On the fence about the Moto 360? Let us help you make up your mind with our review of Motorola’s flagship fitness device.
The Motorola Moto 360 Sport smartwatch was originally released in 2015 with some hoping for a version that would improve upon the MotoActv from 2011 that captured a small base of fans who were oddly crazy about it.
The once high-priced Moto 360 Sport smartwatch, now available for a very affordable price, is not a copy of the MotoActv. It is a much sportier, GPS-equipped type of smartwatch. It has a round face, wireless charging abilities, a touchscreen display and notifications that run all day.
The unfortunate view now is that the Moto 360 Sport fell short of being a genuine sports watch. It can only be used to track your running as far as sports go, and no more (new Garmin watches for example track multiple sports-based activities).
Table of Contents
Breaking it down
Basically, the Moto 360 Sport is fitness-friendly as opposed to the original Moto 360. The Sport keeps the internals, has different designing, and displays and a few additional software features.
How does it fit in? Can it be both a fitness tracker and smartwatch, or could there have been some other improvement? We will find out as we take a look at our review.
The first iteration of Android Wear devices, such as the Moto 360, were equipped with their own fitness tracking systems and this was pushed as the main selling point. The thing is, it didn’t make sense, because most people purchasing this watch did so because it had a nice leather band and metal chassis. Therefore, you probably didn’t see a whole lot of owners running around with $300 smartwatches.
This is where the Moto 360 Sport gains traction. You can easily tell that the smartwatch is not just for pairing with suit jackets or shirts and ties. The Sport fits in the gap between fitness trackers and smartwatches and has a more classic look than most of the competition.
The Straps
The 360 Sport is smaller and less bulky than its counterparts. It features a strap made with silicone rubber that offers a premium feel and offers great comfort when wearing casually or out for a strenuous workout. It comes in at a really lightweight 54 grams with some people reporting that they forget that they even had it on (which is perfect if you’re an athlete!). Most people tend to take off a bulkier watch at some point in the day, but you will keep this on all day, no problem.
The straps have color options of flame orange, black and white. Although it can be purchased through a Moto Maker platform, they are not customizable at all, nor are they removable, so make sure you pick the color you really want.
It really is an attractive device. The strap wraps completely around, except for a power button to the right and microphone to the left. Plastic makes up the bottom of the watch, and your skin will hardly touch the silicone while wearing it all day. This will keep your wrist from getting too sweaty, which makes it much more comfortable, than the previous Moto 360 iteration.
However, there is always a catch, and with the silicone strap, it is the amount of dust and hair it collects like a magnet. It seems to attract small particles more so than other silicone made fitness trackers.
Durability
Unfortunately, although it comes across as a stronger version of a Moto 360, it is not exactly wearable in water. Sure, you can shower with it on, but taking a dip in the water for an extended period of time is a no-no. The rating for water and dust resistance is only IP67, which means it can handle your sweat on a run or a downpour, but it definitely won’t survive that ocean or pool.
It seems to be one of the biggest downfalls of the Moto 360 Sport. Users will be forced to remove the watch more often due to the lack of more robust waterproofing.
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A cool display
The biggest difference between the last two smartwatches is that the Moto 360 – second generation, only sported the standard display IPS LCD. With the Sport, Motorola took a different path by installing the hybrid AnyLight display.
This awesome screen automatically adapts based on the amount of natural light that hits the watch at any given time. Inside, you’ll get the usual LCD screen, but when outdoors, the “hybrid” action kicks in and allows for a reflection of the natural light keeping the display readable.
The AnyLight is by far the coolest aspect of the Moto 360 Sport. Most other Android Wear smartwatches are arguably hard to see outside, so the Sport is pretty unique. However, an AMOLED display (as seen on most new fitness trackers) may arguably serve the Moto 360 Sport better. An AMOLED display tends to be more energy-efficient and makes your tiny 300mAh battery last much longer.
The size of the display is 1.37 inches with a resolution that reaches 360 x 325. It is very clear and readable, with the text standing out due to the use of sharp, vibrant colors. The Moto 360 Sport uses ambient light sensors that react to the light hitting it and allows it to adapt for better reading.
What else is new with the Moto 360 Sport?
The Motorola Moto 360 Sport crosses between using a reflective display that lights up the front and a typical backlit display. It enables you to see the smartwatch display even in sunlight and it is hard to break as it’s covered by Gorilla Glass. The Moto 360 Sport comes with battery-saving properties due to the switch to a reflective mode outdoors, without the backlighting.
The Moto 360 Sport can continuously take readings of heart rate with the use of optical sensors near the wrist. Unlike most smartwatches of its time, it is cooperative with both an iOS and an Android phone. If you own an iPhone, just pair the watch up to it and you will be able to get notifications from the phone to the Motorola smartwatch as well as use the Moto Body Running app that is built into the watch.
Also, you can see daily data of your activities on the watch face. If you pick up the Motorola watch at the same time as you get a new phone, you might want to consider one of Motorola’s own smart devices so you can use the running Moto Body application to see your steps, heart rate, calories lost, and loads more.
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The Moto 360 Sport smartwatch is also fitted with button-free voice control, GPS, turn-by-turn navigation (all you have to do is tell your Motorola smartwatch where you want to go, and you’ll receive your directions directly in the display of the watch.
The hardware specs include a 45mm diameter watch case, a 1.2GHz 360×325 pixel resolution display (263ppi), 4GB internal storage with 523MB of RAM, and dual mics.
It is resistant to water up to three feet and comes with a wireless charging dock.
The Android Wear OS is only available to be used with the iPhone 5 or later, but any Android device.
The Moto 360 Sport is a running smartwatch
The Moto 360 Sport’s Body Running app gives you your heart rate zone while running, your heart rate any time of day, lap times, and a complete workout time just by easily swiping in either direction on your reflective display.
We should mention this; you can run a micro version third-party application such as Strava, however, the few options available are quite limited by basically only allowing easy starting and stopping of the recording of your activities. Again, with an Android phone, there are more options like sharing your data with Google Fit, UA Record, Strava or Fitbit.
The Motorola 360 Sport smartwatch can’t track much else except the overall activity of your days, along with running outdoors or indoors. However, it will continue to calculate caloric burn rates and the number of steps you are taking each day.
It has everything you need for a run, and you don’t have to bring your phone along. Keep track of performances using the built-in GPS while staying fit with the surprisingly very accurate HR monitor.
Once you’re finished with your sweat-down, sit back and look over Gmail, look up traffic issues, and get your Facebook updates.
Conclusion
So, is the Moto 360 Sport a Garmin beater? Well, no not really.
Features like the button free voice control, wireless charging, and turn by turn navigation are awesome and something that Garmins in this price range don’t have, but if you need a solid activity tracker then I’d still go with a Garmin.
Do you own this watch? Or have any experience with it? We’d love to know what you think! Just leave a comment down in the box below.
