I don’t regret missing out on the buggy updates and poor battery life of earlier Wear OS versions. But my colleagues keep reminiscing about the Moto 360 as if it were the holy grail of smartwatches. Now, I’m eagerly waiting for Motorola to follow in the footsteps of OnePlus and Xiaomi by jumping back into the Wear OS ecosystem.
I haven't spent much time with Motorola phones, except for the Razr Plus (2023), which I used to convince my fiancée to switch from her iPhone. While I enjoyed the foldable design, it’s hard to fully invest without a compelling Motorola smartwatch to pair it with.
Since joining Android Central, I’ve seen Motorola stick to budget-friendly circular watches like the Moto Watch 40 and Watch 120. These affordable wearables offer basic health tracking, over a week of battery life, and standard smart features expected in the $70–$140 price range.
Why Motorola Should Return to Wear OS
I don’t blame Motorola for stepping away from early Android Wear models. However, 2025 should mark a turning point for Wear OS. Even if a new Moto 360 offers a stock Wear OS experience, Motorola needs to deliver a complete device package to stay competitive.
The Legacy of the Moto 360
My perspective on the Moto 360 is entirely secondhand since no one on our team has one anymore. However, our original review praised its round design at a time when the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live were still square. The Moto 360 and the original Huawei Watch helped define the "round" look as the default for Android smartwatches.
That said, it was far from perfect. It had a thick bezel for an ambient light sensor, a lower PPI than competitors, and poor battery life that required nightly charging. The second-gen Moto 360 (2015) improved on this by adding a crown, slimming the bezel (though keeping the sensor "chin"), and enhancing battery life while retaining its signature round design.
Later, Motorola exited the smartwatch business, licensing the Moto 360 (3rd Gen) to eBuyNow. While it had a sturdy steel design, it wasn’t as iconic as its predecessors. It relied heavily on Google Fit software and suffered from poor battery life and connectivity issues.
Many of its problems were beyond Motorola’s control. It depended on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear hardware and Google’s early Android Wear software—both of which had major issues at the time.
Even OnePlus struggled with Wear OS. In 2020, OnePlus' CEO admitted they abandoned Wear OS due to poor interoperability between phones and smartwatches. Xiaomi also experimented with Android Wear on the 2019 Mi Watch but didn’t fully commit until the 2023 Watch 2 Pro.
The turning point came in 2021 when Google partnered with Samsung on Wear OS, improving the platform and attracting OEMs back. However, Motorola remains a missing piece of the puzzle.
Motorola Is Too Big to Ignore Wear OS
Among Android OEMs that previously made Wear OS watches but skipped Wear OS 3+—Asus, Huawei, LG (RIP), Motorola, Oppo, and ZTE—Motorola is the most natural fit for a comeback.
Parent company Lenovo holds a 5% share of the global smartphone market in 2024, and Motorola was one of the fastest-growing brands in Counterpoint Research’s top 10 OEMs list.
Unless Motorola faces unexpected trade restrictions, it will likely maintain this momentum. While foldables like the Razr Plus 2024 cater to power users, the brand’s core success still comes from well-built budget models like the Moto G Power 2025.
Currently, Motorola users have limited smartwatch options:
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Wear OS watches with exclusive features that don’t work well with Motorola phones.
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Fitness watches with poor messaging capabilities.
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Cheap Moto Watches that still rely on Google Fit for basic health tracking.
Even the Moto Watch 120, Motorola’s most advanced model, only supports Bluetooth calling (without LTE) and offers a limited Google Assistant experience.
Why Now Is the Right Time for a Moto Wear OS Comeback
The original Moto 360 fell behind due to outdated hardware. But with Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon chip expected this year—featuring improved cores, AI capabilities, and multi-day battery life—a Moto 360 revival could finally deliver the smartwatch experience users expect.
Pair it with Wear OS 5—since Google and Samsung will likely reserve Wear OS 6 for 2026—and Motorola users would gain access to proper wearable apps. There are also rumors that Gemini AI is coming to Wear OS, making this an even more opportune moment.
Additionally, Masimo is now overseeing biosensing technology for Wear OS, meaning Motorola could integrate advanced health tracking without playing catch-up.
A Practical Approach: A Budget Moto Wear OS Watch
Most OEMs won’t invest in Wear OS, but Motorola still relies on Google Fit for its RTOS watches, even though the API is shutting down this year. If Motorola had the option to let Google handle fitness software while focusing on smartwatch innovation, it likely would.
Right now, the company is sinking R&D into impractical wearable phone experiments rather than stylish, functional smartwatches—going against the very principles that made the original Moto 360 appealing. Instead of reinventing the wheel, Motorola should launch a budget-friendly Wear OS watch.
Following the blueprint of the OnePlus Watch 2R and Galaxy Watch FE—affordable Android smartwatches aimed at users in the $200–$400 range—Motorola could find a strong market. The OnePlus Watch 2R, in particular, offers multi-day battery life, which practical Moto fans would appreciate.
Motorola, It’s Time to Deliver
Motorola should bring back a stock Wear OS smartwatch with Google’s software, offering Moto users smarter health insights, better fitness tools, and a classic round design. Until hybrid smartwatches become more mainstream, Motorola has a chance to fill the gap left by Fossil—adding much-needed style and class to Wear OS.
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