Android Wear is a stripped-down version of Android, meant for use on wearables and smartwatches.
Two of the most notable brands of Android Wear-powered smartwatches available now are Motorola’s Moto 360 and Fossil Q Smartwatches. But which Android Wear smartwatch is better?
Bottom Line Up Front: I much prefer the Fossil Q smartwatches here, they just offer more usable features at a much more affordable price.
Moto 360 Features
Those who have seen or have owned a first-generation Moto 360 would agree that the second iteration of this smartwatch looks a lot better than the original. It now has nubs to make it easier to switch straps, and its options for customization are better.
The second-generation Moto 360 helps you combine the best of both worlds: it is a smartwatch that allows you to have a second screen and interface for your smartphone but is also a fitness tracker that can help you become healthier.
Design
The Moto 360 has a round form with a thin bezel and glass from one edge to the other, giving you a bigger screen size to work with. The second-generation Moto 360 is all about customization. You can choose between different sizes, the color of the case, watch straps, the bezel design, and watch faces.
For instance, the Moto 360 for men now has 42 mm. and 46 mm. case sizes. You can also choose from black, silver, or rose gold cases. All of these cases are made out of stainless steel, the same kind that is used for airplanes. When it comes to bands, you can choose between two materials: real Horween leather and stainless steel.
These bands also come in a double-wrapped leather option. Some color options you can get from stainless steel bands include black, gold, and silver. Meanwhile, you can choose from black, blush, Cognac, stone grey, and white, among other colors. On top of that, there are also third-party sellers that offer leather, sports, and silicone bands in a multitude of colors.
More importantly, Moto 360 has collections for both men and women, so you can choose from distinctly masculine or feminine styles.
The backlit LCD display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, making it more durable and resistant to scratches. The 42-mm. version measures 35 mm. in diameter and has a resolution of 360 pixels X 325 pixels translating to 263 ppi. Meanwhile, the bigger 46-mm. version has a diameter of 40 mm. and a resolution of 233 ppi or 360 pixels by 330 pixels. All cases are 11.4 mm. high.
Get updates on your smartwatch
With the Moto 360, you can be updated with the things that matter, read e-mails or calendar invites, or search using Google. You can also send text messages, be reminded of your appointments, or add a task to your to-do list using voice commands.
This means that you can safely keep your smartphone away instead of taking it out of your bag or pocket and putting it back in – again and again. The Moto 360 allows you to access and do Google services and products, thanks to its Android Wear compatibility.
Furthermore, you can get mobile apps from Google Play, allowing you to:
Be healthier
With Moto 360, you can keep track of your health. It has an activity tracker that can monitor your steps and coach you to meet your fitness goals. It can also keep track of your heart rate and the distance that you have travelled.
Battery and performance
The Moto 360 uses either a 300 mAh or 400 mAh that gives you anywhere from one day of full use with the Ambient option off, or anywhere from 1.5 days to 2 days. When you do need to charge, you can make use of the wireless charging dock.
The Moto 360 uses Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 400 with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, which is the best processor for wearables, balancing both battery life and superior performance. It also uses the Adreno 305 with 450MHz GPU, which gives it the same eye-catching graphics as some more powerful tablets and smartphones. Furthermore, it uses a 4-GB internal storage on top of 512 MB of RAM.
Other features
The Moto 360 uses several sensors, including vibration and haptics engine, accelerometer, gyroscope, and ambient light sensor. The ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness of the screen, depending on the brightness of your surroundings.
It is also dust- and water-resistant, with an IP67 rating. This means that your Moto 360 is fully protected from dust and from being immersed for a maximum of 30 minutes in water up to 3.3 feet deep.
What could be improved
If you choose the leather strap, you might be disappointed because the strap can easily get frayed and may not look its best after only a short time. Moreover, if you look at the watch face, you might find it a bit disconcerting that there is a black space at the bottom. Called the flat tire look, because it looks like your watch face was abruptly truncated.
Depending on the customizations included, the Moto 360 might be a little bit expensive. Additionally, it might be difficult to find the Moto 360. It is no longer available on the Android Store but you can still find some used units on Amazon Marketplace.
Fossil Q Smartwatch Features
Fossil Q Smartwatches come from the established watchmaker, the Fossil Group. These smartwatches feature classic Fossil cases and top-notch technology. Combined, these two features give you a great smartwatch that can help you keep track of your fitness without having to carry your smartphone while you exercise.
Customize to your heart’s delight!
Fossil Q offers you many ways to customize your smartwatch. You can choose from either an 18-mm or a 22-mm bandwidth. The case also comes in different colors, including smoke, black, silver, and rose gold. There are also two-toned bands and straps.
There are three materials for the watchstraps: silicone, stainless steel, and leather. Each one can have a wide variety of colors including sand, smoke, silver, blue, brown, orange, green and others. Further, you can choose from a wide variety of watch faces to match your look, style, and mood!
Interactive dials and notifications
The Fossil Q allows you to have easy access to your most-used apps and features. You can access your favorites just by tapping on the touchscreen watch face.
More than that, you can get a world of convenience when you get a call, e-mail, or SMS message notifications. It also keeps you on top of your appointments.
Track your activity
Fossil Q Smartwatches can help you monitor the number of steps you take, the calories you burn, and the miles you traveled.
It can also accurately track your activity depending on the type of exercise you do.
Design
Fossil Q has a number of models under its smartwatch brand, giving you many choices when it comes to design and aesthetics. You can choose from the Q Marshal, the Fossil Q Dreamer, the Wander and Founder, as well as several hybrid smartwatches.
Depending on the style you get, the Fossil Q smartwatch lines offer different features and capabilities such as:
- Smartphone notifications
- Activity and fitness tracking
- Sleep tracking
- Custom goal setting
- Alarm clock
- Automatic date and time update
- LED flashlight
- Microphone
- Multiple time zones
- Music control
- No charging required
- Speaker
- Take a photo
- Touchscreen
- Water resist
- Wireless charging
- Wireless syncing
Note: you can learn more about the changes between the Fossil Q Gen 2 vs 3 here.
What should you buy? Fossil Q or Moto 360?
When it comes to features, there really is not much difference between Fossil Q Smartwatches and Moto 360. They offer you the same fitness tracking capabilities and a host of smart features.
Fossil Q vs Moto 360 Comparison Table
It would be easier to understand this with a side-by-side comparison. Because there are several Fossil Q smartwatches available, let us focus on the Fossil Q Marshall, which is the closest to Moto 360 in terms of features.
| Fossil Q Marshal | Moto 360 (2nd Gen) | |
| Operating system | Android Wear | Android Wear |
| IP 67 Water resistance | Yes | Yes |
| Accelerometer sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Gyro sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Calories tracker | Yes | Yes |
| Inactivity reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Distance travelled | Yes | Yes |
| Heart rate | Yes | Yes |
| Steps | Yes | Yes |
| Voice command | Yes | Yes |
| What’s in the box | Smartwatch, USB cord, wall plug, charger base, user manual | Smartwatch, wall charger, charging dock, quick start guide |
Both the Fossil Q Marshal and the Moto 360 use Android Wear, and can easily interface with Google services and products. Both have accelerometer and gyro sensors and can help track your steps, distance traveled, and heart rate, as well as encourage you to move when you have been inactive for some time.
Furthermore, both of these brands have worked with both Android and iOS devices, but have limited features on iPhones. You can extend the functionality of each smartwatch by downloading mobile apps available on Google Play.
You should be wary, however, that not all Fossil Q smartwatches offer the same set of features. For instance, the Fossil Q Crewmaster offers sleep tracking, water, and dust protection, set up for multiple time zones, and custom goal setting, all of which are not offered by the Q Wander.
On the other hand, the Q Wander allows you to customize watch faces, touchscreen display, LED flashlight, wireless charging, microphone, and speaker. These are features that the Q Crewmaster does not have.
This just means that you would need to take a closer and more careful look when you choose Fossil Q over Moto 360, or else you might find yourself disappointed thinking that the particular Fossil Q model you like has a certain feature but really does not.
Nevertheless, the Fossil Q does offer you a lot of choices and it can be easier on the pocket. On top of that, while Fossil Q smartwatches may have the same features as the Moto 360, Fossil Q simply does it better.
It looks a lot better and its materials are more durable than Motorola’s smartwatches.
Bottom Line: I much prefer the Fossil Q smartwatches here, they just offer more usable features at a much more affordable price.
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