When smartwatches first came out, they were limited by technology and materials to square-ish or rectangular designs. Users, however, demanded that their smartwatches look more like watches and less like cramped smartphones. They wanted their smartwatches to look premium. And really, what could be more premium than a round-faced smartwatch with metal bands, or better yet, one that has metal bands in champagne gold color. Fortunately for smartwatch fans, that is exactly what Motorola is delivering with this latest batch of the Moto 360.
Not everyone might buy into the gold fever, but for those that do, Motorola is at least giving them the option. Color isn’t the only thing that’s different about this champagne gold strap, however, as it is also thinner than the default 23 mm strap, coming in at just 18 mm. Could it be that old Moto is playing the gender card here, trying to woo more females of the species into the smartwatch crowd? That said, both genders are welcome to enjoy this new variation.
But for those without a golden bent, Motorola isn’t leaving them out. The company is making available a new light metal band option to the list. All metal bands are crafted from aircraft-grade stainless steel and are specially designed not to interfere with the smartwatches’ radio components. The bands come in both the larger 23 mm size and the more petite 18 mm. Clearly, not one size or color fits all and Motorola seems to have decided just to cast a very wide net instead. And that could very well work, as each premium quality strap changes not just the appearance but even the mood and personality as well. Moto 360 users might end up with a whole box of assorted straps to fit their changing styles and tastes. We go hands on with the new luxury selection to bring you these rather charming photos of the Moto 360 in premium clothing, mixing and matching straps to our heart’s content.
At this point, the available options might have started to get a bit confusing. All metal band options are available as whole Moto 360 pieces, costing $299 each. Though the champagne gold naturally asks for a higher $329. However, that gold plus the slim 18 mm versions of the Moto 360 won’t be available until the holidays. The light and dark metal bands will also be available as separate accessories, for those times you want to swap out straps, but that seems to only apply for the 23 mm versions. The slim ones, much less the golden strap, aren’t yet sold separately.
That isn’t the only good news Motorola has for Moto 360 owners and fans. There are new smartwatch faces available, some seemingly designed to fit the new luxurious metal bands. Motorola has also released a new Moto Body app for the smartwatch that not only gives you an overview of your activities, including steps, heart rate, and calories, but also sets goals for you to reach based on those figures.
The little black strip at the bottom is so much worse with the colored backrounds 🙁