Before watches became smart by housing tiny little computers inside them, their primary purpose was to tell the time. Watches also usually make some sort of fashion statement. Unfortunately, smartwatches haven’t managed to get past their drab designs just yet. Motorola’s round Moto 360 is a great departure from the boxy designs of the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live, and it looks really attractive except for the black bar on the bottom of its face. This means that the watch face is not fully circular. The LG G Watch R, introduced immediately after the Moto 360, has a fully round design - but more on that when we get our hands on a review unit.
The black bar, often referred to as the flat tyre, houses an ambient light sensor and the LCD drivers. We are not fans of this approach as it is looks like a design flaw, although once we got used to wearing the Moto 360, the black bar did not feel as distracting. The watch has a metal casing with bevelled edges. Even the ( almost) edgeless display, made of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, has bevels. There is only a single button on the right, which was accentuated by a golden ring on our review unit. On the back lies the heart-rate monitor which glows green when activated. Motorola’s charging dock is a rather cute piece of hardware and the visual signifying that the Moto 360 is charging looks futuristic.