For the Moto 360, a wearable that counts premium materials among its selling points, the omission of metal watchband options at launch was a bit perplexing. However, Motorola promised swift remediation and has finally delivered — more or less. The manufacturer is making two new bands available for order today on Motorola.com. Slim and interchangeable options will arrive in the months to come. As a bonus, Motorola took the wraps off of incoming apps that’ll let wearers customize their watch faces and log fitness data.
The metal bands come in colors that compliment the Moto 360’s base pigments: light silver and black. Crafted from stainless steel (Motorola says it’s “aircraft-grade”) and featuring a tri-link design, the watchbands retail with a Moto 360 for $300. For comparison’s sake, that’s a $50 premium over Motorola’s leather offerings.
Related: Motorola Moto 360 review
Slimmer bands are on the way, too. For people who want “a different look,” Moto 360 units bundled with watch bands in “light metal” and “champagne gold” will cost $300 and $330, respectively, when they’re released later this year.
If those all sound a bit gaudy, less conspicuous (and potentially cheaper) selections are around the corner. Motorola will eventually offer interchangeable stone, black, and cognac leather as well as light and dark metal bands. The company is also partnering with brands through its M4DE program to expand the number of accessories. Two, DODOcase, and TYLT, have already begun work on stitched leather and silicone bands.
Related: AT&T will cut the Moto 360 price by $50 if you buy it with a new Moto X smartphone
The aforementioned apps, which will soon be delivered in the form of a Motorola Connect update, focus separately on customization and wellness. My Design comes with a few new pre-made watch faces (including the winner of the Moto 360 Design Face-Off). It also lets users create their own by dictating elements like the background, tick marks, and watch bands. Moto Body, a suite that enhances the Moto 360’s fitness built-in tracking capabilities, will base fitness insights on measured steps, distances, heart rate, and calories.
The light and dark metal bands ship today from Motorola’s website. Release dates for the apps and other bands weren’t specified.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.