Smartwatches

Huawei Watch vs. Moto 360 (2nd-gen): In pictures

Huawei Watch vs. Moto 360 (2nd-gen): In pictures
Gizmag goes hands-on to compare the Huawei Watch (left) and 2nd-gen Moto 360
Gizmag goes hands-on to compare the Huawei Watch (left) and 2nd-gen Moto 360
View 36 Images
Huawei Watch (left) with 2nd-gen Moto 360
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Huawei Watch (left) with 2nd-gen Moto 360
The Huawei Watch is very slightly thinner (11.3 mm to the Moto 360's 11.4 mm)
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The Huawei Watch is very slightly thinner (11.3 mm to the Moto 360's 11.4 mm)
The models we're reviewing both have leather bands
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The models we're reviewing both have leather bands
Both watches have heart rate sensors on their backsides, and quick-release toggles for their bands, so you can change straps without using tools
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Both watches have heart rate sensors on their backsides, and quick-release toggles for their bands, so you can change straps without using tools
Huawei Watch in hand
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Huawei Watch in hand
2nd-gen Moto 360 in hand
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2nd-gen Moto 360 in hand
Browsing installed apps on the Huawei Watch
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Browsing installed apps on the Huawei Watch
All Android Wear watches have built-in fitness tracking, though Motorola added its own fitness app as a second option
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All Android Wear watches have built-in fitness tracking, though Motorola added its own fitness app as a second option
Gizmag goes hands-on to compare the Huawei Watch (left) and 2nd-gen Moto 360
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Gizmag goes hands-on to compare the Huawei Watch (left) and 2nd-gen Moto 360
This year's Moto 360 has prominent lugs that we didn't see in the 1st-gen model
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This year's Moto 360 has prominent lugs that we didn't see in the 1st-gen model
Both watches let you use always-on (but dimmed) clock faces, so your watch doesn't have a black void for a face when your arm is at your side
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Both watches let you use always-on (but dimmed) clock faces, so your watch doesn't have a black void for a face when your arm is at your side
The Huawei Watch is probably the best-looking wearable we've handled
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The Huawei Watch is probably the best-looking wearable we've handled
The 42 mm Moto 360 on a woman's wrist
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The 42 mm Moto 360 on a woman's wrist
The strange flat tire design is back on the 2nd-gen Moto 360 – it will look especially odd if you use a light watch face
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The strange flat tire design is back on the 2nd-gen Moto 360 – it will look especially odd if you use a light watch face
In the car with the Huawei Watch
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In the car with the Huawei Watch
The Huawei Watch's 1.4-inch, 400 x 400 display
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The Huawei Watch's 1.4-inch, 400 x 400 display
Roman clock face on the Huawei Watch
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Roman clock face on the Huawei Watch
The model of Huawei Watch we're handling costs $349
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The model of Huawei Watch we're handling costs $349
Checking daily steps on the Huawei Watch
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Checking daily steps on the Huawei Watch
Huawei Watch's leather band (you can also buy steel band variants that start at $399)
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Huawei Watch's leather band (you can also buy steel band variants that start at $399)
Dimmed clock face on the Huawei Watch
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Dimmed clock face on the Huawei Watch
The 11.3 mm side of the Huawei Watch
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The 11.3 mm side of the Huawei Watch
Huawei Watch's heart rate sensor
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Huawei Watch's heart rate sensor
The 2015 Moto 360 at rest
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The 2015 Moto 360 at rest
Moto 360 leather band
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Moto 360 leather band
Moto 360 on wrist
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Moto 360 on wrist
Moto 360's heart rate sensor
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Moto 360's heart rate sensor
The 11.4-mm thick Moto 360
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The 11.4-mm thick Moto 360
The entry-level ($299) 42 mm Moto 360
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The entry-level ($299) 42 mm Moto 360
The flat tire display looks better once you start flipping through Android Wear cards
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The flat tire display looks better once you start flipping through Android Wear cards
Moto 360 default leather band
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Moto 360 default leather band
Dimmed Roman clock face on Moto 360
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Dimmed Roman clock face on Moto 360
The Moto 360 has a wireless charging dock, while the Huawei Watch uses a (magnetic) snap-on cradle
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The Moto 360 has a wireless charging dock, while the Huawei Watch uses a (magnetic) snap-on cradle
This strange getup would cost you US$648
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This strange getup would cost you US$648
Huawei Watch and 42 mm Moto 360 in hand
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Huawei Watch and 42 mm Moto 360 in hand
Both the Huawei Watch and 2015 Moto 360 are available now
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Both the Huawei Watch and 2015 Moto 360 are available now
View gallery - 36 images

Comparing the Huawei Watch to the Moto 360 is kinda like comparing two Windows PCs that have identical specs but different cases. Let's take a quick look at two of the best smartwatches you can buy today, that happen to also have a lot in common.

That PC metaphor only goes so far, though, because it's probably safe to say you care more about the looks of something you wear than something that sits on your desk. In fact Google's entire approach to Android Wear assumes that looks are enough to make one wearable product different from the next.

We won't try to tell you which one of these two styles you'll prefer, but we can zero in on the few – but key – other differences between the two.

Huawei Watch and 42 mm Moto 360 in hand
Huawei Watch and 42 mm Moto 360 in hand

Both Huawei and Motorola sell their watches in several different styles, but we're handling the entry-level versions. This is the US$349 leather band Huawei Watch and the $299 42 mm (black) leather band version of the 2nd-gen Moto 360.

Other models of the Huawei Watch go as high as $799 (that one is gold-plated) and there are styles of the Moto 360 that climb up to $450.

Both of our smartwatches have stainless steel bodies, and can come close to passing for regular timepieces. Looking at the smartwatch landscape as a whole, that's one of the biggest reasons to consider these two: the Huawei Watch and Moto 360 are less like wrist computers and more like pieces of jewelry that happen to have some hidden smarts inside.

... or at least that's the goal – we think the Huawei Watch pulls this off a little better than the Moto does.

The Huawei Watch is probably the best-looking wearable we've handled
The Huawei Watch is probably the best-looking wearable we've handled

The two watches' bodies are the same 42 mm diameter, though Motorola also sells a (fairly huge-looking) 46 mm model. On my adult male wrist, this 42 mm size of watch is just about ideal. The bigger Moto is probably better for men with larger than average wrists.

The Moto 360's display has that same "flat tire" shape we saw in the 1st-generation model. Though that cut-off point at the bottom looks fine when you're flipping through Android Wear cards (they have horizontal lines to match the horizontal bottom of the screen), it's a little strange to look down at your wrist and see a clock face with a chunk bitten off of it:

The strange flat tire design is back on the 2nd-gen Moto 360 – it will look especially odd if you use a light watch face
The strange flat tire design is back on the 2nd-gen Moto 360 – it will look especially odd if you use a light watch face

In our regular use (brightness set to 80 percent, regular notifications coming in, using the occasional voice control), the Huawei Watch has slightly longer battery life: it only dropped 3-4 percent per hour compared to 4-5 percent per hour for the Moto 360.

Those results were with their always-on clock face settings turned on, so you can use either watch all day long without having a dead-looking black screen on your wrist when you aren't actively looking at it (like with the Apple Watch).

Both watches let you use always-on (but dimmed) clock faces, so your watch doesn't have a black void for a face when your arm is at your side
Both watches let you use always-on (but dimmed) clock faces, so your watch doesn't have a black void for a face when your arm is at your side

We haven't put either smartwatch through any extreme torture tests, but the Huawei Watch's screen is covered in sapphire, compared to Gorilla Glass 3 for the Moto 360.

Corning released a promo video a while back showing Gorilla Glass holding more pressure before breaking than sapphire (after going through a 45-minute tumble test that weakened both materials), but on smartwatches you should be more concerned with scratches than with brute force. And when it comes to scratches, sapphire is the better choice.

The Huawei Watch's 1.4-inch, 400 x 400 display
The Huawei Watch's 1.4-inch, 400 x 400 display

Much of your decision here comes down to style, and we invite you to browse our image gallery for more shots of our two review units. We think the Huawei Watch is the better all-around product, for its combination of looks, slightly longer battery life and sapphire-covered, fully round display.

... but if you don't mind (or maybe even prefer) the Moto 360's prong-like lugs and flat tire screen, you can save $50 on a watch that still looks pretty good and has virtually identical software and performance.

Both the Huawei Watch and 2015 Moto 360 are available now
Both the Huawei Watch and 2015 Moto 360 are available now

For a deeper dive on each watch, you can check out Gizmag's individual reviews of the Huawei Watch and 2nd-gen Moto 360.

View gallery - 36 images
1 comment
1 comment
ovexi
I think the Moto 360 would look much better with the Huawei’s double stitch band. I don’t understand all this hype about the Horween leather bands. They are just plain ugly to me