Time for a change! (Huawei Watch review)

I've had my Moto 360 for quite a while now, and it was about time to upgrade. I loved the Moto 360 and it's round screen (in spite of the flat tire) so I was looking to upgrade to the newer version.

But being Android Wear based, opened up my options to many more brands and models. And a lot of them have gotten really good. I was never a fan of the rounded rectangular watches. I loved the square Sony Smartwatch but no one ever seemed to follow that monolithic design ethos. So back to the traditional watch look.

Not having the patience to wait for Google to release a watch (look how long it took them to release the Pixel) I decided to go for the Huawei Watch.

And am I happy that I did. The one thing that the Moto 360 really let me (and other users down with) was the dismal battery life. 20 hours was generous, 12 was more likely, 8 was realistic. It would last my work day, then I'd have to leave it to charge after that.

The Huawei Watch is probably one of the most non-tech looking smart watches out there. And that's why I love it. Very few people have noticed that I actually wear a smartwatch until they see a notification come in and only then do they realize it's a screen and not an analog watch. Good job Huawei!

For a piece of tech, they did go the extra mile to make it feel very premium. From the box to the finish, it will pass for an equivalently priced analog watch.

The screen is OLED and looks great. One of the main advantages of OLED on a smartwatch is that anything black on screen is not using up battery power. The disadvantage is that OLED screens do suffer from burn-in (as evident in a lot of display models) so Huawei does have a trick for this watch. In standby mode the watchface shifts a few pixels in random directions every few minutes. Not noticeable unless you're looking for it. Kind of like the screensavers of the old days.

The great thing about the Huawei... battery life. I can go almost a full 48 hours (ok maybe about 36) without charging. Which brings me to the neat but odd magnetic charger. It's not as nice as the Moto's induction charger, but it is magnetic. But it doesn't quite snap into place as well as it should. The magnet is strong but doesn't always line up automatically. Sometimes (not all the time) you'll have to wiggle the watch around a bit to get the contacts to line up properly. Another trick is to let the watch hover over the charger and let the charger snap up into the watch. This is a surer way to get the contacts to line up better. I wish they didn't have the charging cable permanently connected to the charger, so it would be easier to bring around. I decided to buy a second travel charger for ease of use.

The speakerphone is a neat Dick Tracy/Knight Rider function and works decently in moderately quiet environments BUT it will disable your car speakerphone since the watch speakerphone takes priority over the car speakerphone. So you may not want to leave that function enabled until Google allows this to be customized. Some have found apps that work well, I have not. So I don't use the speakerphone function regularly, but it is convenient and does work well.

Because of the speakerphone, this also lets the Huawei have customizable ringtones. There are a few default ones and with a couple of apps (no root needed) you can upload your own short sound files to your watch as well.

Another nice things about the Huawei watch is that it accepts standard watch straps. Make sure you get the newer ones with quick release pins as this makes it far more convenient to change the look of the watch to match your mood.

One thing I do miss from the Moto 360 is also the one thing that made people hate its screen. The ambient light sensor housed in the flat tire section of the screen. This isn't a deal breaker at all for the Huawei Watch but it would've been a nice feature to have.

All in all, I'm loving this watch more and more. And with Android Wear 2.0 coming up, it's just going to get better!

Time on Hand with The Moto 360

There have already been several 'first look' reviews on the Moto 360. I've had mine for several months now and have gone through several apps and updates. I think it's time for me to give a very in-depth real-world review on owning the Moto 360.

I had gotten my Moto 360 as a surprise advanced Christmas present from my wife last October. (I had been checking out the other Android Wear watches at the time and still preferred the 360 because of its design) Although this isn't my first SmartWatch, it is my favorite. I've had both Sony's SmartWatches in the past and both were excellent for my purposes. I had gotten rid of the first one, I still have the SW2. How different is the Moto 360? Quite a jump as it is running Android Wear, vs Sony's own OS.

If you're one of those that expect to cram your entire phablet's functions on your wrist, you have missed the whole point of smartwear. Skip ALL these products and just get an armband case for your phone.

My favorite part about the Moto 360 is the over-all sleekness of the watch. It's simple, clean, and classic. No fake diver bezel, no 'luxury' aspirations (let's be honest, no smartwatch at the moment will EVER replace a Rolex). It's a great watch that I can wear with almost anything (as long as you change the strap) without it looking out of place.

Battery life with the latest firmware (5.0.1) is 'ok'. It improved over the original one, but only by a few hours. However, this is also due to the increased usage. I have gotten as much as 2 days with minimal use. Prior to the update, my watch barely lasted 24 hours. But playing with your watch a lot will kill your battery in about 12 hours, regardless of firmware version. Hehehe.

There are a few things I would like to emphasize to potential smartwatch buyers. This will NOT replace your phone, nor will it duplicate all its functions. Try and minimize the use of any smartwatch to urgent notifications only. Not because it can't handle it, but this defeats its purpose completely if you're glancing at your watch every 5 mins.

I've had 3 generations of smartwatches, and 4 months with the Moto 360, and I fully appreciate how a smartwatch can augment (not replace) your phone.

The following features are common to Android Wear and can be downloaded to any Android Wear watch. These are not exclusive to the Moto 360, but these reflect how I use my Moto 360 on a daily basis.

First: Calls/SMS. This is probably the most important thing your watch can do. Notify you of a call, and the ability to reject it. This allows very discreet call screening without looking like a hunchback fiddling with your phone at all times. This holds true for SMS as well, some messages aren't worth replying to, and some aren't worth whipping out your phone for. I'll get to my favorite SMS app for Android Wear in a future article.

Second: Email. Aside from Gmails filters, my phone also has notification filters that read out incoming email so I'll know if its important enough to open right away. My Moto 360 even filters that out further by allowing me to delete email as they come in.

Third: Reminders. Some things aren't 'calendar' important. Android Wear syncs with Google Keep for little reminders. Very handy for grocery lists, weekly reminders, or location reminders (location reminders on Google Keep are already quite useful, made even better on Android Wear)

Fourth: Health tracking. Great side benefit. Works even when not connected to the phone, then syncs when in range. Takes heart rate samples throughout the day and charts your overall health profile. Google Fit works quite well, and even tracks your steps without the watch (it functions on both phone and watch together or independently)

Fifth: Device locating. Although not an über-fancy feature, it is probably one of the more practical functions of having a smartwatch. Being able to buzz your phone without having to have someone call it, or have your watch buzz you if you forget your phone, is one of the handiest apps you can have on your smartwatch.

All in all, the Moto 360 is a great smartwatch. Google Now's voice functions work really well with it, and makes setting timers, simple searching, and texting quite convenient. I do, however, have a several 'wishlist' items:

One, glove mode. So far, no smartwatch has the capability to function with winter gloves on. Sony's current Xperia line has a glove-mode that allows use of the phone without having to remove gloves, or buy 'touch capable' gloves.

Two, much better battery life. I don't mean 2-3 days, I mean 1 solid week. 2-3 days can probably be done with current tech and updated firmware, but 1 week would mean different screen (transreflective or more efficient LED backlighting) or better battery tech. Hoping that this will be possible within the next 2 generations. Another alternative is a solar panel built into the touchscreen, or a mechanical generator similar to Seiko's Kinetic.

Three, better environmental protection. IP67/68 ratings may be good enough for smartphones, but wristwatches are exposed to greater environmental conditions. The Moto 360 is IP67 rated, but it can only handle temperatures down to -10ºC/14ºF and no shock/mechanical IP rating. Considering that smartwatches are not 'formalwear', they should have basic 1m drop protection and operating temperature down to -20ºC/-4ºF. I've had to leave mine at home several times this past winter because I didn't want to risk damaging the screen in the cold.

Four, a speaker or some kind of audio feedback. Even a beep or chirp capability would be quite helpful if a full range speaker wouldn't be possible without taxing the battery or increasing the size of the watch. I don't really want to be able to take calls on my wrist, but alarms and notifications would be nice to hear.

I'm really happy with the Moto 360. Although Android Wear (and wearable tech in general) is still in its infancy, I feel it's steadily improving over time. Motorola has been quite good at maintaining the firmware and the abundance of great apps has made the 360 exceed my initial expectations for a current generation Smartwatch.