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The Moto Watch 100 will be the first of at least three new Moto-branded smartwatches coming soon

Published: Oct 25, 2021, 8:44 AM

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The Moto Watch 100 will be the first of at least three new Moto-branded smartwatches coming soon

After enjoying quite a bit of success in the global and especially the US smartphone market with an extensive portfolio of affordable 5G-enabled models, Motorola made the somewhat predictable decision of returning to tablet manufacturing to try to capitalize on that particular thriving industry as well.

Hot on the heels of the fairly humble Moto Tab G20, an entry-level Moto Watch 100 is apparently also coming soon, but this actually shouldn't be treated as a comeback effort for at least a couple of key reasons.

Does anyone remember the Moto 360 family?

While it's true that the Moto brand was not associated with any new wearable devices between 2015 and 2019, this (semi) mysterious Watch 100 is undoubtedly set to carry the torch of a third-gen Moto 360 released a couple of years ago.

Said product, however, was not technically manufactured, distributed, or advertised by Motorola itself (or its Lenovo parent), and the same will unquestionably be true for the Moto Watch 100. Instead, a little-known company called eBuyNow purchased the Motorola branding rights for the smartwatch market a while back, and now said company is owned by an outfit called CE Brands.

2015's second-gen Moto 360 is the latest and possibly last Motorola-made smartwatch

CE Brands just so happens to sell various products under the Kodak name as well, and for some reason, the Canadian company decided to reveal last week that the Moto Watch 100 is in the pipeline. Described as an "affordable premium feeling smartwatch", this thing is scheduled to "begin mass production" next month, which means a late 2021 or early 2022 release is very much in the cards.

Separately, CE Brands is hinting at an "imminent release" during Q4 2021 for a smartwatch indeed pictured with a "premium" design that's however not quite as attractive as that of the existing third-gen Moto 360. As such, we fully expect the "imminent" Moto Watch 100 to take on today's best budget smartwatches at a retail price of well below $300, down from the original $350 MSRP of 2019's circular Moto 360 beaut.

While the Moto Watch 100 is set to retain the round face of all three Moto 360 generations, a Moto Watch 100s and Moto Watch 200 with square-shaped designs are apparently coming in Q1 2022.

Obviously, we know very little about the two latter models, but given that they are described as "mid-level" rather than "entry-level" by CE Brands, their price points could be squeezed somewhere between the Moto Watch 100 and third-gen Moto 360 to provide the likes of the non-Classic Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Apple Watch SE some (more) competition.

To Wear OS or not to Wear OS?

Circling back to the Moto Watch 100, we should probably highlight that recent FCC regulatory documents include clear references to a number of specifications while still leaving plenty of questions unanswered.

With a robust aluminum case coated in Phantom Black and Steel Silver hues, the relatively stylish timepiece is guaranteed to withstand lengthy water immersion thanks to a top-notch 5 ATM rating. Naturally, a heart rate sensor will be present to keep an eye on your vitals at all times, and in addition to Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, a 355mAh battery is also confirmed to reside under the Moto Watch 100's hood.

That's identical to the cell capacity of the Moto 360 (2019), which means that the 1.2-inch display size could also go unchanged. What's actually not confirmed for the time being is Wear OS support, which leaves the door open (at least theoretically) to the use of a lower-power software platform of some sort.

While that would probably help boost battery life beyond the single-day mark, it's obviously not guaranteed to draw as many potential buyers as native Google apps and services. Of course, it's a little too soon to speculate too much in either direction.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.