Motorola Moto Watch Review: A Promising Start Hampered by Software Limitations
Table of Contents
- Motorola Moto Watch Review: A Promising Start Hampered by Software Limitations
- Design and Build Quality: A Premium Aesthetic
- Software and User Experience: Wear OS Familiarity, Limited Functionality
- Performance and Features: A Mixed Bag
- Health and Fitness Tracking: Polar Partnership Doesn’t Fully Deliver
- Moto Watch vs. the Competition
- The Verdict: A Promising Concept, Flawed Execution
Despite a sleek design and impressive battery life, the Motorola Moto Watch falls short of its potential due to a minimal software experience and unreliable fitness tracking, leaving users wondering if opting for a Wear OS device might be a better investment.
Android Central’s expert reviewers rigorously test and compare products to help consumers make informed decisions, and our assessment of the Moto Watch reveals a device with both strengths and significant weaknesses.
When Motorola announced its return to the smartwatch market, optimism was cautiously high. The Moto Watch, while not a direct successor to the beloved Moto 360, presented an intriguing proposition. Partnering with Polar, a renowned name in fitness smartwatches, suggested a focus on health and performance. Could Motorola deliver an affordable smartwatch that truly stood out? Unfortunately, hands-on experience reveals a device that, while showing flashes of brilliance, feels unfinished and ultimately underdelivers.
At first glance, the Moto Watch makes a solid impression. The design evokes similarities to the Galaxy Watch 7 and OnePlus Watch 3, boasting a sandblasted aluminum frame and a stainless steel crown that contribute to a premium look and feel. While the 47mm case is relatively thick, the watch remains surprisingly lightweight at just 35g. Though the larger size may not suit all wrists, the expansive 1.43-inch OLED display benefits from the extra space, offering excellent visibility even outdoors. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, adding to its durability.
The Moto Watch is available in a single color: PANTONE Volcanic Ash. Currently, the device is available at Amazon for $149.99.
Software and User Experience: Wear OS Familiarity, Limited Functionality
Setting up the Moto Watch is straightforward, requiring only the download of the Moto Watch app and a simple pairing process. The user interface is remarkably reminiscent of Wear OS, with familiar swipe gestures for accessing quick settings, notifications, and app panels. One reviewer noted the software experience is “pretty smooth and reminds me of Wear OS,” a welcome departure from the often-convoluted interfaces found on other smartwatches like those from Garmin.
Pressing the stainless steel crown opens the app grid, mirroring the layout of Galaxy Watches, and rotating the crown allows for easy menu navigation. However, despite the premium material, the crown feels disappointingly flimsy. A customizable shortcut button below the crown provides quick access to frequently used apps.
However, the similarities to Wear OS largely end there. The Moto Watch suffers from a severe lack of app availability, offering only a handful of pre-installed functions like clocks, timers, weather, and basic health and wellness tools. Crucially, users cannot download additional apps. Customization options are also limited, though the watch faces are customizable through the Moto Watch app, and users can even leverage Moto AI to generate unique designs.
Moto AI’s primary function on the watch is to summarize notifications, a feature currently limited to select Motorola phones equipped with the AI technology. While convenient for those who frequently miss notifications, its utility is restricted. The notification experience as a whole is lacking; users can view notifications but cannot interact with them, a significant drawback compared to the interactive notifications offered by Wear OS devices. As one user pointed out, this limitation “sort of defeats the purpose of a smartwatch.”
Performance and Features: A Mixed Bag
Beyond the software limitations, the Moto Watch presents further inconsistencies. Music transfer is cumbersome, requiring users to manually select and transfer files via the Moto Watch app due to the limited 512MB of storage. The process is prone to crashes and the watch often reports less available storage than it actually possesses. The speaker placement, located on the bottom of the watch, results in muffled audio, though wireless earbuds can be connected.
A remote camera function is included, but it only serves as a remote shutter button without a live viewfinder. Battery life, however, is a standout feature. Motorola claims up to 13 days on a full charge, and real-world testing confirms excellent longevity, lasting a full week with daily workouts and sleep tracking enabled. Charging takes approximately 40 minutes to reach 50% and 90 minutes for a full charge.
Health and Fitness Tracking: Polar Partnership Doesn’t Fully Deliver
The partnership with Polar promised robust health and fitness tracking, and the Moto Watch includes standard features like heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen measurement, sleep tracking, and stress monitoring. The companion app presents data in an accessible format, but lacks the insightful analysis found in apps from Fitbit and Oura. The “Nightly Recharge” feature offers limited guidance based on sleep and autonomic nervous system data.
Unfortunately, workout tracking proves unreliable. During testing, heart rate readings were consistently 10-40 bpm lower than those recorded by a Pixel Watch 3 and Garmin Venu 4. The watch also unexpectedly stopped recording a yoga session, potentially due to the protruding crown or the auto-pause feature. Even after disabling auto-pause, step tracking proved inaccurate during a walk, highlighting a lack of consistency.
Moto Watch vs. the Competition
Compared to leading smartwatches, the Moto Watch struggles to compete. A side-by-side comparison reveals its shortcomings:
| Moto Watch | Pixel Watch 3 | Venu 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $150 | $349 | – |
| Heart Rate | Inconsistent | Accurate | Accurate |
Ultimately, the Moto Watch feels unreliable, extending beyond fitness tracking. While battery life is commendable and the Wear OS-like UI offers familiarity, the device would have benefited significantly from adopting Wear OS outright.
The Verdict: A Promising Concept, Flawed Execution
The Motorola Moto Watch is available now for $150, positioning it as a mid-range smartwatch. However, the overall experience leaves much to be desired. For a similar price, or even slightly more, consumers might be better served by alternatives like the Galaxy Watch FE, which offers a more mature and feature-rich experience. While the Moto Watch shows potential, it ultimately feels like a missed opportunity, a device that could have been great but falls short due to software limitations and inconsistent performance.
