Last time we checked in on which Android Wear watch you were looking at , the Moto 360 with it’s round face design and traditional timepiece-like looks easily ran away with the votes. 65% of you said you were waiting for Motorola’s watch to be released before pulling the trigger on Android Wear, telling us it was either the circular design or the more traditional style you wanted.
After today’s announcement of the LG G Watch R, we thought we’d re-visit the poll and see whether your feelings towards the Moto 360 are changing — from our chats amongst the team, it’s fair to say ours are starting to.
The Moto 360 is expected to be announced on the 4th of September, with a release to the public – at least in the US – following soon after. It may not make it to our shores until Christmas though, which would tie-in with the launch of the G Watch R, sometime in Q4 this year.
What’s interesting to us is the screen technology in both watches. The Moto 360 famously has the slight wedge at the bottom of the screen, making it actually not-quite-360-degrees (some have nicknamed it the “Moto 320”). Motorola says that’s where the electronics for the screen are housed, which seems fair enough – if a little disappointing. The G Watch R however has no such wedge, making its screen the full “real deal” 360 degree round screen even if the bezel around the watch face is slightly more pronounced. If you’re going to buy a smartwatch with a round screen, you probably want the full circle. Advantage LG?
Another differentiating factor is that the Moto 360 will have an ambient light sensor, making for pleasant viewing in outside areas where the LCD can be harder to read without the brightness pushed to full. The lack of ambient light sensor and automatic screen brightness adjustment has been a complaint levelled against the G Watch and Gear Live, and it’s possible LG will include the sensor in its second pass at Android Wear … but it hasn’t been mentioned so far.
How about a spec comparison? This is pretty incomplete because Motorola hasn’t actually detailed the Moto 360 just yet, so it’s based mostly on what was pulled from the Best Buy website leak.
| Motorola Moto 360 | LG G Watch R |
|---|---|
| 1.5″ backlit LCD touch screen (320×290) | 1.3″ P-OLED Display (320 x 320) |
| Texas Instruments Processor | 1.2GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon 400 |
| Unknown | 512MB RAM |
| Unknown | 4GB eMMC storage |
| Optical Heart Rate Monitor, Pedometer | 9-Axis (Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass), Barometer, PPG(Heart Rate Monitor) |
| Waterproof up to 3.3ft for up to 30 minutes | IP67 Water and Dust Resistant |
| Built-in lithium-ion battery pack | 410mAh Battery |
| Android Wear – compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above | |
| Black and Silver | Black |
Over to you, readers – which round smartwatch will be sitting on your wrist as we head into the silly season? Will you buy the G Watch R or the Moto 360 … or will you perhaps stick with the G Watch or Gear Live? Tell us more in the comments!
[polldaddy poll=8271967]
