Moto 360 2.0: what we want to see

As the first circular smartwatch the Moto 360 really wowed us, but its time in the sun was short-lived, as LG has since launched the G Watch R and the Watch Urbane.

Both sport round faces along with superior specs and longer battery lives, while the Sony Smartwatch 3 has greater fitness credentials and the Apple Watch has premium appeal.

So the second generation Moto 360, or the Moto 360 2.0 as we'll call it from here on out, will need more than just a circular screen to impress.

Thankfully it seems Lenovo is well aware of this, as we've caught a glimpse of what might be the Moto 360 2.0 and it looks like it will be available in two different sizes and with a variety of different finishes and straps.

That's certainly a step in the right direction and would help to tick off some of what we want to see, but there's a whole lot more that we're hoping for from the Moto 360 2.0.

1. Better battery life

Smartwatch makers are still yet to work out how to get a decent amount of juice out of their wearables and the Moto 360 is one of the worst offenders, generally conking out in one day. That's nowhere near good enough.

The LG G Watch R can almost double it with around two days of life and even that's not as good as we'd like to see, so two days of life should be the minimum the Moto 360 2.0 offers. Any less than that and it could be a hard sell, but if it can stretch beyond two days that would be a big point in its favour.

2. A faster processor

Not only is the Moto 360 lacking for battery life but it's also underpowered, as while most rivals have opted for a Snapdragon 400 processor, the 360 for some reason has a Texas Instruments OMAP 3 chip, which is both less powerful and less efficient.

That's noticeable in use too, with the watch sometimes proving unresponsive, so the Moto 360 2.0 really needs to do better. A Snapdragon 400 should be the minimum we see, but as this is a next generation device hopefully it will go better still, while a boost from 512MB to 1GB of RAM would be appreciated too.

3. No more black bars

While the Moto 360 was the first smartwatch with a circular screen there's always going to be an asterisk against it, because the face is circular yes, but there's a black cut-out at the bottom, which means the actual screen is a circle with a chunk cut off the bottom.

There's a reason for this - it houses screen tech which otherwise would have likely needed to go in the bezels and by having it here the watch can have smaller bezels, but having seen the LG Watch Urbane and the Huawei Watch we're not entirely convinced that's preferable, so for the Moto 360 2.0 we'd love to see a fully circular display.

4. A sharper screen

The Moto 360 has a 1.56-inch 320 x 290 display, for a pixel density of 205 pixels per inch and while that's not terrible it's not great either. It's also been beaten by the likes of the LG G Watch R, which has a screen that's both smaller and higher resolution, making for a noticeably sharper display overall.

So hopefully the Moto 360 2.0 ups the resolution. We don't like squinting at our watch, it makes us feel old.

5. A smaller screen

This might seem an odd wish, but with a 1.56-inch screen / a 46mm diameter the Moto 360 is actually pretty large. It's bigger than the vast majority of normal watches and dwarfs smaller wrists, so we'd quite happily see the Moto 360 2.0 get shrunk down.

Or better yet come in two or more size variants like the Apple Watch does, so it can be as big or small as you want it to be.

6. A less chunky design

The Moto 360 is also a little bit chunky. Sure it's stylish with its circular metal face and leather straps, but it's 11.6mm high, aka over 1cm, which is quite fat for a watch.

A sleeker design would definitely be appreciated, then again a bigger battery would be appreciated even more, so if a chunky build is what it takes for that then so be it.

7. Micro USB charging

The Moto 360 uses Qi wireless charging, which is always nice to see, plus the charging dock it comes with turns it into a stylish bedside clock.

The problem is you need to remember to take the charger with you if you're out for a long day, because it won't likely survive the night and no-one else is likely to have a compatible charger.

That's not the case with the micro USB chargers that most smartphones and some smartwatches, such as the Sony Smartwatch 3, use, as everyone has at least seven of them. So hopefully the Moto 360 2.0 will have both Qi charging and a micro USB port.

8. Built-in GPS

The Moto 360 already takes a decent stab at fitness, with its built in heart rate monitor alongside the expected pedometer, but hopefully the Moto 360 2.0 will go even further and include GPS.

It's not a big ask really, the Sony Smartwatch 3 already has it after all, and it would mean you could use it as a proper running watch, rather than still being reliant on your smartphone.

9. More storage

Android Wear allows you to use your smartwatch as a standalone music player, but with just 4GB of built in storage you won't be able to fit a vast amount of music on the Moto 360, especially as that 4GB is for the OS and apps too.

So if at all possible we'd like to see more storage on the Moto 360 2.0. We're not greedy, 8GB will do fine for now.

10. More customisation options

There weren't many ways to customise your Moto 360 at launch but since then the Moto Maker service has been extended to work with it, giving you various customisation options in the form of new bands, case finishes and watch faces.

That's a good start but we want even more customisation from the Moto 360 2.0. We're thinking Apple Watch levels of customisation at a minimum, with myriad different watch bands and colour schemes and not just different case finishes but different materials too.

• The Pebble Time shows that a smartwatch is capable of good battery life.

from Techradar - All the latest technology news http://ift.tt/1cea9U4