Rumors and hints about upcoming device releases tend to come from the most unusual places sometimes, and occasionally, we would hear about something new thanks to the mandatory certification procedures that each manufacturer has to go through before releasing a new device to the market.
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about a potential successor of the Motorola Moto 360, and while many people were expecting the device to be publicly shown on July 28, that didn’t happen. Now, there have been reports that the device has just passed through the FCC, several hours after the event on July 28. While the relevant documents don’t specify the exact name/model of the device, they do say that the certification was for a smartwatch from Motorola, capable of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
On the other hand, there is also a confidentiality request attached to the filing, so the more interesting details of the device remain unknown. For example, any diagrams accompanying the filing would be hidden from the public eye as well, so we have no idea what the watch looks like, nor what kinds of functions it’s going to have.
However, the fact that Motorola want to keep it confidential could be a good indication that this is indeed the new Moto 360. There is not much reason for the company to keep the device under wraps if it was something we already knew about, and on the other hand, there aren’t many products that could fit the description of a smartwatch by Motorola, so it’s looking pretty clear at this point what the filing was about.
And according to experts, the fact that the device was just filed for FCC approval is a pretty big deal itself – this is one of the last few major steps before bringing out a device to the market, so this is probably an indication that we’re getting close to the date when we’ll see the Moto 360 released officially.
Some are even claiming that the company was indeed preparing to unveil the smartwatch on July 28 as was previously speculated, but there were some last-minute issues with the certification process which had to be ironed out before the watch could be shown officially. Now though, Motorola have apparently cleared all those obstacles and are preparing to make the official announcement.
There have been various rumors about what exactly the new watch is going to bring over its predecessor, and we’re expecting to see a 360×360 display with a better visual design and a serious refinement of the user interface. Motorola have reportedly been putting a lot of work into making the watch more intuitive and comfortable to use, and if even half of the popular rumors are true, it’s shaping up to be the best wearable Android device on the market right now, hands down.
At least as far as the design is concerned – but as we well know, there are other issues that have to be handled correctly for the device to be successful. Battery life remains a popular topic among fans of wearable gadgets, and hopefully Motorola have put some extra work into making the watch last longer on a single charge, especially if it’s true that they’ve made its hardware more powerful as a whole. More powerful internals and a good display mean that the watch will need a stronger battery in order to last the same amount of time as its predecessor, and people have actually been hoping that the battery life would be improved too.