If you’re a Moto 360 owner like me, Phil, or countless hundreds of the readers of Ausdroid out there, you can stop checking your watch every morning for the Android Wear 5.1.1 update; it’s not coming. Not yet. Motorola have publicly stated that the update isn’t actually ready yet, because of performance issues.
Exactly what those issues are isn’t known, and hasn’t been elaborated on, but one might imagine that with different innards, the Moto 360 is rapidly ageing. You see, the Moto 360 has a Texas Instruments OMAP3630 processor inside, which at the time of launch was already four years old, and considered woefully underpowered. With that in mind, it’s probably somewhat of a miracle that the Moto 360 runs as well as it does now, much less with a heavier operating system about to be placed on it. Most other Android Wear devices run significantly more powerful chips, which are also more power efficient, meaning that other watches can best the Moto 360 on performance and longevity.
@davidcstevens_ Performance is not quite there yet. We’re working with Google to ensure the software works great on #Moto360. Thanks.
— Motorola US (@MotorolaUS) June 3, 2015
With most other Android Wear devices already updated, it’s a race for last place to see how long it’ll take Motorola to overcome those hurdles. One hopes they get there.. because despite its failings, the Moto 360 is actually one of the better looking smartwatches on the market at the moment, and it is wildly (and justifiably) popular with its looks, wireless charging and being one of the few more stylish round-faced watches.
Come on Moto! You can do it!
Don’t hold your breath, we’re STILL waiting on lollipop for moto x 2013
Been running 5.1.1 on my Samsung gear live from a week, WiFi works well, new features like gestures been added that makes it smarter 🙂
Well, this is disappointing. I’ve got a moto 360 (no update) and an Asus Zenwatch (no wifi).
I really can’t understand why motorola hobbled the 360 with that terrible processor. The only theory that seems to hold weight is they had a bunch of them lying around they wanted to get rid of. Unfortunately it’s turned what would have been THE premier wearable, into a compromised device, hobbled with poor performance and battery life.
Motorola could have been the undisputed king of wearables. With hindsight the decision to use the TI processor is looking like an increasingly poor one.
Guessing it was to keep prices competitive with the other wearables since they spent more getting a round screen, metal construction and leather band compared to the other first-gen Wear devices.
True – one of the rumours early on, was the TI chip was to keep the price down. Yet, here we are less than 12 months down the line, and people are paying more for an apple watch band, than the whole cost of the 360.
Motorola could have charged more for the 360 and still made a killing.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing :-