We’ve pretty much given up on that Moto 360 because Motorola still isn’t able to remove that ‘flat tire‘. Instead, Watch Faces were introduced to turn them into ‘Little Worlds’. Motorola hasn’t fixed that yet and honestly, we’re only waiting for the follow-up after the Moto 360 Sport and software updates for the first and 2nd-gen smartwatches were released.
Motorola introduced the first round Moto 360 in 2014 and was soon followed up by a new-gen and that Sports variant. We were hoping a new one would be unveiled in Berlin at the IFA 2016 event but Lenovo-Motorola didn’t launch any smartwatch. We’re curious to know what’s Motorola up to know when it comes to smartwatches.
We didn’t like the flat tire issue but we’re still hopeful Motorola will be able to figure that one out. It’s a simple problem with a simple solution. We’re just wondering why it’s there in the first place. We’re giving the company some time to work on a follow-up. Hopefully, it will be ready to impress the wearable market.
We have no new information about the next Moto 360 yet but some images of a Motorola branded smartwatch were leaked online. It’s not the next Moto watch but rather of a prototype of a square-faced smartwatch. We’re guessing this one is old which means Motorola wasn’t the old one who considered a squarish, angular device. There’s also Apple and ASUS but the latter has just unveiled a round ZenWatch.
This Moto device could be Motorola’s first smartwatch design. Looking at the images, the set is believable but it’s not exactly an ultimate proof that there will be an upcoming square Moto 360. On top of the screen is a “Motorola Confidential Property” reference that tells us this should have been kept a secret. Unfortunately, someone didn’t follow the protocol.
We learned that this Moto smartwatch could have a USB port, power button, Qi charging dock compatibility, rubber flap to cover the fort, and a dial on one of the sides. The watch is supposedly waterproof too. We never got to see this square Moto 360 but honestly, with the flat tire issue, Motorola could have tried it first. There’s no point in imagining what could have been. We’re just anticipating for the next Moto 360 smartwatch.
VIA: GizmoChina
Based on the light leak from ths display and the horrible rubber straps this looks to be a really old leak of a device
The “flat tire” serves a purpose as an ambient light sensor. The Motorola 360 Sport uses it for its hybrid display which needs to know if has to select daylight or night mode, in order to improve battery life and keep the display legible under varying conditions.
Without an understanding of this function, the criticism seems sensible. Then, some people start to understand…
“It’s a simple problem with a simple solution. We’re just wondering why it’s there in the first place.” um… yeah, not at all simple. Every LCD panel requires circuitry and wire connections usually on the edge, this is why most phones fake a black border and the screen pixels don’t actually extend to the edge take the HTC M9 for example. Motorola decided to put all this at the bottom quite cleverly as the bottom isn’t actually used in practice with android wear it’s usually a blank space and I don’t notice it in use. It also holds the light sensor as mentioned below, and only extends up to the bottom of the messages. The alternative is the Huawei watch but you’ll notice the metal on top is thicker and this covers the circuitry around the circumference. I prefer the Moto 360’s thin bezel and don’t notice the space underneath my messages which isn’t used anyway on a round face. Maybe one day we can have our cake and eat it too, but right now nobody has solved this, it’s either thick border or flat tire, take your pick.