Android By Russell Holly Sep. 12, 2014 2:23 pm
While most people who just got their hands on Motorola’s shiny new round smartwatch are busy moving in and trying to figure out how to maximize battery life, the folks at iFixit have busted out the spudgers and heating pads to figure out exactly what is going on under the hood.
Motorola has turned more than a few heads with the Moto 360. The smartwatch has one of the best designs of any device we’ve seen in this category, and with a price point that competes with the existing hardware it seemed like there was no downside to this hardware. Unfortunately some hands on time has revealed that the battery is slightly less than the other Android Wear devices, which means it has about a fifth the battery life of offerings*like the Pebble smartwatch on a good day.*Cracking open this beautiful casing and looking under the hood might reveal why that is, and like everything else it seem the iFixit folks are up to the task.
Despite literally breaking in to the back of the device, the disassembly process seemed fairly straightforward. It turns out the black strip that stops the 360 from actually being a complete circle contains the light sensor that allows the watch to change brightness automatically, and the display configuration is actually quite similar to the Nest thermostat.
After a little digging, iFixit confirmed the suspicion that the 360 was using the same processor as the MotoACTV smartwatch. This is more than a little disappointing, especially considering how old and likely inefficient that processor is when compared to the Snapdragon chips used in the other Android Wear devices. It is entirely likely that this has a lot to do with why the battery life on the Moto 360 isn’t up to par with the rest of the Android Wear family.
Motorola’s unique magnetic induction charger also got a teardown, revealing exactly what you’d expect from these chargers. You can charge the Moto 360 on any Qi charger as long as you can get the coils to line up, but it certainly looks and works best on the included charger. Ultimately this teardown confirms what has already been suspected of this device, that it’s a Version 1 in desperate need of a Version 2 as quickly as possible. The outside looks amazing, but the inside needs a little bit of work.
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Motorola has turned more than a few heads with the Moto 360. The smartwatch has one of the best designs of any device we’ve seen in this category, and with a price point that competes with the existing hardware it seemed like there was no downside to this hardware. Unfortunately some hands on time has revealed that the battery is slightly less than the other Android Wear devices, which means it has about a fifth the battery life of offerings*like the Pebble smartwatch on a good day.*Cracking open this beautiful casing and looking under the hood might reveal why that is, and like everything else it seem the iFixit folks are up to the task.
Despite literally breaking in to the back of the device, the disassembly process seemed fairly straightforward. It turns out the black strip that stops the 360 from actually being a complete circle contains the light sensor that allows the watch to change brightness automatically, and the display configuration is actually quite similar to the Nest thermostat.
After a little digging, iFixit confirmed the suspicion that the 360 was using the same processor as the MotoACTV smartwatch. This is more than a little disappointing, especially considering how old and likely inefficient that processor is when compared to the Snapdragon chips used in the other Android Wear devices. It is entirely likely that this has a lot to do with why the battery life on the Moto 360 isn’t up to par with the rest of the Android Wear family.
Motorola’s unique magnetic induction charger also got a teardown, revealing exactly what you’d expect from these chargers. You can charge the Moto 360 on any Qi charger as long as you can get the coils to line up, but it certainly looks and works best on the included charger. Ultimately this teardown confirms what has already been suspected of this device, that it’s a Version 1 in desperate need of a Version 2 as quickly as possible. The outside looks amazing, but the inside needs a little bit of work.
More...
