Impressions: Moto 360 v2

I’ve had the Moto 360 v2 for almost two years now, and Android Wear 2.0 has been out for nearly a year too, yet the update only showed up today.

It’s not that I hadn’t thought about switching watches—there just wasn’t anything suitable. So since the update rolled out today, I might as well use it for now.

Android updates are a mystery. The official announcement says it’s rolling out, but unless you go through some special method, you definitely won’t get it that day. I’ve never understood this mystery, whereas Apple can push updates instantly by comparison.

Anyway, this time there’s a shortcut for updating the moto 360 v2:

How to force your moto 360 v2 to upgrade to Android Wear 2.0 Go to system - about - update, where a green checkmark shows you’re on the latest version. Then start tapping that green checkmark frantically with your finger. After about a minute of tapping, it tells you there’s an update. Just update it.

Yep, it’s that dumb. Tapping the “Up to date” checkmark like a madman looks stupid, but it actually works.

If it doesn’t seem to work, you can also turn on your watch’s Wi-Fi, which might make it a bit faster. The watch has to be charging during the update, so don’t forget the charger. It downloads automatically while charging and takes about half an hour.

Then you can update.

The update process itself takes about 20 minutes too, so make sure it’s fully charged.

Finally it’s usable. Quick run-through of my impressions:

1. The interface is dumb. You now have to press the crown button to bring up the old menu.
2. Notifications are dumb. You used to be able to see the latest WeChat message directly; now you have to tap one more time to open the app and see it inside.
3. The input method works, but it’s also dumb. Edge touches have big problems—there’s a backspace key I just can’t hit.
4. There’s a built-in app store. Looks okay, but I haven’t found anything interesting in it.
5. No idea about battery life. Maybe a tiny bit better.

So I’ll just make do with it for now and wait for that new watch in June—mifst or whatever it’s called.

Related links: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidWear/comments/6ddbpn/moto_360_fyi_tapping_on_the_green_system_is_up_to/