The Moto 360 has definitely made an impact since its official release a few weeks back. The first round smartwatch was debuted at I/O and immediately caught user’s attention. Since then no smartwear (so far) has generated as much hype or anticipation as the Moto 360. It looked stylish, more watch-like and certainly a better product than both LG’s and Samsung’s initial attempts. The anticipated smartwatch hit the market back on September 5th and within a few hours had sold out on both the Play Store and at Best Buy. However, within days of its release reports started emerging about a significant issue with the battery. According to users the battery simply did not last for a full day’s (normal) usage and this impacted greatly on the perception of the device. The battery issue seemed to be even more prevalent if the Ambient Display feature was activated. This in short is a brightness control setting which seemed to eat battery consumption. You can read (our) Alex’s experience with the Moto 360 (and its battery usage) by clicking here. Since these initial reports Motorola received a lot of criticism about this. A teardown by iFixit claimed the battery inside was actually of a smaller capacity then the official specs suggested. However, Motorola were quick to come out in defense suggesting this is just an issue with the labeling of the battery assuring users the battery is as (they) claimed.
Well, the latest news is the battery life of the Moto 360 may finally be back on track and more in-line with what was expected prior to its launch. A few days ago Motorola issued an update to the Moto 360 and users are already reporting a significant increase in the battery time they are getting. Today on reddit owners are in agreement that the latest update is radically improving battery life “I used it from 10 am to 2 am the next day with moderate use and had 50% battery left”. Before you ask users are also reporting the improved battery life even when using the Ambient Display feature “yesterday I used ambient light from 8am – 1am and had 21% left when I went to bed”.
It is not sure how widespread the increased battery is across all users although these initial observations are certainly suggesting a much better daily battery life. It is also unclear if this will continue in the future or if further updates to other features on the Moto 360 (like the dreaded Ambient Display) will again affect the battery. However, if you are a Moto 360 owner and haven’t updated yet it might be worth giving it a try. If you already have then let us know your experience since updating. Has there been a significant improvement for you?