Motorola is not exactly a household name in the wearable industry, which might explain why the newest Moto-branded smartwatch doesn't actually come from the Lenovo-owned US company. Just like the third-gen Moto 360 from a couple of years ago, this undeniably stylish timepiece is made by a little outfit called eBuyNow, which is wholly owned by a larger company called CE Brands.
Up for pre-order right now in the US in Glacier Silver and Phantom Black hues ahead of a scheduled shipment start on December 10, the feature-packed Moto Watch 100 will set you back a measly $99.99.
That's a whopping 150 bucks less than the entry-level Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 version, for instance, so naturally, Motorola eBuyNow had to cut a few corners and make a number of major compromises.
The biggest weakness is by far the lack of Wear OS support, with Google's (moderately) popular platform being replaced by a proprietary operating system dubbed simply Moto OS. This may or may not prove to be as "streamlined" and energy-efficient as advertised, but the fact of the matter is we don't know what to expect from a user experience standpoint, and that sort of thing rarely turns out great.
What's undoubtedly great is the incredible range of health and wellness tools included at a single Benjamin, from an obligatory heart rate monitor, accelerometer, and gyroscope to standalone GPS connectivity, a state-of-the-art SpO2 sensor taking care of blood oxygen supervision, in-depth sleep tracking, and no less than 26 built-in sport modes.
Obviously, there was no way to squeeze life-saving ECG monitoring and fall detection capabilities into that budget as well, and the same seems to go for NFC-enabled wrist payments.
On the decidedly bright side of things, the elegant device comes with a robust 42mm aluminum case, top-notch 5ATM water resistance, and interchangeable bands (only one black silicone strap in the box, though).
The quality/price ratio is almost too good to be true
Tipping the scales at 45.8 grams, this bad boy is considerably bulkier than both the 40 and 44mm Galaxy Watch 4 variants, rivaling however the 42 and 46mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic models.
Of course, you can't argue the Moto Watch 100 is anywhere near as handsome as the latter Wear OS-powered Samsung smartwatch (or the Wear OS-powered third-gen Moto 360), but the obvious bulkiness is at least in part offset by brilliant battery life.
On paper, this looks like a champion in that particular area, eclipsing even the $400 Garmin Venu 2 series with up to 14 days (!!!) of endurance on a single charge. And speaking of charging, the Moto Watch 100 also promises to fill up its reasonably hefty 355mAh cell in as little as 60 minutes, which is yet another thing you usually only get from some of the best smartwatches (with the highest prices) out there.
On top of everything, the 1.3-inch circular LCD panel looks as sharp and as bright as they come (even though the actual resolution is kept under wraps for some reason), and yes, the Moto Watch 100 supports Always-on Display functionality too.
In a nutshell, you get way more than what you pay for here, but the questions you need to ask yourself before pulling the trigger are exactly how much you value Google's software (and software support) and how much do you care who builds your gadgets and what are their background and expertise.
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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'.
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