Motorola isn’t greatest identified for its smartwatch lineup, however for the previous few years, the corporate has launched a spread of smartwatches operating the Put on OS platform that look pretty acquainted. These have featured spherical shows, utilized Google’s wearable platform, and supplied a compelling different to the most effective smartwatches operating on Android.
Right now, the corporate unveiled a brand new smartwatch that differs from its previous gadgets, but bears a hanging resemblance to a different smartwatch. The brand new Moto Watch Match is sq., doesn’t run Android, and is designed to be a competitor to 1 smartwatch: the Apple Watch.
At an unique briefing in New York Metropolis, I had the chance to expertise the Moto Watch Match alongside the brand new Moto Razr 2025, Razr Plus 2025, and Razr Extremely 2025 smartphones. What’s new, what’s completely different, and must you purchase the brand new Moto Watch Match? Right here’s our first impressions from a short hands-on!
Changing a spherical show with a sq.
The Moto Watch Match encompasses a sq. 1.9-inch OLED show that’s paying homage to the Apple Watch Sequence 10. It’s nearly equivalent in measurement, however whereas the Apple Watch is just suitable with the iPhone, the Moto Watch Match is designed for individuals who need a sq. smartwatch to make use of alongside the most effective Android telephones. At 1,000 nits, the show must be vibrant sufficient for many environments, though in the event you plan to work out beneath the brilliant noon solar, you might run into some legibility points.
Very like the remainder of Motorola’s smartphones, the Moto Watch Match options bands with Pantone-curated colours. The trekking inexperienced coloration band matches the identical coloration because the Razr Extremely 2025. Moreover, there’s a choice of different bands, in addition to help for any third-party band with 22 mm connectors.
This implies you possibly can select from hundreds of third-party bands, and Motorola says that is designed to present you as a lot selection as attainable to search out the model that fits you. If you wish to discover a wallpaper that additionally matches your band, you should use Moto AI to create one with a easy textual content immediate, though we weren’t capable of take a look at this throughout our hands-on session.
RTOS, not Put on OS, however that’s a superb factor
Probably the most notable facet of the Moto Watch Match is that Motorola has opted for the RTOS platform as a substitute of Put on OS. The OnePlus Watch 3 demonstrated that it’s attainable to run each RTOS and Put on OS concurrently utilizing a dual-architecture setup, however Motorola has opted solely for the previous.
This implies there isn’t a Google Play Retailer, and it lacks a big choice of apps to select from. Consequently, this received’t exchange your current watch in the event you want to make use of companion apps along with those put in in your cellphone. Nevertheless, regardless of the shortage of Put on OS, Motorola has ensured that the Moto Watch Match is suitable with all Android telephones.
The most important good thing about utilizing the RTOS platform is the prolonged battery life: the Moto Watch Match is rated for a exceptional 16 days of battery life on a single cost. The OnePlus Watch 3 presents roughly 5 days of battery life, because of its twin structure. With Motorola aiming for at least two weeks, it explains the choice to make use of the RTOS platform. In the meantime, the Apple Watch Sequence 10 solely lasts two days on a single cost.
Constructed for health first, style second
The choice to not use Put on OS additionally meant that Motorola needed to develop its personal in-house health monitoring app. The companion app can observe the same old suite of well being options that you simply’d anticipate from a smartwatch, together with well being, sleep, and exercise.
There’s additionally help for monitoring over 100 completely different sports activities modes, in addition to superior calorie monitoring and built-in GPS to make sure you have an correct log of your distance and efficiency. Not everybody likes to run; nevertheless, if swimming is your most well-liked selection, 5ATM water resistance and an IP68 ingress safety score guarantee you can submerge the watch as much as 5 metres (165 toes).
The Moto Watch Match can be protected by Gorilla Glass 3, which supplies some safety towards scratches and drops, each widespread points that smartwatches are liable to. As I found with the Apple Watch Sequence 10, this safety is important, as I managed to deeply scratch my watch inside every week of utilizing it.
A deal with the core smartwatch necessities
The definition of a smartwatch has advanced considerably over the previous decade, because the launch of the primary Apple Watch. Apple made the idea of a wearable ubiquitous and fully redefined what clients have come to anticipate from a smartwatch. A decade later, the Apple Watch stays one of many few to make the most of a sq. show, which addresses most of the inherent points with viewing notifications and texts on a rounded show.
Like its telephones, Motorola has clearly realized from the competitors and its personal customers. The Moto Watch Match addresses most of the challenges related to the most effective smartwatches, because of its multi-week battery life, whereas additionally bringing a lot of the main target again to the core necessities of a smartwatch.
In contrast to the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch 7, or another smartwatch operating Put on OS, the Moto Watch Match focuses on nice well being monitoring, a trendy show, and glorious battery life. For some individuals, this will not be sufficient, particularly since we don’t know the precise price when it launches within the coming months. Nevertheless, for others, it’ll be the proper steadiness of options that they want, with fewer of the issues they don’t.
Finally, in the event you’ve been in search of a trendy smartwatch that gives a robust suite of well being monitoring options and glorious battery life, that is in all probability the most effective smartwatch for you.