A published investor presentation shows an exciting lineup of upcoming watch goodies from Motorola. The Moto G Smartwatch looks very much like the current Moto 360. But the new model has a white and silver case, and its rotating crown has been replaced with two flat buttons on the right side. There’s also a new rectangular Moto Watch running Wear OS with one button that looks similar to the Apple Watch. The company’s signature watch face has apparently been adapted to the different-shaped screen. Meanwhile, the Moto One sports a slimmer, rounded look. According to the presentation, the Moto G will be released in June, while the other two models are coming in July. No other specs were provided. There’s absolutely no reason why I should want one of these watches since I own a terrific Apple Watch 6, which does everything that the Moto does and more. Plus, it syncs perfectly with my iPhone. But I do. The problem is that I love the look of the Moto, and the Apple Watch design is getting stale. Watches are an emotional purchase. People spend millions on them, and they live closer to us than our dearest friends.
Looks Matter
My Apple Watch does all I ask of it and more, but it would be nice to change up the look. And it would be fun to try out some new features, instead of being locked into the walled garden where Apple limits its apps. I’ve been a fan of the Motorola watch designs since the days of the original Moto 360 when it was released in 2014. I still think it’s the best-looking smartwatch that’s ever been released. It’s got a beautiful, round face and a high-quality leather band that makes it stand up in the looks category to many watches that cost thousands of dollars more. There’s nothing wrong with my Apple Watch 6. It sends me all the notifications I could want and then some. It tracks my health and nags me to exercise. It’s handy for keeping an eye on the weather. It even tells the time. The problem is that the Apple Watch only comes in one shape, which is square. Oh, Apple tries to gussy up this fact by throwing in some optional colors and lots of different band options. But there’s no denying that what you’ve got at the end of the day is pretty much the same thing that’s on a lot of other people’s wrists.
Can Wear OS Measure Up?
Unfortunately, I’ve had a fairly dismal experience with Google’s Wear OS, compared to the Apple Watch. The Moto 360 also had many flaws and quirks, including the fact that it rarely responded to commands, had a dim screen, and pathetic battery life. There’s also the awkward fact to consider that Wear OS only works perfectly with phones that run Android. I have an iPhone, so in theory, I could use the new Moto Watch, but it wouldn’t receive iMessages, which is a non-starter for me. It’s also impossible to reply to messages from third-party apps like Telegram if you’re using an iPhone. On the other hand, the Wear OS app for the iPhone does quite a few nifty things, such as managing Tiles, which are the little bits of information you can display on a Wear OS watch. You also can download apps from phones running Wear OS directly from the App Store, so you won’t miss out on the experience of checking out the latest goodies. That’s a feature you don’t get with iOS. The more I consider it, the more I feel it just may be my duty to buy one, considering it’s possible to do so many things on the Moto Watch, even with an iPhone. In the name of inter OS cooperation, of course. After all, my Apple Watch is starting to look a bit drab.
