It has been 6 months since I bought my Moto 360 and when someone sees it for the first time the question is always the same: “What are you using it for?”. So, I decided to write this blog post, which will hopefully answer this question and give you an insight on how I use it.



I never asked myself that question but when I think about it, it’s a normal and understandable question. I knew everything about Android wear and Moto 360 months before I bought it, but other people, especially the ones who are not up to date with new technology don’t actually know what this new technology brings. So, let’s get started.

10 features I use on daily basis

1. Notifications

I can’t remember the last time I read a notification on my phone. Trust me, you can live without looking at mobile phone when it comes to notifications. Email, calendar events, Slack messages and a lot more. I read all of them on Moto 360. A lot of people asked me how I read emails on such a small screen, but the thing is I don’t. The trick is that Inbox application shows sender, subject and only 4 rows of email message in notification. For me that information is enough to know if I need to reply to that mail immediately, or it can wait until I get to my computer.

2. Phone sound

When you connect Android smartwatch to your mobile phone, you have an option to mute the phone sound. This is something so cool that it’s hard to describe. I got used to this 5 minutes after I had the watch on my wrist. Each time a new email arrives or someone calls you, your watch will start to vibrate and your phone won’t make any sound. I got so used to this, that one day, when I left my watch at home, I was standing in front of an elevator with 4 other people and I was waiting for someone to answer their phone. I did not even realize that my phone was ringing. In noisy places like public transportation this can be a helpful feature because you will never miss a call when it’s too loud to hear it ringing.

3. Phone lock screen

Android allows you to set a screen lock which requires some kind of user action (pattern, password, fingerprint…) in order to unlock the phone. With Android wear you can enable screen lock only if your smartwatch is not connected, so each time I forget my phone I do not have to worry if someone will read my emails. It’s really convenient for me not to have an unlock pattern when I’m near my phone.

4. Navigation

Google maps application works very well with Android wear and I was surprised when I found out that you do not have to look at the phone when using navigation. You can see everything on your watch, and it will even vibrate when you need to take a turn. I do not recommend using it while driving because it forces you to simultaneously move your hand from steering wheel and your eyes of the road, which is dangerous. I’m only using it when I’m walking and it proved to be a cool feature.

5. Voice actions aka. “Ok google”

Each voice action you have on your mobile phone can be used on your watch. Personally, I never used voice actions, but there is one case when I use this on my Moto 360, to set reminders. This can be very useful when driving because you do not have to move your hands from steering wheel. The only thing you need to is say “Ok google, remind me to [do something]“. The watch will ask you when do you want to set a reminder and after saying that it will automatically save that reminder. It will also give you few seconds to cancel that reminder. Very useful thing if you tend to forget things, like I do.

6. Wear remote camera

When you open camera application Android wear allows you to touch smartwatch screen in order to start image taking on your phone. It will also give you a preview of image so you can decide if you want to retake or not. I have used it a few times, but it’s more of a cool feature then something that you really need.

7. Find my phone

Find my phone is the most useful app for Android wear I have ever seen. It’s simple and has one awesome feature, it will notify you when you leave your phone. Trust me, I can not count how many steps this app saved me. Unfortunately, after Moto 360 updated to Android wear 5.1.1 this app is no longer reliable as it was before. I haven’t found a decent replacement so I hope that it will be fixed soon.

8. Google keep

I use Google keep to write reminders, checklists etc. A lot of times when I go shopping I write a shopping list and crossing off items from the list on your smartwatch is really simple and convenient. Other than that, I did not find any situation where Google keep would be helpful on smartwatch.

9. Music

I was surprised how simple it is to control my playlist with Moto 360. When you listen to music, either with Play Music or one of many streaming applications you can easily change volume or current song. You can also choose a different playlist or song right from your smartwatch. This is a really cool feature when you are driving with public transportation and it’s hard to take the phone out of your pocket.

10. What time is it?

I think that this is obvious but I’ll mention it anyway. I use my Moto 360 to check what time is it.

Is it worth the money?

These are most of the cases when I use my Moto 360. There are few other useful applications like Endomondo, Google Fit, Stopwatch and Timer, but I do not use them very often.

The second question a lot of people ask me is “Is it worth the money?“. I do not know the answer to this question. The only question I ask myself, every time I buy something like this is: “Would I buy it again?“, and the answer for Moto 360 is “Yes, definitely”.

I really got used to wearing it, and in some cases, apart from being cool it saves me a lot of time. Smartwatch technology is still very young and only time will tell if it will survive. If you ask me, they are going in the right direction and I’m looking forward to see what it will bring us.

Thanks to Aivis Mežals for free Moto 360 sketch template.