New Motorola smartwatches could sport the top Wear OS chipset
Along with wireless charging, contactless payments and more
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Back in 2020, we reviewed theMoto 360smartwatch, calling it a “fairly by-the-books” device masquerading as something more under the Motorola name. Well, there’s anew line of Moto-branded wearableson the horizon – and they look a whole lot more exciting.
When wefirst reportedon the three as-yet-unannounced smartwatches – the Moto Watch, Moto One and Moto G – all we had to go on was their admittedly-sleek designs. We were pretty much in the dark on both their specs and what software they would run.
Now,eagle-eyed posters on the/r/WearOS subreddithave taken a closer look at the product images from eBuyNow’sinvestor presentation(that’s the company that licenses the Motorola name for smartwatches) to reveal what seems to be a host of exciting features coming to these next-gen wearables.
The first revelation comes from a small inscription visible at the bottom of each smartwatch reading “Snapdragon Wear 4100”, suggesting every one of the new wearables will come with a faster Qualcomm chipset than the Wear 3100 we saw on the Moto 360. This could also make them some of the best-performing Wear OS smartwatches on the market, a particularly impressive feat for the supposedly-affordable Moto G.
This is the same chipset that powers the surprisingly-speedy MobvoiTicWatch Pro 3, the first smartwatch to come with the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, so we expect to see similar performance from the upcoming Moto-branded range.
Thanks to this improved chipset, we also expect the new wearables to come equipped with improved battery life. Our biggest complaint regarding the Moto 360 was its poor battery performance, often struggling to last up to a day. The TicWatch Pro 3, on the other hand, lasted an impressive three days, which bodes well for Motorola’s latest smartwatches.
Bells and whistles
The same product images also reveal several other bells and whistles that might arrive with the newest Moto wearables.
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In addition to the “Snapdragon Wear 4100” inscription, there’s also inscriptions for “NFC”, “5ATM”, and “GPS”, which suggest the devices will support contactless payments, survive at up to 5ATM of water pressure and support location tracking.
Interestingly, Redditors also spotted wireless charging coils in the images provided in the sales presentation, suggesting (you guessed it) the new Moto smartwatches could be juiced up wirelessly.
The product roadmap for 2021 indicates the Moto G will arrive sometime in June, while the Moto Watch and Moto One will follow in July. If they do indeed hit the shelves with some or all of the features we’ve described above, they’ll offer worthy competition to existing Fossil Group smartwatches and provide a much-needed boost to the Wear OS ecosystem.
ViaXDA
Axel is TechRadar’s UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site’s Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.
Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.
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