A detailed, complete, and fair (and not overly long) comparison between the Apple Watch and the Moto 360. While it’s unlikely you’re deciding between the two – unless you have both a recent iPhone and an Android phone – it may still be useful if you’re up for a new phone and want to take the Wear/Apple Watch accessory into account for your purchase.
Personally, I wouldn’t buy either of these two devices at this very moment. It’s too early days, and they’re not exactly cheap, either – especially taking into account that a new Moto 360 is probably around the corner already, and you’ll see a new Apple Watch within around 12 months, too.
After having tried a friends apple watch (sport) for a few hours, I think Apple nailed it. You actually have to try it to see why I guess.
I’m probably not going to get one until the next iteration, unless software updates improves battery life. I absolutely want stuff like sleep tracking and health monitoring and analysis, which requires far better battery life so I can wear it at most nights.
But the build quality is just stunning – so much better than images indicated, and everything local is snappy (didn’t try off-loaded apps).
It took me about 20 minutes to “get” the various input control mechanism, but after that it’s a breeze really.
I can imagine this selling in spades, because it’s a great piece of technology.
You can get sleep tracking and health monitoring for sub 100$ with Pebble or Fitbit (and also a personal trainer plan with it), but sure it’s not Apple.
You should get to see what other manufacturers offer in the same price as Apple before taking the plunge.
Other than the fact that it is round, I don’t get why so many people claim that the Moto360 is so stunning looking. It’s basically a hockey puck with a awkward looking button that you could have bought from Radio Shack in the 70s. The Apple Watch has a much better build quality, but I’m also not sold on the asthetic appeal.
The new LG urbane looks better… But I think fundamentally the practical downsides of a round screen are larger than the marginal increase in beauty.
It seems that everyone is always commenting on the way these things look. I guess all the marketing around “fashion” is working.
But the main thing that will make these devices become interesting (or not) is the software. So far the software has been really basic and not much more than “notifications” which seems okay until you realize that they are devices that are more expensive than most midlevel phones that can do so much more.
Let’s see where the software is going and if they can make the devices last much longer and work more independently
The trouble is that strapping a midlevel phone to your wrist is a bit cumbersome.
The trouble is that doing things on a 1.5″ screen is troublesome AND expensive AND … there are no apps for that (yet)
3500 apps a couple days after launch isn’t bad
I think he meant that none of the apps so far (afaik) are Apple Watch native. They’re simply extensions of iPhone apps/services. Same for (again, afaik) Android Wear and Android.
Edited 2015-04-29 18:02 UTC