Make This Tech Work (Archive)

Wear24 smartwatch vs Moto 360 1st generation (2014) smartwatch

2018-07-08 20:43:54

[gallery columns="2" ids="491,490,489,488"]Two good Android Wear smartwatches I have had the Motorola Moto 360 1st generation (2014) smartwatch since April 2015.  For me, it served it's purpose well.  I wore it off and on as I didn't want to be that "connected" all the time.  When I did wear it, it was comfortable, it of course told me the time, and it gave me notifications from my phone which were the main reasons I purchased it.   The battery eventually gave out and I did a DIY replacement.  You can read about that in another post here. I purchased the Verizon Wear24 smartwatch from techrabbit.com on a super deal in January 2018.  You can read more about the deal in another post here.  It's been a great smartwatch especially for that low price and I wear it often, although I still try not to wear a smartwatch all the time to get away from feeling too connected. Below I explain why one is better than the other in several categories.  This isn't a full comparison.  For instance, I don't compare GPS and heart-rate monitor.  Note that everywhere that Moto 360 is referenced, it is the Moto 360 1st generation (2014), not the newer 2nd generation.

Smartwatch Gestures (Winner: Wear24)

The wrist gestures seem to work better on Wear24.  They are easier to trigger than on the Moto 360.  They actually become much more useful on the Wear24 simply because of the responsiveness of the smartwatch to the wrist gestures.  For anyone not familiar with wrist gestures on Android Wear smartwatches, they allow you to navigate through screens with different flips of your wrist.  They really come in handy when your other hand is full holding something.

Watchband (Winner: Moto 360)

The Moto 360 watchband has a much nicer feel.  It's leather-like and much more pliable, more flexible.  It's just plain comfortable. The Wear24 smartwatch band is sort of plasticky and sometimes feel like I can't get it fitted right (either too loose or too tight).

Always on display (Winner: Wear24)

The AOD seems much better on Wear24 (brighter).

Brightness (Tie)

When using the smartwatch normally (not using just the always-on display), the brightness seems to be about the same on both smartwatches, maybe ever so slightly brighter on the Wear24.

Notifications (Winner: Wear24/Android Wear 2.0)

(Android Wear 2.0 vs 1.4). The Android Wear notifications on the Wear24 smartwatch are generally better. This is due to Android Wear 2.0 and not necessarily the Wear24 smartwatch. When notifications appear on the Wear24, they fill the entire screen but only momentarily and then completely go away. You can swipe up to see them again (if you haven't dismissed them). On the Moto 360 running Android Wear 1.4, the notifications fill part of the screen and remain there until you do something. They really feel like they get much more in the way than on Android Wear 2.0.

Screen quality (Winner: Wear24)

The screen on the Wear24 smartwatch has nicer, deeper (truer) blacks. The screen on the Moto 360 seems sort of washed out because the blacks show a sort of white behind them. You can easily see this in the screenshots.

Display Size (Winner: Moto 360)

The larger diameter display on the Moto 360 is much preferred to the Wear24's smaller diameter display.  You can see the difference in measurement using a ruler in the pictures below. [caption id="attachment_487" align="alignleft" width="285" alt="Wear 24 smartwatch (measurement)" height="259"]Wear 24 smartwatch (measurement) Wear24 (measurement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_486" align="alignleft" width="249" alt="Moto 360 1st Generation smartwatch (measurement) " height="260"]Moto 360 1st Generation smartwatch (measurement) Moto 360 1st Generation (measurement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_485" align="alignnone" width="533" alt="wear24 smartwatch vs moto360 smartwatch display size (ruler)" height="171"]wear24 smartwatch vs moto360 smartwatch display size (ruler) Wear24 vs Moto 360 display size (ruler)[/caption]

Software responsiveness (Winner: Wear24)

The Wear24 watch is noticeably more responsive and is just plain smooth swiping through menus and watch faces.  The Moto 360 running Wear OS 1.4 lags and stutters often.

Battery Life (Winner: Wear24)

The battery definitely lasts longer on the Wear24 watch. And this is after replacing the old battery in the Moto 360 with a new battery. I replaced it myself and you can see a video and review about that in another post here.

Thickness (Winner: Moto 360)

[caption id="attachment_492" align="alignnone" width="436" alt="Moto 360 Wear24 smartwatch thickness comparison" height="327"]Moto 360 Wear24 smartwatch thickness comparison Moto 360 (left), Wear24 (right).  Notice the ruler tilting down on the Moto 360 side.[/caption] You can see the difference in thickness easily in the photo above. The Wear24 is a thicker smartwatch and I'd say its somewhat noticeable when you're wearing it.  I much prefer the thinner body on the Moto 360.

Missing or unused features on the Wear24

The Verizon Wear24 doesn't have a heart rate monitor and doesn't support Android Pay, but I didn't care about those features. It supports 4G LTE (i.e. you can use certain features without your phone) but that costs $5 through Verizon and they might not even offer that anymore.   I never tried to use the 4G LTE feature.

Overall (Winner: Wear24)

The Wear24 wins out overall. I'd still prefer the thinner body, larger diameter, and watchband of the Moto 360, but that's about the only things I like better on the Moto 360. The smoothness in operation, much better notification handling and truer blacks on the Wear24 display make it the clear choice for my day to day use. The refurbished price on Amazon (link below) is close to the special price I paid on techrabbit.com. I would definitely recommend getting this watch for basic Android Wear functionality if you're not concerned about using the Verizon specific features that, as far as I've heard, don't work that well anyway. This was a great replacement for my Moto 360.  You might find bad reviews around the internet for the Verizon Wear24 but I honestly think that the biggest part of that had to do with the outrageous price. Verizon originally was selling it for $300 on a two-year contract, and $350 unlocked. 

Where to buy

The Wear24 Android Wear watch and Moro 360 don't appear to be available anymore on Amazon but you might be able to find one on EBay. I've included a link below for the replacement battery kit for the Moto 360 1st generation (2014) watch in case you have a Moto 360 1st gen that just needs a battery replacement. Synergy Digital Smartwatch Battery, Works with Motorola MOTO 360 Smartwatch, (Li-Pol, 3.7V, 300 mAh) Ultra Hi-Capacity Battery