Leaked Render Allegedly Shows Second Generation Moto 360 Sans ‘Flat Tire’ Display
Will they or won’t they? The jury is out on whether Motorola’s next generation Moto 360 smartwatch will have a fully circular display, and the latest leaked render isn’t adding any more clarification to what the final product will look like.
A new render that was posted to the Chinese site Weibo supposedly shows yet another prototype revision of the second generation Moto 360, this time with a slimmer case design and a display that is now a complete circle. If this is in fact how the final product will look, it would solve one of the most criticized design features of the original Moto 360 — the crescent-shaped cutout at the bottom of the device’s display.
Is this the next generation Moto 360?
The blackened portion of the display houses the display driver and the ambient light sensor, although Motorola is presumably ditching the latter feature on its successor. Newer Android Wear smartwatches like the LG Watch Urbane and Huawei Watch have managed to incorporate completely round displays, so we see no reason why Motorola can’t achieve this feat on its second outing.
Also shown is a new mechanism that allows the bands to slide in and out of the case a la the Apple Watch.
The above image of the second generation Moto 360 was posted last month to Weibo
It should be noted that this latest render flies in the face of an image posted to Weibo by Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing last month. That image seemed to show not only the inclusion of the black cutout at the bottom of the display, but external lugs for the watch bands (the current Moto 360 uses an integral lug system).
We likely won’t have to wait long to see what Motorola has up its sleeve. The current Moto 360’s design is over a year old and the Apple Watch will launch in just over two weeks. It’s prime time for device makers to start refreshing their smartwatches in anticipation of wearables market that is set to explode in the coming years.
