Moto branded smartwatches are staging another comeback, and they won’t trust Moto 360 nostalgia this time. How WatchSmarty and 9to5Google noticed, a presentation by CE Brands (which runs eBuyNow) revealed a trio of Moto watches arriving in 2021. Notably, none of them appear to be a direct sequel to the Moto 360.
The first is a Moto G-inspired watch due to launch in June. Although the single slide does not reveal the specifications, the G appears to be a budget-oriented circular model with a simple case and no rotating crown. Things will get more interesting in July, however. On top of a more sophisticated one, a Moto Watch would change to a rectangular case – more than a little reminiscent of an Apple Watch, and a clear break with tradition.
All devices are likely to use Wear OS and can use newer chips like the Snapdragon Wear 4100 when CE Brands and eBuyNow announce their partnership with Qualcomm on “premium wearables”.
The new Moto watches are not guaranteed to live up to expectations. If successful, however, they can offer serious competition to larger wear OS watch makers, like Mobvoi (of TicWatch fame) and Fossil. The Wear OS smartwatch market is still relatively small compared to what Apple and Samsung offer, and this offers opportunities for relatively newcomers to thrive.