Remember when Motorola made a comeback to the smartwatch product segment? While the veteran brand’s return to wearables wasn’t anything too revolutionary, it’s clear that Motorola is still keen on giving fans and would-be buyers an option to stay within its ecosystem of products, as seen with its new Moto Watch Fit. It’s a fresh and competitively-priced contender that, while aiming for affordability, does make certain compromises with its hardware.
CHECK OUT: Beloved Smartwatch Brand Pebble Lives Again with New Models and a New Name
The Moto Watch Fit adopts a squared design that reminds us heavily of certain other smartwatch models out there, and comes with a 1.9-inch OLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which should hold up against everyday wear and tear. The display also comes with a peak brightness of up to 1,000 nits, which should be ideal for most outdoor situations.
Going back to its design, the Moto Watch Fit’s chassis is built from an aluminium frame, which does add a premium feel while maintaining a rather lightweight profile. The device comes with 5ATM water resistance rating, so it should be safe for swimming and even showering, and there’s also IP68 certification for added dust and water ingress protection. Overall it’s a solidly-built smartwatch that should have no problem for users with active lifestyles.
One point of consideration is the Moto Watch Fit’s underlying software. Unlike many smartwatches on the market, it ditches Google’s feature-rich Wear OS platform and instead runs on a more basic RTOS (real-time operating system). This essentially means that users expecting the same level of versatility in a device like say, a Pixel Watch might be a bit disappointed with the Watch Fit’s simpler approach.
The device will not be able to support the installation of third-party apps from the Play Store, and users will be limited to the pre-installed suite of default apps and settings, unlike the more expanded functionality that Wear OS comes with. On the positive side, this more basic operating system does give the Watch Fit an edge in terms of battery life, allowing it to last for up to 16 days on a single charge—by comparison, most Wear OS devices can barely last a week.
In terms of health and fitness tracking, the Moto Watch Fit manages to cover the essentials such as heart rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), sleep patterns, and stress levels, and Motorola says that the device will provide users with valuable insights into their well-being. Additionally, there are over 100 sports modes available, which should appeal to buyers looking for a wearable that’s a bit more versatile than your standard fitness tracker.
A notable omission however is the absence of a microphone and speakers, meaning that the Moto Watch Fit will not be able to make or receive phone calls directly from the wrist. Given that this is a feature that’s become increasingly common on many modern smartwatches, this might prove to be an inconvenience for some users.
CHECK OUT: ASUS Announces a New… Smartwatch?
The Moto Watch Fit is scheduled to launch in May for around £89, making it cheaper than other wearables such as the Fitbit Sense 2, Pixel Watch 3 and even the Apple Watch SE 2, although those are arguably more feature-packed. While it does have some trade-offs in terms of features and software, its focus on core fitness tracking and battery life are undoubtedly its biggest strengths.
