This post was published 9 years, 7 months ago. Due to the rapidly evolving world of technology, some material it contains may no longer be applicable.
Motorola’s Moto 360 has so far seen the best reception of any smartwatch to date and has outsold all its other Android Wear powered competitors. Now rumours are heating up about its successor and an alleged, early render of this new device has leaked, giving us a first look at what to expect.
Note: The image you above is one we have enhanced to improve clarity but if you want to see the original then just hit up the source links at the bottom of the page.
Obviously, what we see here is nowhere near a final product render and thus we shouldn’t expect it to necessarily be an accurate representation of what we’ll get when a device goes on sale. However, it certainly does make some suggestions about the direction their design team are headed in right now and the basis of what we might be looking at later this year.
This image suggests that the second generation could come with a very similar appearance to the current Moto 360 with recessed strap attachments for a clean, lug-less design but also shows a slightly thinner body and gone is the infamous “flat tyre” cut-out from the bottom of the screen.
This also matches up nicely with previous rumours suggesting the device (codenamed “smelt”) would sport a higher 360×360 resolution display which would not only provide a higher pixel density (assuming the same or smaller size display) but would suggest the screen is a full circle.
For reference, the existing Moto 360 spots a 320 x 290 panel which is notably smaller in the vertical thanks to the small cut-out at the bottom which houses the display drivers and ambient light sensor.
That said, early drawings of the first generation 360 didn’t show the black bar along the bottom either so we shouldn’t assume that this is necessarily confirmed for sure.
If Motorola are considering gunning for a completely circular display, they will need to have found ways of cramming in the display drivers and the ambient light sensor elsewhere. This would present a technical challenge for their engineering team and so don’t be too shocked if despite all this we do end up seeing the return of the “flat tyre”.
One other difference we can notice from this image is a change in the crown/button design. On the present 360, the button has a flat surface and protrudes from an uninterrupted circular body. On this though, the body actually curves into the button and it has a more pointy finish.
Personally I prefer the current button design, but perhaps that is just me. I suspect the final design won’t look exactly like in this image as they tend to make countless revisions of these things, though it does make a suggestion as to one way they could change it up a bit.
What improvements would you most like to see to the Moto 360? Does the “flat tyre” bother you and if so would you be willing to forgo an ambient light sensor in order to achieve it?
Source: Weibo
Via: GSMArea
