Ambient Display Explained

Ambient Display is a feature new to Android 5.0 that allows you to glance at your notifications without lighting up your entire screen. The Moto X (2013) introduced us to this feature which was called Active Display at the time. Instead of the traditional notification LED light that is on most smartphones to indicate a new notification, this feature was made so users could see what they were. The most interesting part of this feature is that it has a low impact on battery, which is why it is so popular.

How it Works

Ambient Display works by using a specialized chip inside the phone's SoC to monitor the phone's movement. This chip is specially designed to only read the sensor information in order to use the least amount of power as possible. Without it, your device would have to use the main processor or application processor as its more formally known as to monitor for motion. Since the application processor is much more advanced we would see a significant drain in battery and our phone would never reach deep sleep mode. 

The magic doesn't just happen within the chip either, for smartphones with AMOLED screens there is even more power savings. AMOLED pixels are unique in that they give off their own light instead of backlights doing it. When a pixel turns black your smartphone actually turns off the pixel completely giving you the blackest black possible. Since the pixel is off it no longer consumes any power and its like your screen is off. When Ambient Display shows notifications it only lights up the pixels it needs and shows everything in a grayscale color scheme. 

Motorola X8 and Snapdragon 800 Series

Snapdragon 805 SoC

Motorola X8 Computing System

The Motorola X8 Computing System was the first chip that utilized the always listening and motion sensing features. Google owned Motorola at the time and likely funded the research and development of this SoC. The reason being was Qualcomm had long been including those low power "contextual" cores for a little while, but for reasons I cannot understand (and even to this day) Qualcomm doesn't write their drivers well or doesn't open source them. What Google had to do was not only show their competitors what those cores we couldn't even use could do and that they could sell phones with it. So with a little bit of time Qualcomm got their act together and suddenly phones were able to take advantage of these cores. The second generation Moto X used a Snapdragon 805 which includes the low power cores for motion and language. Google strategically used Motorola to push innovation and improvement out of their competitors for the greater good of the Android platform. 

How to Enable it

If you have a smartphone running Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher you may be able to utilize Ambient Display. Phones using the Snapdragon 801, 805, 808, and 810 can all utilize this feature. Go into settings, then Display & Lights and look for Ambient Display.

Why I Own a Smartwatch Rant

Finally, I'm getting around to publishing a rant (this has been waiting in my drafts to be looked over again) and what better subject than smartwatches. Just before millions of people buy the Apple Watch for all the wrong reasons and the complaining ensues, I want to tell you why I own one and continue to wear it everyday.

Truth be told, I did not buy my smartwatch, my girlfriend got it for me for my birthday/Christmas (very close together). However, I had my sights set on the Moto 360 since the day it came out. You can check out my full review of the Moto 360 for more details.

Moto 360

So why did I want it so badly? 

I am an early adopter of sorts, wearables are just getting started and I want to see them flourish. The reason I wanted one though was for the convenience of having everything on my wrist. I also don't own watches and the only ones I bought in the past were purchased from some sketchy guy in NYC. So I wanted a watch but I also wanted to have the ability to leverage my phone and my watch better.

Let me explain:
By having a smartwatch I can have a password on my phone but never type it in beca

use the phone sees my watch. I usually don't have a lock code because I think they're inconvenient and you end up telling people anyway. With the smartwatch I have the convenience of not having a passcode when my phone is with me and having it locked when I'm away from it. Pretty cool, right?

I can respond to text messages quickly with my voice or used the canned responses. I can also just look at my wrist and see if the notification I got is worth retrieving my phone for.

This is where most people tell me I'm just lazy and wasted money because I don't like the inconvenience of taking my phone out only to see that my friend posted something on Facebook.

And yes from the perspective of somebody who doesn't perceive the value of the watch that is a reasonable response. But let me ask you this, does your $250 watch from wherever do what mine does? No.

LG G Watch Urbane

Then they say, "but a regular watch looks nicer," again you are correct, but that's not why I got it. I got it because it does all those cool things with my phone. I got it because I wanted a watch with functions, not a fashion statement. You don't buy a smartwatch for what it looks like or for how good of a timekeeper it is. You buy it because it's a cool gadget.

The classic response I get as well is, "I don't understand, if it doesn't do anything your phone can't, or really do anything without your phone, what's the point?"

My reply is usually, "What does a $2,000 Rolex do that this watch and my phone can't do?" Nothing! I can get the time on my watch and I betcha in room full of people I will get more people to ask me about my smartwatch than an expensive Rolex, and you can bet the conversations will be longer too as I'll explain the cool stuff it does. That Rolex will look a million times better without a doubt but to me that isn't important.

To wrap up this rant I want to summarize. People see a new piece of technology these days and expect it to blow their minds. They want it to do something new, it's a sign of the times. We don't see a smartwatch as a big deal but tell someone in the 90's about your smartwatch and they'd be blown away. Apple knows that people think that way and that's why they packed so much stuff into the watch. Viewing your photo album on a watch is impractical but Apple is making it happen. If Steve Jobs was alive he'd go on a rampage, personally I think Steve Jobs would like Android Wear more.

And I'm going to stop there. I will post it rant theory in a future post so subscribe to updates so you can read about that. As always please leave a comment and +1 this.

Moto 360 Review

The First Round Smartwatch

Motorola's first crack at the smartwatch industry is the Moto 360, the first smartwatch to feature the more traditional round face we are accustomed to seeing on classic timepieces. The tl;dr is I like the watch a lot, it is useful, stylish, convenient, and I love wearing it everyday, however for most people $250 is just too much.

Design

I love the design of the watch, and until you get a notification it is much more subtle than other reviewers are saying. I've had it over a month and I have yet to have somebody notice it without the screen drawing their attention when it lights up. It looks good, its comfortable, and you don't look like a complete geek for wearing it. 

Selection

Against traditional watches, the Moto 360 isn't much larger

The band I have is the black leather band that comes stock with the black version. The leather is Horween Leather, it is very comfortable, doesn't irritate the skin at all and is durable. The Moto 360 has to elements to it, the watch and the band. The watch is available in black, stainless steel, and gold. Originally you could only get the bands in black or grey leather. However, Motorola recently released new replacement bands if you'd like to move to a metal band. The metal bands come in three widths, 18mm, 22mm, and 23mm, presumably the 18mm are designed for women who typically have smaller wrists and only come gold or silver metal. The 22mm bands are the leather bands that come in black and stone grey. The 23mm bands are metal and come in black or silver/ The new metal bands are very nice looking and I'm hoping I can get my hands on one soon.

Watchfaces

As for the watchface itself, you can customize them easily to look however you want. Some opt for
the Mickey-Mouse style, others like me look for a minimal elegant style. I will admit I have some "flashy" faces in case I want to show off a bit. The customization is endless and right out of the box Motorola Connect offers an easy solution and other apps are available to do the same job.

The Moto 360 design isn't too big or flashy and it now comes in all kinds of colors. There are options available for women now as well, and this watch won't pop out on smaller wrists as much as you might think. If you're in the market and style matters to you, this should be at the top of your list. 

Performance and Specs

Processor: TI OMAP 3

Memory: 512

Storage: 4GB

Size: 46mm Diameter

Weight: 49g

Screen: 1.56" LCD IPS (320x290)

Battery: 320mAh

OS: Android Wear

Note: IP67 Certified, Bluetooth 4.0, Heart Rate Sensor, Pedometer

Past the Spec Sheet