This is the unboxing of the Motorola Moto360 Gen3 Smartwatch.  The Moto360 is a WearOS watch that is compatible with both Android (Android 6 and later, excluding Go devices) and iOS (iOS 10 and later) smartphones.  The Moto360 was the first smartwatch to come as a round watch and the Gen3 iteration is a fabulous implementation of the standard, round watch form factor.  

  

The Moto360 Gen3 is a solid, well built smartwatch.  As you can see from the shots above, its sturdy. Its stainless steel case is held together with titanium screws.  The front is a clear, unmarred, smooth Gorilla Glass finish that is clear and bright with its 390×390 AMOLED display.  The rear is of the watch contains its sensor array and is also covered by Gorilla Glass.

The device, as boxed, comes with two straps – a silicone black strap meant for sport activities and a black leather strap meant for non-active wear.  Both look very nice. The back of the leather strap is brushed leather, which makes for a very soft, silky suede feel, meant to provide comfort and stability.  The silicone strap is meant to be used while working out or swimming.  

Let’s talk about that last activity for a moment – swimming. 

The Moto360 Gen3 smartwatch can be worn in a pool while swimming, and according to Motorola is good for 10,000 swimming strokes.  Please be aware, though Motorola doesn’t provide an IP water resistance rating for the Moto360 Gen 3. It merely appears water RESISTANT and not water proof.  As such, I wouldn’t hold it underwater for any period of time, extended or otherwise.  While they say you can swim with it, and that it will survive water contact for 10,000 swimming strokes, I’m not certain what that equates to, and how long – if at all – the device can be held UNDER water, or be completely submerged.  Its not something that I would want to chance either, especially if this is going to be your main smartwatch and daily driver.  So, while I’m certain it will survive water splashes and the extended hand washing required during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m not so certain how it would do UNDER water.

The following are the technical specifications of the device.

Tech Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor
• 1GB RAM, 8GB Internal Storage
• Sensors
  • Accelerometer,
  • Gyroscope,
  • Barometer,
  • HRM,
  • Ambient Light
• Connectivity
  • Bluetooth 4.2,
  • Wi-Fi b/g/n,
  • NFC,
  • GPS / GLONASS / Beidou / Galileo
• Display
  • AMOLED 390×390 1.2″ circular Display
  • Full Color Always On Display
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Case
  • SUS316 Stainless Steel
  • PDV Coating – Steel Gray, Rose Gold
  • DLC Coating – Phantom Black
• 20mm Watch Band Width
• 355mAh Quick Charge Battery 0%-100% in 60 minutes
• Water Resistant – 3ATMs (100 Feet or 30 Meters), 10,000 Swimming Strokes
• Android 6 (excluding Go edition) or higher, iOS 10 or higher

I’ll be putting the Moto360 Gen3 through its paces over the next few days and weeks. I’ll have more information on it in the roundup that I’m doing of current smartwatches.  Stay tuned for more!