2026
21 hours ago
Current price of silver as of Thursday, June 25, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Thursday, June 25, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 25, 2026
21 hours ago
Trump turns on Big Oil donors who spent nearly $100 million to get him elected—now he wants the DOJ to investigate them for price gouging
Economy
Trump turns on Big Oil donors who spent nearly $100 million to get him elected—now he wants the DOJ to investigate them for price gouging
By Tristan BoveJune 25, 2026
14 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.