Huawei Watch and Moto 360: Hands-on comparison

We’re always delighted whenever we receive gifts in the mail. You know, those kinds that will make you all giddy with excitement and then item inside is something that you really want. We received two new smartwatches recently both running Android Wear: the latest Huawei Watch and the 2015 Moto 360 (42mm edition).

These two wearables are both round-shaped smartwatches. If you’re not familiar with the two, you might find it challenging to tell them apart. Any geeky observant will be able to tell which one is which especially after a long time of staring at the two or actually using them.

If you’re only looking at the display, you’d quickly notice that “flat tire” on the screen of the Moto 360. Yup, it’s still there. Sadly, Motorola still hasn’t figured out how to remove that one for whatever reason. At first, I thought the new 2 0’clock location of the watch crown/button is unique to the Moto 360 but it turns out, Huawei also placed the button on the same position. Actually, Huawei was first to do that as in our early hands-on. The Moto 360’s button used to be on the 3 0’clock position.

The Huawei Watch is slightly bigger than the Moto 360–not really noticeable. Specs-wise, the two watches both feature the following:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB built-in storage
• heart rate monitor
• same IP67 water resistance
• Android Wear v1.3
• quick-release bands
• round display
• 300 mAh battery

You’d really think that nothing is different except again that the Moto 360 doesn’t really have “fully round” watch face, no thanks to that flat line you see at the bottom.

Comparing the two display, the Moto 360 is smaller than Huawei watch–at 1.37-inch versus a 1.4-inch display. Again, not that noticeable. When it comes to pixel resolution, the smaller Moto 360 only has 360 x 325 pixels (263ppi) while the Huawei Watch has 400 x 400 pixels (286 ppi).

But when we talk about what kind of displays were used, there lies the difference between the two. Huawei made use of AMOLED protected by a sapphire glass while Motorola used an IPS LCD screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. We noticed that the Huawei Watch was a bit warmer compared to the LCD of the Moto 360 too.

The Huawei Watch comes with a magnetic charging cradle while the Moto 360 utilizes Qi-standard wireless charging. If you have a similar wireless charger at home, you can use it to charge your Moto 360. Meanwhile, Huawei’s charger is exclusive to the watch. Sorry, but you cannot use any other chargers to give the smartwatch extra juice. (Huawei Watch now available on Google Store and Amazon)

Like any ordinary watches, these Huawei and Moto 360 smartwatches can be personalized. They work with stainless steel casings–same 316L stainless steel–also available in silver, rose gold, black, and gold. The Moto 360 seems to offer more customization options and special designs. There’s also another slightly bigger Moto 360 at 46mm.

The basic model of the Moto 360 costs $300 while the Huawei Watch is $350, same price as with the bigger 46mm Moto 360. If you want some more custom options, be ready to pay extra.

VIA: SlashGear