With wearables/smartwatches it’s important to read reviews that are written around the time you are thinking about purchasing the device as the software on these devices is frequently updated, which can render prior reviews obsolete/inaccurate. I think this is certainly the case with the Moto 360 Sport.
Here is where I think the Moto 360 Sport stands as of early April 2016.
Let me start with the positives:
-Battery life is much better than I expected. I think there have been some improvements since the early reviews, which largely stated that the watch struggles to get through a day. I have no problems getting through a day even with heavy use, running with GPS, etc. Always have at least 20% by end of day. It also recharges quickly, so this allows me to use it for sleep and recharge quickly in the morning.
-Screen is brilliant. Works really well in bright sunlight, easily viewable in darkness at night. A slightly brighter ambient mode would be nice, but overall Motorolla nailed the display and deserves a lot of credit.
-GPS is pretty darn accurate. I’ve run with both the 360 Sport and my smartphone (Z5 Compact using Strava) and been happy with the comparison. Smartphones have a bit of an unfair advantage because they have both GPS and mobile reception, but the 360 Sport is very close. Surprisingly, the 360 Sport also has much more accurate GPS than a TomTom Spark Cardio + Music I tested and returned.
-Heart rate monitor performs consistently, although I think it measures a little on the high side (eg I’ll see some low 160s when it feels like I’m more in the 150s). It was pretty close to the TomTom Spark Cardio in my tests and I haven’t seen any big dropouts/spikes. As with nearly all wrist HR devices, particularly when you’re cycling, if you need accuracy go for a chest strap, Mio, or Scotsche.
-Moto Running app pretty decent for a first effort. Running App vibrates on laps. Displays good information. I’m not a hardcore runner so it covers what I’m looking for.
-Very comfortable. I’ve used it for sleep tracking with Android Sleep and it works well for that and is comfortable enough to wear during the night. Comfortable to wear at the office, type with. I wear it a bit lose and it heart rate measures still seem to work well enough.
-Good water resistance. Wear it in the shower, bath, wash it off regularly. No issues.
-Good size, I like the design. This is something that works well for me in a variety of settings (eg casual or even with a suit), which is important since I would prefer to have one wrist device. I’ve come to realize I have a strong preference for a round device versus square/rectangular offerings. Flat tire doesn’t bother me either with the dark watch faces I prefer. Overalls, build quality is good.
-Google Fit auto challenges tracking works well. Accurately records my pushups, sit-ups, and squats, which is pretty cool. I love accurate automation. The less I have to do manually the better.
Ok, let’s move onto the not so great:
- Horrific stuttering of music when running outdoors using GPS and streaming via my Bluetooth headset (Plantronics Backbeat Fit). I've had lengthy conversations with Moto tech support and they acknowledged that this is a known issue but that it should be correctable through a future firmware update. We’ll see. This is easily the most disappointing thing about the watch as one of the great use cases for this device is leaving your phone behind for a GPS run with music. I actually tried to switch to the TomTom Spark Cardio + Music, which does play Bluetooth music flawlessly, but that device has a whole host of other problems/compromises that made me return it. The Sony SmartWatch 3 also plays music but I didn’t like the design.
-Moto Running app could use some work. Average pace calculation jumps around a bit more than I would like, which makes it difficult for me to use that measure to gauge my estimated lap time. Switching between screens on Moto Running when jogging is difficult. Touschreens and exercise don’t go well together in general, so would be great if I could use the button to do things when running. I would like to be able to customize what’s on a watch screen so I don’t have to switch screens. Has also crashed on me a couple times, causing a loss of data. Would also like to see more custom 360 Sport apps like Moto Running, but Google Fit, etc. do an ok job of filling in the gaps.
-Underutilization of sensors. The 360 Sport has a barometer, but there is no stair/elevation counting? And not enough is done/presented with the data that is collected. For example, the watch is taking regular heart rate measurements but doesn’t tell me whether my resting heart rate is trending up or down, or what my resting heart rate is for that matter, which is one of the best ways to measure overall health and fitness.
-I think the step counter is a bit generous, but this isn’t a huge issue. With step counting you’re mainly looking to benchmark off your previous days, and the 360 Sport counter seems to me at least to be pretty consistent.
-360 Sport plays sorta nice with other apps. Syncing with Fitbit, Google Fit, etc only exports Moto Running data, but the 360 Sport does not share steps, heart activity, etc. I’ve also had a couple runs not sync with Strava and I don’t believe there is a way to manually export the Moto Running data and then upload it to Strava, so Strava will never know I did that run.
- Yes, it's true, the band collects a lot of lint. And contrary to what another reviewer said below, not all silicon bands are lint magnets. For example, my Garmin Vivosmsart did not collect any lint. It was much smoother and less sticky than the 360 Sport band, so there is a way to make a band that doesn't do this. Further, the coating on the the little holder for the excess band, which is what makes contact with a table when I'm typing, is already starting to come off.
-Moto Body app needs a lot of work. First, there appears to be a step streak bug. My dashboard shows that I have both a 11 day and 12 day step steak going. Which is it? The app also subtracted a day from my steak as yesterday I had a 13 day streak. Dashboard view is not rendering properly on my phone. The bottom calories row on the checkmark dashboard screen is not displaying properly; it's cut off in half on Sony Z5 Compact. I thought my goals would be automatically adjusted based on my activity level after 14 days but this hasn't happened. The Moto Body app should also allow user to set their own goals.
-The following isn’t the Moto 360s’s fault, but it is important to note that Android Wear is still a work in progress. Issuing Google Now voice commands is hit and miss. There is a lag in how quickly Google Maps updates on the wrist. Unable to sync music from the Google Play Music app to the watch. I suspect this is a Google problem though as I can sync music using the Sony Music app over to the watch. When I’m out of Bluetooth range the 360 Sport doesn’t always quickly move over to WiFi to keep the connection. Google Fit doesn’t fully leverage all the sensors of the 360 Sport.
So what’s the bottom line? Should you buy it or not? Personally, I have very mixed feelings about this device and I'm torn over whether to keep it, but I am leaning towards keeping it.
I think it depends on your patience and budget. If Motorolla/Lenovo and Google and continue to improve their software and work out some of the issues mentioned above it could actually become a really good device for someone looking for an activity tracker/sports watch with smartwatch capabilities. Of devices on the market today, I think the 360 Sport is rather unique and has the greatest potential to bridge these two categories. But right now the 360 Sport hardware is let down by by mediocre and unusable/unreliable software.
Here is where I think the Moto 360 Sport stands as of early April 2016.
Let me start with the positives:
-Battery life is much better than I expected. I think there have been some improvements since the early reviews, which largely stated that the watch struggles to get through a day. I have no problems getting through a day even with heavy use, running with GPS, etc. Always have at least 20% by end of day. It also recharges quickly, so this allows me to use it for sleep and recharge quickly in the morning.
-Screen is brilliant. Works really well in bright sunlight, easily viewable in darkness at night. A slightly brighter ambient mode would be nice, but overall Motorolla nailed the display and deserves a lot of credit.
-GPS is pretty darn accurate. I’ve run with both the 360 Sport and my smartphone (Z5 Compact using Strava) and been happy with the comparison. Smartphones have a bit of an unfair advantage because they have both GPS and mobile reception, but the 360 Sport is very close. Surprisingly, the 360 Sport also has much more accurate GPS than a TomTom Spark Cardio + Music I tested and returned.
-Heart rate monitor performs consistently, although I think it measures a little on the high side (eg I’ll see some low 160s when it feels like I’m more in the 150s). It was pretty close to the TomTom Spark Cardio in my tests and I haven’t seen any big dropouts/spikes. As with nearly all wrist HR devices, particularly when you’re cycling, if you need accuracy go for a chest strap, Mio, or Scotsche.
-Moto Running app pretty decent for a first effort. Running App vibrates on laps. Displays good information. I’m not a hardcore runner so it covers what I’m looking for.
-Very comfortable. I’ve used it for sleep tracking with Android Sleep and it works well for that and is comfortable enough to wear during the night. Comfortable to wear at the office, type with. I wear it a bit lose and it heart rate measures still seem to work well enough.
-Good water resistance. Wear it in the shower, bath, wash it off regularly. No issues.
-Good size, I like the design. This is something that works well for me in a variety of settings (eg casual or even with a suit), which is important since I would prefer to have one wrist device. I’ve come to realize I have a strong preference for a round device versus square/rectangular offerings. Flat tire doesn’t bother me either with the dark watch faces I prefer. Overalls, build quality is good.
-Google Fit auto challenges tracking works well. Accurately records my pushups, sit-ups, and squats, which is pretty cool. I love accurate automation. The less I have to do manually the better.
Ok, let’s move onto the not so great:
- Horrific stuttering of music when running outdoors using GPS and streaming via my Bluetooth headset (Plantronics Backbeat Fit). I've had lengthy conversations with Moto tech support and they acknowledged that this is a known issue but that it should be correctable through a future firmware update. We’ll see. This is easily the most disappointing thing about the watch as one of the great use cases for this device is leaving your phone behind for a GPS run with music. I actually tried to switch to the TomTom Spark Cardio + Music, which does play Bluetooth music flawlessly, but that device has a whole host of other problems/compromises that made me return it. The Sony SmartWatch 3 also plays music but I didn’t like the design.
-Moto Running app could use some work. Average pace calculation jumps around a bit more than I would like, which makes it difficult for me to use that measure to gauge my estimated lap time. Switching between screens on Moto Running when jogging is difficult. Touschreens and exercise don’t go well together in general, so would be great if I could use the button to do things when running. I would like to be able to customize what’s on a watch screen so I don’t have to switch screens. Has also crashed on me a couple times, causing a loss of data. Would also like to see more custom 360 Sport apps like Moto Running, but Google Fit, etc. do an ok job of filling in the gaps.
-Underutilization of sensors. The 360 Sport has a barometer, but there is no stair/elevation counting? And not enough is done/presented with the data that is collected. For example, the watch is taking regular heart rate measurements but doesn’t tell me whether my resting heart rate is trending up or down, or what my resting heart rate is for that matter, which is one of the best ways to measure overall health and fitness.
-I think the step counter is a bit generous, but this isn’t a huge issue. With step counting you’re mainly looking to benchmark off your previous days, and the 360 Sport counter seems to me at least to be pretty consistent.
-360 Sport plays sorta nice with other apps. Syncing with Fitbit, Google Fit, etc only exports Moto Running data, but the 360 Sport does not share steps, heart activity, etc. I’ve also had a couple runs not sync with Strava and I don’t believe there is a way to manually export the Moto Running data and then upload it to Strava, so Strava will never know I did that run.
- Yes, it's true, the band collects a lot of lint. And contrary to what another reviewer said below, not all silicon bands are lint magnets. For example, my Garmin Vivosmsart did not collect any lint. It was much smoother and less sticky than the 360 Sport band, so there is a way to make a band that doesn't do this. Further, the coating on the the little holder for the excess band, which is what makes contact with a table when I'm typing, is already starting to come off.
-Moto Body app needs a lot of work. First, there appears to be a step streak bug. My dashboard shows that I have both a 11 day and 12 day step steak going. Which is it? The app also subtracted a day from my steak as yesterday I had a 13 day streak. Dashboard view is not rendering properly on my phone. The bottom calories row on the checkmark dashboard screen is not displaying properly; it's cut off in half on Sony Z5 Compact. I thought my goals would be automatically adjusted based on my activity level after 14 days but this hasn't happened. The Moto Body app should also allow user to set their own goals.
-The following isn’t the Moto 360s’s fault, but it is important to note that Android Wear is still a work in progress. Issuing Google Now voice commands is hit and miss. There is a lag in how quickly Google Maps updates on the wrist. Unable to sync music from the Google Play Music app to the watch. I suspect this is a Google problem though as I can sync music using the Sony Music app over to the watch. When I’m out of Bluetooth range the 360 Sport doesn’t always quickly move over to WiFi to keep the connection. Google Fit doesn’t fully leverage all the sensors of the 360 Sport.
So what’s the bottom line? Should you buy it or not? Personally, I have very mixed feelings about this device and I'm torn over whether to keep it, but I am leaning towards keeping it.
I think it depends on your patience and budget. If Motorolla/Lenovo and Google and continue to improve their software and work out some of the issues mentioned above it could actually become a really good device for someone looking for an activity tracker/sports watch with smartwatch capabilities. Of devices on the market today, I think the 360 Sport is rather unique and has the greatest potential to bridge these two categories. But right now the 360 Sport hardware is let down by by mediocre and unusable/unreliable software.