Back in 2020, we reviewed the Moto 360 smartwatch, calling it a “fairly by-the-books” device masquerading as something more under the Motorola name. Well, there’s a new line of Moto-branded wearables on the horizon – and they look a whole lot more exciting.
When we first reported on the three as-yet-unannounced smartwatches – the Moto Watch, Moto One and Moto G – all we had to go on was their admittedly-sleek designs. We were pretty much in the dark on both their specs and what software they would run.
Now, eagle-eyed posters on the /r/WearOS subreddit have taken a closer look at the product images from eBuyNow’s investor presentation (that’s the company that licenses the Motorola name for smartwatches) to reveal what seems to be a host of exciting features coming to these next-gen wearables.
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- Check out our review of the Moto 360
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The first revelation comes from a small inscription visible at the bottom of each smartwatch reading “Snapdragon Wear 4100”, suggesting every one of the new wearables will come with a faster Qualcomm chipset than the Wear 3100 we saw on the Moto 360. This could also make them some of the best-performing Wear OS smartwatches on the market, a particularly impressive feat for the supposedly-affordable Moto G.
This is the same chipset that powers the surprisingly-speedy Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3, the first smartwatch to come with the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, so we expect to see similar performance from the upcoming Moto-branded range.
Thanks to this improved chipset, we also expect the new wearables to come equipped with improved battery life. Our biggest complaint regarding the Moto 360 was its poor battery performance, often struggling to last up to a day. The TicWatch Pro 3, on the other hand, lasted an impressive three days, which bodes well for Motorola’s latest smartwatches.
Bells and whistles
The same product images also reveal several other bells and whistles that might arrive with the newest Moto wearables.
In addition to the “Snapdragon Wear 4100” inscription, there’s also inscriptions for “NFC”, “5ATM”, and “GPS”, which suggest the devices will support contactless payments, survive at up to 5ATM of water pressure and support location tracking.
Interestingly, Redditors also spotted wireless charging coils in the images provided in the sales presentation, suggesting (you guessed it) the new Moto smartwatches could be juiced up wirelessly.
The product roadmap for 2021 indicates the Moto G will arrive sometime in June, while the Moto Watch and Moto One will follow in July. If they do indeed hit the shelves with some or all of the features we’ve described above, they’ll offer worthy competition to existing Fossil Group smartwatches and provide a much-needed boost to the Wear OS ecosystem.
- Read our verdict on the TicWatch Pro 3
Via XDA
