 Smartwatches have a nasty reputation for looking like computers strapped to your wrist. But last year's Moto 360 bucked that trend with a round face and customizable design that was much better looking than anything that came before it. But Motorola's smartwatch was far from perfect. It had inconsistent performance, disappointing battery life, and a profile that was still too large for many wrists. Now Motorola has launched a second generation Moto 360. It comes in more colors, smaller sizes, and has the ability to work with both Android and the iPhone. Has Motorola cracked the smartwatch code? The most significant thing about the new Moto 360, which starts at $299 and goes all the way up to $429, is that it's no longer a one-size-fits-all experience. You can get it in large or small, men's or women's, complete with a variety of metal finishes and custom straps. All told, Motorola says there are 300 different options to choose from, making the Moto 360 one of the most personalized smartwatches you can buy. The smaller version, which is what I've been testing, is a much more comfortable and better proportioned watch than last year's model. It has a 42mm instead of 46mm face, and the more traditional strap lugs look a lot nicer than last year's odd strap mounts. Those lugs make it much easier to change straps too, and the included straps have quick release pins to do just that. The whole package sits much nicer on my wrist and looks more like a traditional wristwatch than ever before. For the actual smart parts of the watch, Motorola has upgraded the processor, battery life, and display, making this year's Moto 360 perform much better than last year's. Performance is much more reliable and responsive, the LCD display is ever so slightly sharper, and battery life is greatly improved. I've yet to end the day with less than 30% battery, even with the ambient mode on that always displays the time. I still have to charge the battery every night, but it's far better than dying before my day is even over. The new Moto 360 still runs Android Wear, which still feels a bit like a work in progress. It's best used for quickly checking notifications without having to pull your phone out of your pocket and it can do a few things like send messages and perform Google searches by voice. But it often takes more taps and time to get to where I want to go with Android Wear, and I can't for the life of me understand why I still can't clear all of my notifications in one step. Motorola has introduced a couple of new watch faces this time, complete with tappable widgets that display information such as step count, weather, or battery life. That makes it easy to quickly see a forecast or upcoming appointments, short-cutting around some of Android Wear's deficiencies. Motorola has also greatly improved the fitness tracking on the Moto 360, but it's still not up to pace with the Apple Watch. Speaking of Apple products, you can actually use the Moto 360 with an iPhone now, if you want. But it's not something I'd really recommend. Functionality on the iPhone is very limited compared to Android, and the Apple Watch provides a much better experience for iPhone users. It shouldn't come as a surprise that something called Android Wear works best on the Android platform. Overall, the new Moto 360 is much better than the original. It's got better looks, better ergonomics, better performance, and better battery life. At nearly $300 to start, it costs a bit more than last year's watch did when it launched. That doesn't seem like a huge difference, especially for a better device, but $300 or more still feels like a bit much to ask given what Android Wear is actually capable of right now. Will the Moto 360 convert the smartwatch skeptics? Probably not. A lot of that responsibility rests on the shoulders of Google and the Android Wear platform. But that doesn't change the fact that it's a good-looking and well-functioning smartwatch that brings us a little bit closer to the wearable dream.
 Smartwatches have a nasty reputation for looking like computers strapped to your wrist.
 But last year's Moto 360 bucked that trend with a round face and customizable design
 that was much better looking than anything that came before it.
 But Motorola's smartwatch was far from perfect.
 It had inconsistent performance, disappointing battery life, and a profile that was still
 too large for many wrists.
 Now Motorola has launched a second generation Moto 360.
 It comes in more colors, smaller sizes, and has the ability to work with both Android
 and the iPhone.
 Has Motorola cracked the smartwatch code?
 The most significant thing about the new Moto 360, which starts at $299 and goes all the
 way up to $429, is that it's no longer a one-size-fits-all experience.
 You can get it in large or small, men's or women's, complete with a variety of metal
 finishes and custom straps.
 All told, Motorola says there are 300 different options to choose from, making the Moto 360
 one of the most personalized smartwatches you can buy.
 The smaller version, which is what I've been testing, is a much more comfortable and
 better proportioned watch than last year's model.
 It has a 42mm instead of 46mm face, and the more traditional strap lugs look a lot nicer
 than last year's odd strap mounts.
 Those lugs make it much easier to change straps too, and the included straps have quick release
 pins to do just that.
 The whole package sits much nicer on my wrist and looks more like a traditional wristwatch
 than ever before.
 For the actual smart parts of the watch, Motorola has upgraded the processor, battery life,
 and display, making this year's Moto 360 perform much better than last year's.
 Performance is much more reliable and responsive, the LCD display is ever so slightly sharper,
 and battery life is greatly improved.
 I've yet to end the day with less than 30% battery, even with the ambient mode on that
 always displays the time.
 I still have to charge the battery every night, but it's far better than dying before my
 day is even over.
 The new Moto 360 still runs Android Wear, which still feels a bit like a work in progress.
 It's best used for quickly checking notifications without having to pull your phone out of your
 pocket and it can do a few things like send messages and perform Google searches by voice.
 But it often takes more taps and time to get to where I want to go with Android Wear, and
 I can't for the life of me understand why I still can't clear all of my notifications
 in one step.
 Motorola has introduced a couple of new watch faces this time, complete with tappable widgets
 that display information such as step count, weather, or battery life.
 That makes it easy to quickly see a forecast or upcoming appointments, short-cutting around
 some of Android Wear's deficiencies.
 Motorola has also greatly improved the fitness tracking on the Moto 360, but it's still
 not up to pace with the Apple Watch.
 Speaking of Apple products, you can actually use the Moto 360 with an iPhone now, if you
 want.
 But it's not something I'd really recommend.
 Functionality on the iPhone is very limited compared to Android, and the Apple Watch provides
 a much better experience for iPhone users.
 It shouldn't come as a surprise that something called Android Wear works best on the Android
 platform.
 Overall, the new Moto 360 is much better than the original.
 It's got better looks, better ergonomics, better performance, and better battery life.
 At nearly $300 to start, it costs a bit more than last year's watch did when it launched.
 That doesn't seem like a huge difference, especially for a better device, but $300 or
 more still feels like a bit much to ask given what Android Wear is actually capable of right
 now.
 Will the Moto 360 convert the smartwatch skeptics?
 Probably not.
 A lot of that responsibility rests on the shoulders of Google and the Android Wear platform.
 But that doesn't change the fact that it's a good-looking and well-functioning smartwatch
 that brings us a little bit closer to the wearable dream.