Second Gen Motorola Moto 360 Falls To $200 At Verizon, Android Wear 2.0 Support Incoming

by Brandon Hill — Monday, December 26, 2016, 09:53 AM EDT

Motorola righted many of the wrong of the first-generation Moto 360 with the second-generation model, which was launched in late 2015. However, some still weren’t happy with the $349 staring price tag for the non-Sport model. Then there was still the fact that the “flat tire” display remained even after the first-generation model was heavily criticized for the design choice (read the HotHardware review here).

Well, if the price was the only thing holding you back from purchasing a Moto 360, Verizon hopes to erase that doubt. The nation’s largest wireless carrier is discounting the smartwatch from $349.99 to just $199.99, representing a 42 percent reduction. The price is also at least $100 less than other retailers that have discounted the smartwatch.

The $200 price point even undercuts newer competition like the ASUS ZenWatch 3, which is priced at $229, but includes a fully circular display.

Verizon could be the first of many retailers to institute significant discounts on the second-generation Moto 360. We reported earlier this month that Lenovo/Motorola doesn’t have plans to develop a third-generation smartwatch, which means that the current model will be around for quite some time.

“[Lenovo doesn’t] see enough pull in the market to put [a new smartwatch] out at this time,” said Shakil Barkat, Moto’s head of global product development. “Wearables do not have broad enough appeal for us to continue to build on it year after year.” IDC adds that smartwatch sales plummeted 51 percent year-over-year during Q3 as customers are still trying to assess the worth of adding another gadget to their digital life.

The good news, however, is that the second-generation Moto 360 will receive the update to Google’s Android Wear 2.0 platform, which will launch during the first half of 2017.

Tags: Lenovo, Motorola, Verizon, (NYSE:VZ), Moto 360

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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