Rotatable bezel navigation - This is a great experience and I expect that all the next generation of smart watches will have this feature.
NFC, Samsung pay - There is something so sexy about opening my front door with the tap of a watch. Unlocking my laptop with my watch, etc…
Con
Not using Android Wear - They are using their own custom OS instead of the Android Wear OS. This means that there are less apps, and its shelf life is until Samsung decides to stop supporting it.
Not as stylish as the Moto 360 2nd gen
No “OK Google” - Uses Samsung own version that is kind of shit.
Looks great - Tons of options for style, they have a great online design tool. Silver Metal watch band, Gold bezel and body, 42mm body… It looks great!
Android Wear OS - Lots of apps, OS being updated once constantly, longevity
Recommend by thewirecutter.com - The Wire cutter website has honest reviews that I trust. They have never pointed me in the wrong direction before.
Con
No NFC - I can live without NFC but is a nice feature.
No rotatable bezel navigation - This is seriously a great feature.
Both
Both of these watches have the following features.
Uses standard watch bands
Heart rate monitor
Charging dock that I can use an alarm clock
Looks like a classic watch more then a “smart watch”
1 and 1/2 day charge
I am leaning towards the Moto 360 2nd gen, but I am open to suggestions.
Do you have either of these watches or a different smart watch? What do you think of it?
I’ve been looking at this market for a while and was going to get the Moto
360 sport but was seriously disappointed that it’s not waterproof, nor are
ANY of the Moto 360 line.
I have a Basis Peak as it was and probably still is the only waterproof
health tracker out there. It has basic smart watch functionality in that I
can receive texts and data from other messaging apps from my phone, but no
sort of interactivity like mapping, making calls from the watch etc.
I had high hopes that the Moto 360 Sport would be my main daily use watch for
navigation, phone calls etc, but the lack of waterproofing makes it useless
for me.
I personally need a device with both good battery life AND ruggedness.
YMMV and this might not be important criteria for you, given how many watches
I’ve broken over the years in 1 form or another and given the price for the
current model smart watches, I want to be sure my investment in properly
protected.
Yeah, the Samsung does look really nice, and the rotating bezel is slick. If you only expect to have the watch for a couple of years, I’d expect Samsung to support it for at least that long. If you’d like it for longer, I’d take a hard look at which features would likely disappear alongside a dissolution of their cloud component. Companies don’t have the incentive and morality to keep software running even if it is the lifeblood of thousands of still-useful, physical, hard-to-recycle products. Of course the Samsung is at greater risk here, which is a shame because I think NFC and mobile payments are a really valuable feature for a smartwatch.
Does Samsung Pay work in Canada yet? Have you tried each of them hands-on? I think it’s worth wearing and playing with them before committing.
How waterproof do you need it? Rain-proof, toilet-proof, or as a diving companion? I don’t know what the average smartwatch is like, but I know the Microsoft Band 2 is designed to withstand submersion at 1m for 30 min (although they make no guarantees). My understanding is they should be fine even if worn in Vancouver weather.
Waterproof as in swimmable and possibly snorkelling and scuba diving, though
I haven’t done any scuba diving in years.
The other side of the coin is that by choosing a waterproof watch you can generally be assured that it’s well designed from a ruggedness point of
view and will both likely last a long while and put up with daily abuse.
My expectation is I can do the sports I want without having to worry about
destroying an expensive device, or taking it off for that matter.
Now with that said, the daylight and automatic night viewability of the Moto
360 Sport is pretty awesome. I wish Garmin would implement something similar
on their GPS watches. They are waterproof though.
24/7 Optical heartrate monitoring is much better on the Basis Peak than the
Garmin or many of the other health trackers.
Harondel J. Sibble
Sibble Computer Consulting Ltd.
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I would argue smartwatches are at their very infancy right now and you are likely to want an entirely new one in two years. I don’t think I would worry about apps too much - you still have your phone in your pocket, this won’t replace your phone.
They are both beautiful devices and I don’t think you could go wrong with either.
I think it would come down to comfort, have you had a chance to try them on? I think the Gear2 uses industry standard type watch bands (not sure about the moto)…
Also not really sure why the 42mm you’ve linked is considered a Woman’s maybe because it has a smaller face?
Seems like the Moto may be more what you’re looking for (i know the dial nav on the gear is awesome though) but I strongly encourage you to go try them on. An awkward fit or weight will find you busting it or always taking it off.
As you know I was planning to go for the Gear2 and then I ended up doing a 360 and getting a Pebble Steel. This is mainly because I don’t care about the heart-rate monitor (I have that on my phone) and it’s water proof - I don’t like to fuss with my watch while I’m cooking or washing my hands, etc (the e-paper display and 7-day battery life are a huge plus too). And ultimately came down to price - 180$ for the Pebble. I fully expect the next gen or 2 of watches to be significantly better so I’m hedging my butthurt by spending less during, what I believe, is an early adopters phase.
Actually while the smart watches don’t replace your phone, they give you
capability to use/access apps while the phone stays in your pocket or bag.
Ideal on rainy day for example.
Other examples are ability to make and receive calls, look data up online,
navigate via maps etc, shazzam a song on the radio, etc.
As to battery life, that’s one of the reasons my Basic Peak is still my
primary watch, in addtion to being waterproof, I get 4 days on a charge with
24/7 heart rate and other biometric monitoring.
When the watch came out, smartwatch features were “coming soon” and while the
smartwatch features don’t in any way compare to the Moto, Samsung or Pebble,
they mostly get the job done for me which is primarily notification of
incoming calls and meeting alerts.
Though your point about how fast the generation change and that what you buy
now is probably obselete in a couple of years is quite true… sadly…
I use an app for heart-rate monitoring. You stick your finger over the
camera and I guess it measures changes in the amount of light passing
through or by some other magical wizardry it counts heart beats.
