Motorola had the distinction of being the first to dare to put a familiar circular face on the nascent wearables when smartwatches first hit the market. The Apple Watch was also known for its original “flat tyre” shape, and almost all smartwatches now have circular bodies. Like many other smartphone companies, Motorola’s foray into the smartwatch market faded into the background. Now, the name may be ready for a comeback early next year, but Motorola will not manufacture it as it was previously.
Even after Motorola exited the wearable business, the Moto 360 smartwatch moniker lived on, but the former mobile giant did not make the 2019 model. The brand’s licence was purchased by eBuyNow, which CE Brands eventually purchased. Despite its delayed timeline, the latter teased new Moto-branded smartwatches coming this year, and it appears that it hasn’t given up yet.
9to5Google is now reporting on various sightings of the “Moto Watch 100,” which was supposed to launch in June. CE Brands has revised its timeline and now estimates that full production would begin in November 2021 for the smartwatch, which it describes as an entry-level device in terms of price. That raises the question of what the smartwatch will have on board, but no response has been given.
Even a listing on the FCC raises more questions than it solves. While certain features are provided, such as 5 ATM water resistance, Bluetooth 5.2 support, and a 355 mAh battery, some parts remain unknown. The processor, in particular, is still up for question, as is the operating system that will be used.
It’s hard to imagine anything other than the latest Snapdragon Wear 4100 in this Moto Watch 100, but it’s not unheard of, especially for a business with a shaky track record when it comes to smartwatches. Worse, it’s likely that it won’t run Wear OS at all, which is also a possibility for smaller OEMs like eBuyNow and CE Brands. In any case, we’re shooting for a launch in early 2022, assuming the worldwide supply shortfall doesn’t create any further delays.
Source: 9to5google
