Motorola announces the Moto Watch 100, an entry level smartwatch with it’s own custom OS

Since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, it’s perhaps fair to say that Wear OS is now back on everyone’s minds. Everyone except Motorola though it seems, as they’ve just launched the new Motorola Moto Watch 100, complete with its own custom Moto Watch OS.

It’s actually not too bad of a smartwatch on paper. Coming with a 42mm case size and a 1.3-inch, IPS LCD display with a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels, it seems to be fairly light on your wrist too, weighing just 45.8g. The strap that it comes with is 20mm wide, and is 175mm long. On the right side of the watch’s aluminum chassis, you’ll find two physical buttons too. You also get your regular host of sensors like an accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate monitor, GPS, SP02 and GLONASS.

Battery-wise, you get a 355mAh battery with quick charge functionality, allowing for a 0 to 100 charge in just an hour. They claim a battery life of up to two weeks, and there’s a magnetic charging cradle too in the box, with no option for wireless charging. As for water resistance, the Moto Watch 100 comes with a 5ATM rating, meaning you can probably swim with it too. You will be able to pair it to your smartphone via Bluetooth 5.0.

But as mentioned earlier, the big change with the Moto Watch 100 compared to their previous Moto 360 smartwatches is the departure away from Wear OS. Instead, it comes with a custom Moto Watch OS, which they are calling the ‘one-stop shop for health’. It’s apparently been optimised to help users get a streamlined experience that’s focused on health. You’ll have to download an accompanying app, which will then unlock 26 different sport modes to fit your favourite activity. Curiously, it seems as though there isn’t third-party app support, or even custom versions of typical apps like Spotify or WhatsApp.

Incidentally, it’s perhaps worth noting that the Moto Watch 100 is technically not by Motorola themselves. A Canadian company called eBuyNow had previously obtained a license to the Motorola name to use for wearable devices back in 2019, and had also been responsible for the third generation Moto 360 from that same year.

Pricing and availability

The Moto Watch 100 comes in either Glacier Silver and Phantom Black, but either choice will only cost you USD99.99 (~RM417.77). This puts it much cheaper than the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, which start at RM899 for the 40mm model, or other Wear OS wearables too like the Mobvoi Ticwatch E3 that retails at RM830. That being said, it does look like you’ll be giving up quite a bit by using Motorola’s untested custom operating system.

There’s no word just yet on local pricing and availability, though North Americans can already pre-order it today, with the Moto Watch 100 being shipped out by the 10th of December. For more information on the Moto Watch 100, you can check out its product page on their website.