Motorola Moto Watch (2026) review: Looks can be deceiving

It has the heft of a quality watch, but it isn’t a quality watch.

When I took the Moto Watch out of its box, I was instantly baffled as to how the company could sell it for just $150. After all, it's a good-looking timepiece, with the weight and heft of a watch that costs at least twice the price. When you consider the other devices in this price range, like the Fitbit Charge 6, many of them are just fitness trackers rather than full-blown watches. I was hopeful that Motorola had found a way to produce a stylish and affordable wearable that was easy to recommend in these cash-strapped times. Thankfully, there's an easy explanation as to why it's on sale for so little money: It's not very good and while it looks like a Wear OS watch, it isn't.

There's a question as to the provenance of the watch, and I think it helps to further explain some of the issues I have with it. Motorola is releasing the product through its own channels beside its own phones, and there's a Designed by Motorola slogan engraved on the underside. The retail box even lists Motorola Mobility as both the manufacturer and importer of the product, at least here in the UK.

The issue is that Motorola's last few watches were produced by CE Brands/Vitalist, a Canadian white-label manufacturer that licensed the Moto brand in 2023. CE Brands is also listed as the official licensee (and point of contact) when you go to the About page on the Moto Watch website . When I asked Motorola's representatives if they could tell me who made the Moto Watch, they said they did not have the information and were "unable to provide more details." It wouldn't be the first time Motorola has done this — the 2019 revival of the glorious and wonderful Moto 360 was made by a licensee .

The Moto Watch may look and feel the part, but the illusion of quality fades as soon as you start handling it. Motorola sent me the special edition of the watch, which ships with both a steel link band and a green silicon sports strap, (in Pantone's Herbal Garden, color fans). When I tried to swap the steel band for the silicon, the retaining pins in the former slid out onto the floor. It's not uncommon on some cheap link bands, but it set the tone for what followed.

It has a 47mm aluminum case, a material likely to pick up scratches and dents over time. The crown, which has a lovely machined-in Motorola logo on its side, is made of stainless steel, which should be a lot hardier. It's got a 1.43-inch round OLED display protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 crystal, and is IP68 rated. So far, it's much like so many Wear OS watches I could mention.

I can't find any details as to what system-on-chip is nestled inside the Moto Watch, and the company, similarly, said it couldn't respond to my queries on the matter. I suspect it's because the silicon inside isn't up to much, since whatever lurks below the display runs Real Time OS (RTOS). That's a low-power option better designed for embedded systems, giving you some clue as to the water "Motorola" is paddling in here. There's a battery (of unspecified size) with a rated life of up to 13 days, or a full week with the always-on display.

Rounding out the spec list is Bluetooth 5.3+ LE, a built-in speaker and microphone, dual band GPS and a 4GB eMMC card for media storage.