Motorola Moto Watch review: This ‘accessible’ smartwatch offers long battery life and better fitness metrics

In the early 2010s, the Moto 360 smartwatch was all the rage, and I firmly believed that Motorola would become the only competitor to Apple in mainstreaming the smartwatch segment. That didn’t really happen, and for many years, Motorola was largely absent from the smartwatch market. Only a few years ago did it make a comeback. However, its smartwatches weren’t something I would recommend to my readers. This year, Motorola has once again tried its hand at the smartwatch market and partnered with Polar, the fitness tracker company. The Moto Watch itself is more polished, offers long battery life, and comes at an entry-level price point. The question is: in a sea of “budget” smartwatches, can the Motorola Moto Watch prove to be a worthy option? I tried the Moto Watch for days, and here is my review. What: Motorola Moto Watch| Price: Rs 5,999 ## Premium look The Moto Watch closely resembles the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and even the OnePlus Watch 3. It has a round screen surrounded by an aluminium frame and a fairly thin chassis. The Moto Watch does look premium, though it only comes in a 47mm case. I would say the size won’t appeal to everyone. The watch is large and comes in an all-black finish. It has a digital crown on the right and a second, Polar-style wide side button, and uses standard pin toggles to swap out the bands, which is nice addition. My review unit came with a stainless steel band; it blends well with an office look and gives the watch a more professional appearance. When I wore it, it felt like I was wearing a proper watch. As I said earlier, the Moto Watch isn’t the lightest, but it’s acceptable. The good thing is that it looks more like a traditional watch than a geeky gadget, which many men would appreciate. The watch has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, which means it can be submerged under a meter of water for 30 minutes. The display is large – 1.43 inches, to be exact. However, it is sharp and pretty bright under sunlight. The screen is OLED and supports touch input. The bezel has two buttons on the side. You can press and twist the crown to turn on the watch face and scroll through apps. The other is a Polar-style function button, which directly takes you to different exercise options. ## Easy setup and software experience Setting up the Moto Watch was simple. I downloaded the official app from the Google Play Store on my Samsung Galaxy Note 7, and within minutes, the smartwatch was up and running. This is an Android-only smartwatch and is compatible with any phone running Android 12 or above, supporting Bluetooth 5.3. Interestingly, the watch also has built-in dual-frequency GPS, allowing you to wear the device and go on hikes or runs without needing to take your smartphone. The Moto Watch’s interface reminded me of Google’s Wear OS, though it actually runs Motorola’s own software. Anyway, swiping down from the top opens the quick settings menu, swiping up shows notifications, and swiping from either side cycles through panels – again, very similar to Wear OS tiles. Although Motorola uses its own software, the experience is very smooth, which is a good thing because I have seen entry-level smartwatches with convoluted software. Unfortunately, the Moto Watch’s software is pared down and limited. There are a few customisable options and a handful of supported apps. While you can change and customise the watch face, many of which are available in the Moto Watch app, the overall experience is restricted. In fact, even the notification system on the Moto Watch is very limited, as you cannot interact with notifications. For someone who uses the Apple Watch or Pixel Watch, the limited software experience on the Moto Watch was glaringly visible. Thankfully, the Moto Watch has a microphone and a loudspeaker that sound clear. You can even connect wireless earbuds to the watch and take calls. ## Polar’s UI is fun and the long battery life is a big relief Perhaps the reason I was looking forward to reviewing the Moto Watch in the first place was Motorola’s partnership with Polar, a pretty well-known player in the fitness market. I don’t know if you are aware, but Polar is known for its highly accurate heart rate chest straps used by professional and serious athletes, alongside sports watches that rival Garmin watches. While the Moto Watch comes with standard health features like heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep tracking, and even stress monitoring, the big deal is how it integrates Polar’s specialised wellness platform into the watch. That means users can get detailed health metrics (things like nuanced fitness insights such as heart-rate variability, sleep stages and recovery ) and the partnership makes a lot of sense. I found Polar’s UI very usable; it’s fun, colourful, and much easier to navigate through metrics, which can sometimes be hard to understand and technical. Motorola and Polar also include a feature called Nightly Recharge, which takes your “sleep charge” and autonomic nervous system (ANS) charge, a combination of heart rate, HRV, and breathing rate, into account to give you tips. I wouldn’t say the app provides very deep insights, but it’s good to see that a low-end Android watch goes beyond basic heart tracking. I would love to see if Motorola ever makes a high-end smartwatch and how this partnership with Polar pans out. I mentioned earlier that the Moto Watch supports dual-frequency GPS, which is often used for more accurate location tracking and is usually found only on premium smartwatches. In addition to dual-frequency GPS, the Moto Watch includes an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, an ambient light sensor, and an e-compass. One gripe I noticed was how slow the onboard GPS is on the watch. This may be due to the processor, as it struggles to connect to satellites. Another issue is the inaccurate heart rate tracking; the Moto Watch often gives different readings compared to the Apple Watch and Pixel Watch. For me, though, the Moto Watch’s battery life is the real selling point. While most smartwatches last about a day, the Moto Watch lasted over a week on a single charge. Motorola also says the watch supports fast charging, adding roughly a day’s worth of charge in just five minutes. ## So, should you buy the Motorola Moto Watch? The Moto Watch is a big step toward making affordable smartwatches better at measuring fitness metrics. However, its inaccurate heart rate tracking and limited software experience detract from the overall experience. No device is perfect, and the Moto Watch is no exception. That being said, if you are in the market for a “budget” smartwatch, you should also consider other options, such as the Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro. Anuj Bhatia is a seasoned personal technology writer at indianexpress.com with a career spanning over a decade. Active in the domain since 2011, he has established himself as a distinct voice in tech journalism, specializing in long-form narratives that bridge the gap between complex innovation and consumer lifestyle. Experience & Career: Anuj has been a key contributor to The Indian Express since late 2016. Prior to his current tenure, he served as a Senior Tech Writer at My Mobile magazine and held a role as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. His professional trajectory reflects a rigorous commitment to technology reporting, backed by a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. Expertise & Focus Areas: Anuj’s reporting covers the spectrum of personal technology, characterized by a unique blend of modern analysis and historical context. His key focus areas include: Core Technology: Comprehensive coverage of smartphones, personal computers, apps, and lifestyle tech. Deep-Dive Narratives: Specializes in composing longer-form feature articles and explainers that explore the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. Global & Local Scope: Reports extensively on major international product launches from industry titans like Apple and Google, while simultaneously covering the ecosystem of indie and home-grown tech startups. Niche Interests: A dedicated focus on vintage technology and retro gaming, offering readers a nostalgic yet analytical perspective on the evolution of tech. Authoritativeness & Trust Anuj is a trusted voice in the industry, recognized for his ability to de-jargonize trending topics and provide context to rapid technological advancements. His authority is reinforced by his on-ground presence at major international tech conferences and his nuanced approach to product reviews. By balancing coverage of the world's most valuable tech brands with emerging startups, he offers a holistic and objective view of the global technology landscape. Find all stories by Anuj Bhatia here. You can find Anuj on Linkedin. ... Read More