It will come as no surprise to anyone, given the plethora of leaks over the last few weeks, but Motorola has today made the new and improved Moto 360 officially a thing, replacing the older model.
That new model doesn’t look a great deal different from its predecessor on the face of things, but the most obvious change is the arrival of universal lugs that allow the use of standard bands, meaning just about any watch band can be used with the new Moto 360. Motorola also debuted some new bands of its own, including metallic link bracelets and leather options, and a new Moto Maker design studio that will allow you to customize your watch before you order it.
The watch itself now comes in four different flavors, including an all-new Sport model that is encased in rubber with, you guessed it, a built-in rubber band that cannot be replaced. This new Moto 360 Sport will also pack GPS capabilities, new ‘AnyLight’ display technology for improved visibility in sunlight as well as a special ‘Sport Mode’ button, though at this point, it’s unclear what that will actually do.
The rest of the lineup is made up of a classic model that’s 46mm large, same as first-gen, and a smaller 42mm option. That smaller model also comes in a package that uses smaller bands and has a variant aimed at women as well. Prices range from $300 to $439, though, interestingly, Motorola hasn’t yet revealed what the new Sport model will cost. Given the cheaper materials, you would expect a cheaper product, but you never do know, do you?
Fans of the original Moto 360 will notice that the new watch also features the now-familiar flat-tire problem, with the bottom of that circular screen still flat in order to hide some internals that, according to Motorola, would make the watch bezels larger otherwise. It’s a tradeoff we’re not sure we are fully behind, but we’ll defer to Motorola here.
Here are the full official specifications of the new Moto 360:
As can be seen in the specs above, the biggest disappointment is that the new Moto 360 still uses LCD display like the original model from last year, not OLED display. The good thing though is that unlike last year’s model, this year’s model is IP67 water resistant which means you can wear it in shower.
Also, just like all other Android Wear watches, the new Moto 360 too is officially supported to work with both iPhone and Android devices.
If you want to pick up one of Motorola’s new Moto 360 watches, then you should be able to within the next few weeks, pre-orders for the regular models are already live on Google Play. Motorola isn’t telling us when the Sport model will be available, so if that’s the one you’re after, you may be in for a little wait.
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