Motorola has pushed out a new update for the Moto 360 smartwatch, which brings several new features, along with a very welcome energy saver mode. The Moto 360 was the first Android Wear smartwatch to come with a circular face, and is widely regarded to be one of the most attractive modern wearable devices available. Here’s what the latest software update adds to the experience.
We’re all looking for more battery life from our tech. Motorola has added a new mode to the 360 which should see it gain a little more usage time, just before it runs out of power completely. It’s called Smart Battery Saving, and when the battery reaches 15 percent, it automatically switches off Android Wear’s Ambient Mode ready to make the most out of the last remaining power. Ambient Mode is already a power saving feature on its own – it dims the screen, and removes fancy graphics when the watch is idle – so this just makes it that little bit more effective.
Smart Battery Saving is joined by a new Mood Lighting profile, where the watch adjusts the brightness of the display when charging, based on the ambient lighting in the room. This means if it’s on charge while you’re sleeping, it shouldn’t act like a beacon in the corner. Notifications can now be hidden on the main screen by a downward swipe, so the watch face remains visible without dismissing a pending notification entirely. The Moto 360 will synchronize the time with your phone more frequently with the new software installed.
Finally, Motorola has applied some internal changes to prepare the 360 for Bluetooth connection to a headset in the future. Whether this will be purely used for rerouting calls, or will be applicable to music as well, isn’t clear yet.
The update is being delivered to 360 watches around the world in stages, and to prepare for its arrival, it needs at least an 80 percent battery charge, plus it should be connected to the Internet via your phone.
