After seeing the best of smartphones, let’s explore some wearables to complement your on-the-go lifestyle! In last few months, we’ve witnessed some majestic smartwatches, even from companiesthat are too naïve to take on leading players.This looks quite interesting, but the fact is, every new and old tech-giant is giving all of it to make some space in wearables market whichis expected to rise up to a whopping $33 billion in next four years.There’s a lot of room for growth and success, which every smartwatch manufacturer is aiming to capitalize.
The year 2015 marked the launch of 2nd gen smartwatches from popular tech-giants. Players like Apple, Samsung, and Motorola upgraded their already too good smartwatch range, while Huawei introduced its first ever Android Wear smartwatch at an unbelievable price tag.
So now, without wasting any more time, let’s see how the two new beauties, Samsung Gear S2 Classic and Moto 360 2nd Gen will stack up against each other?
We’ve have had hands on time with both devices, and believe us, choosing sides is not as easy as it looks! These two are the real favourites, and here’s how they go up against each other-:
Design and Build Quality
Both smartwatches, Samsung Gear S2 Classic and Moto 360 2nd Gen,unify an exquisite design language with a sturdy stainless steel body. As touted earlier, the Moto 360 (2015)ships two sizes-one 46mm variantfor men, and other 42mm model for women.It brings some noticeable upgrades, if not complete makeover, and is certainly more fashionable than the previous version!
It is also worth noting that the crown of Moto 360 has moved to 2’o clock, bezels have been refined, and stylish lugs arefeatured on both ends for seamless strap switching!
Samsung Gear S2 Classic, on the other side, takes a completely different track from the original Gear S. This is the first round dial smartwatch from Samsung, and is stunning in all aspects. It is less chunky and more casual than Moto 360, and has a unique rotating bezel which no other smart watch has on offer.
Overall, both devices go head to head in terms of design, and offer a nice experience with durable casings, changeable straps, and a lot more!
Display and Visual Experience
With chamfered edges near the bezel, the 42mm variant of Moto 360 2nd gen sports a 1.37-inch LCD touchscreen with 360 x 325 pixels (263 ppi), while the larger 46-inch variant incorporates a 1.56-inch display with 360 x 330 pixels (233).They both offer a decent visual experience with rich colours and perfect viewing angles, and are much sharper than the original Moto 360.
On the other side, the display of Samsung Gear S2 Classic is much better and sharper. The device incorporates a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED display, and offers a picture perfect viewing experience with “true blacks”. It packs one of the best display panels in the category, and stands out against Moto 360, with that cramming screen resolution of 360 x 360 pixels (302 pixels per inch)
Software
On the software front, Moto 360 2nd gen and Samsung Gear S2 are completely different. As expected, the latest version of Moto 360 runs Google’s unified Android Wear OS- version 1.3 with Google Now voice support, gesture controls and much more.It works seamlessly with custom watch faces and live dials, and presents fitness and weather reports accurately.
On the other side, Gear S2 Classic comes with Samsung’s improved, light, and intuitive Tizen OS.The improved OS from the company offers an excellent user-experience with quick-access to different features through rotating bezel, support for Samsung Payments, S-Voice, and a keyboard for instant texting. It saves some serious amount of battery in comparison to Android Wear and WatchOS, and offers full support for Android smartphones running Android 4.4 or later versions with 1.5 GB RAM or more.
Performance and Hardware
Just like software, the hardware equipped with Gear S2 Classic and Moto 360 marks a small but clean line of difference. Though both smartwatches endow smooth and glitch-free performance, Moto 360 2nd Gen boasts stronger on-paper specs with a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 512 MB RAM and 4 gigs of inbuilt memory. It packs stronger specs, but is just at par with Gear S2, which incorporates Exynos 3250dual-core processor clocked at 1.0GHz with same RAM and ROM capabilities and NFC as well.
Battery Life
Moto 360 2nd Gen and Gear S2 both promise two-day battery backup with wireless charging, but in real life,neither of them managesto offer anything above one and half of mixedusage. Moto 360 2nd Gen 46mm model accommodates a 400 mAh battery, while the smaller one ships with a 300 mAh battery. They both offer sufficient juice for work and play, and look fairly stronger than Gear S2 and its 250 mAh battery.
However, Gear S2’s effective software optimization plays a significant part in consuming less power. It stands out in the category, and performs as well as Moto 360 or any other high-end smartwatch.
Pricing in India
In India, both smartwatches are hitting the shelves exclusively via renowned e-commerce portals. The 42mm variant of Moto 360 2nd Genis available on Flipkart and Myntra at Rs. 19,999, while the 46mm variant has been a priced at a little heftier Rs. 22,999.
On the other side, the new Samsung Gear S2 Classic has been priced at Rs. 25,800, and is exclusively available offline via Samsung retail outlets, and online via Flipkart and Myntra.com.
The Catch
Since the smartwatch market is still in its nascent stages, it will be too early to make a final call between Gear S2 and Moto 360 2nd Gen. Both smartwatches offer a perfect package for tech-savvy users and ship at tempting at ideal prices, as well. However, if it still comes to picking the better one from this duo, our choice would be Gear S2 Classic. It flaunts an excellent design language and offers an adequate package with top-notch performance, advanced connectivity options and unique features!