Naina.co Online Brand Building, Photography and Art by Naina Redhu Motorola 360 2nd Generation Smart Watch #Moto360

After having experienced the Motorola Moto360 2nd generation smart watch for almost a month, I am finally ready to share my experience.

This is the first smart watch I’ve used, I was very excited when Motorola sent me one and couldn’t wait to wear it. The last time I wore a wrist watch was when a family member gifted me an analogue wrist watch they’d purchased for me from Harrods, London. About half a decade ago. Prior to that, I have worn many version of HMT and Casio wrist watched all throughout college and some of my first jobs. I stopped feeling the utilitarian need for a wrist watch to tell me time once I was thoroughly invested in smart phones. The only reason I’d consider wearing a watch would be if I was wearing it as an ornament, as jewellery, as a decorative item.

I don’t believe smart watches are there yet in terms of being ornamental pieces I would wear at an occasion – except the Apple + Hermes collaboration – which also isn’t something I’d consider beautiful. If I had to invest in an Hermes timepiece, I’d purchase one of their classic leather beauties.

This metal clasp and strap piece by Motorola is one of the better ones in terms of how it feels on my wrist. It is not too heavy and balances the lightweight boxy feel of the dial. This version is the 42mm version for women, even though conventionally such a strap is more seen on men. It fit my aesthetics perfectly because of the HMT / Casio nostalgia. I love the metal except when I haven’t waxed my arm and the metal bits squish together and pull out arm hair.

The only other wearable piece of technology that I’ve used is the FitBit Charge HR that I have been wearing for about a year now. It was purchased for a very specific reason of checking my heart rate and keeping track of my daily walking distance. Compared to the FitBit, the Moto360 does a bunch of additional stuff, of course. I synced it to my Android smart phone and installed a couple of apps ( MotoBody ), which help me track my steps too. I have been wearing the FitBit and the Moto360 together on the same wrist ( to figure out step counting difference and also because the FitBit pushes the Moto360 closer to my palm on the wrist and reduced the yanking of arm hair ). The Moto360 has recorded my steps to be about 200-300 less than what my FitBit shows me – I don’t consider that to be a big deal. I can do 300 steps while I spend two minutes talking on the phone. I’m not one of those people who can’t live without their pedometer and there have been many times I’ve completely forgotten to wear it for a whole day – so this differential means nothing – I’m only putting it here because I’ve observed it.

Compared to the design of the FitBit, which I consider to be a boring black rubber band, the Moto360 has more than a few customizable design choices that you can shop from. ( The FitBit also has colour options and at least one collaboration with a fashion designer : Tory Burch, where a lovely filigreed metal cover is added to the centre of the FitBit – I haven’t seen one in person, so am unable to comment on how it feels. ) Apart from the metal / leather and different coloured bevel options, since this is a digital toy, you can also choose from a variety of watch faces – I’m using the very pretty Fiore.

The best thing about this smart watch is the ability for me to see who’s calling me on my mobile, right on my wrist. Without having to fish my phone out of my pocket or handbag or car dashboard, I can see who is calling me, I can dismiss the call or I can pick it up as well. Although if I pick it up, I need to have the phone to talk into – I can’t talk into the smart watch – not as far as I have explored. There is a WHOLE world of apps to explore when it comes to smart watches and I reckon’ we’re only getting started. It’s a fascinating space and I expect to see some really crazy and useful growth in the coming 2-3 years.

I generally put my phone on Silent Mode when I’m meeting friends / I’m in a meeting, which ensures that my smart watch doesn’t buzz on my wrist. As long as the smart watch is connected to my smart phone via Bluetooth, I can see snippets of my Whatsapp messages, SMS / Text messages, and even email. There’s an app for everything. On some level, the smart watch has calmed me down a bit – when I’m cooking in the kitchen for example, with loud music playing in the background and I get a call on my phone, I immediately know who’s calling and decide if I want to take the call – without having to sprint from the kitchen to first the room where the speakers are plugged in, then to the room where the phone is charging. With just a swipe of a finger, I can turn down the call and I don’t have to worry about leaving something on the stove to burn. Hood knows how many times I’ve done that!

The watch needs charging once in two days of full use and there’s a magnetic / wireless charger that you place the back of the watch on and it takes about 3 hours to charge completely. Maybe sooner too – I haven’t kept track using a stopwatch.

The first few days I had the watch I spent yelling “Ok Google!” into it. It’s so much fun! It could be a fantastic gift for a child – especially one who has too many questions. I don’t have kids so don’t take my word for it. I love new technology and love experiencing all the new stuff that is continually being developed and tested. I give a huge-ass thumbs up to Motorola for this Moto360 2nd Generation smart watch.