Moto Watch 100 review: An exercise in frustration not worth the $100 price

The first wearable from Motorola that I experimented with was the MOTOACTV again in 2012 and that device served me effectively for a couple of decades. I also invested time with the Moto 360 in 2014 and found it to be a single of the superior Android Dress in devices.

Final thirty day period I received an e-mail from Motorola advertising the new Moto Watch a hundred and for just $a hundred I figured I would order a single to consider out. I skipped the news that eBuyNow is a enterprise that licenses the Motorola branding and this view arrives from that enterprise and is not a direct Motorola product or service. Just after 10 times of annoyance, I have initiated a return considering the fact that there are just far too many problems in spite of the two firmware updates I have previously mounted.

Critical capabilities of wearables must be accurate data collection, reliable syncing to your smartphone app, the potential to see developments and run reviews so you can track your development, and flawless usage that will not take in your time or trigger annoyance. Sadly, the Moto Watch a hundred only does wonderful in a couple of these capabilities and even then the data does not look to be of the very best quality.

Components

The Moto Watch a hundred is accessible in Glacier Silver or Phantom Black for just $99.99. The hardware is evidently the very best element of the view knowledge with an aluminum view circumstance with curved edges, big side buttons, really hard plastic again panel. The exhibit is a Shade Liquid crystal display that is crisp and obvious, but not that shiny. The challenge with the exhibit is that swiping up and down by lists is painfully slow and laggy.

The black silicone strap is effectively built and comfy for extended dress in. The view rates by way of a proprietary USB cable with a magnetic finish that has two pins that hook up with the again panel.

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Specs

• Screen: one.3-inch Liquid crystal display touchscreen
• Watch circumstance: Aluminum
• Drinking water resistance: 5 ATM/IP68
• Connectivity and sensors: Bluetooth 5. BLE, optical HR and blood oxygen, accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou
• Battery: 355 mAh, up to 14 times in usual usage, rates from empty to full in 60 minutes
• Band measurement: 20mm common with rapid-release pins
• Proportions: forty six x forty six x 11.9mm and 45.6 grams

Watch software package

Elevate your wrist or press a single of the buttons to transform on the exhibit and demonstrate your selected view encounter. There are 7 view faces accessible for you to decide on from buried down in the options found on the view, there is no syncing of view faces from your smartphone either and the view faces are not customizable.

Swipe down from the top to see the handle heart that exhibits rapid controls this kind of as silent method toggle, alarm, options, retain exhibit on for five minutes, and come across my cellphone. This exhibit exhibits you the date and remaining battery everyday living of the view.

Urgent the top right button opens up the list of apps and utilities found on the view. These contain options, pursuits, sleep, SpO2, heart rate, notifications, audio, climate, flashlight, alarm, come across my cellphone, shutter, timer, and stopwatch. There are no other accessible apps or widgets to set up. Tapping a single of these opens up the app and then exhibits you some other data or purpose.

Urgent the bottom right button requires you to a list of 26 exercise possibilities. There are no customizable shows for what is revealed on the exhibit whilst participating in a single of these pursuits so it is a pretty restricted and restricted knowledge, but there are really a number of athletics and pursuits accessible to track and GPS is supported by the view.

Swipe from left to right to go again a single screen when you dive into an app or training option. From the view encounter you swipe left or right to transfer by wellness summary of your working day, audio controls, climate, sleep, SpO2, and heart rate widgets.

Smartphone software package

In order to hook up your Android cellphone and the Moto Watch a hundred you will have to set up the Moto Watch app. The website states that a model of the software package is also coming to iOS in December 2021. There are 4 main tabs in the app household, sleep, wellness, and exercise. Tapping the icon in the top left corner requires you to the screen where you can regulate the view relationship and your account. You are also intended to be ready to regulate your profile, but building any adjustments here hardly ever get saved so you should not bother with the profile options.

On the household tab you can decide on from playing cards that are revealed two huge down the exhibit. Card possibilities contain sleep, methods, calories burned, energetic minutes, weight, heart rate, and SpO2. The selected playing cards demonstrate up with position charts for just about every data kind you decide on. Under this your modern pursuits are revealed on the household website page. Tapping a card requires you into the card with additional data, this kind of as weekly and monthly views.

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The sleep tab exhibits your everyday and weekly sleep scores, sleep intention, and your averages. At the bottom are your sleep program and a line for viewing your sleep log. When viewing your sleep log it just exhibits you the whole several hours slept for the earlier times and there is no functionality to tap on that working day and see the information of your sleep.

The wellness tab exhibits your heart rate, resting heart rate, significant heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation level. There is also a line for your weight that you can log manually. Tapping on your heart rate will open up up a see with today, weekly, and monthly plots.

The exercise tab exhibits your exercise, energetic calories, energetic minutes, and methods for the 7 days or seven 7 days time period. Scrolling down to the exercise log exhibits your earlier pursuits and tapping these does in fact open up up a screen with individuals information. The information demonstrate a GPS plot, duration, length, and energetic calories, laps, regular tempo, whole methods, and heart rate. For the runs I examined with the view no methods or heart rate data was revealed. The view did Okay with the GPS length and calorie estimate, but it is not likely to get any contest for GPS accuracy. The data also mixes up units from the universal selection so the knowledge is very broken.

Everyday usage encounters and summary

During the view and smartphone app, there are misspelled text, incorrect captalization, options and possibilities that are not able to be enabled, and other options that do not continue to be selected just after navigating to a different element of the app. There is a mixing of units even when a single universal selection is built. The view and smartphone software package both equally have to have some get the job done to be regular and skilled.

There is no rhyme or motive to the list of widgets, utilities, and possibilities in the view software package so factors are not even organized alphabetically. When you press the top button you see possibilities this kind of as exercise log, sleep, heart rate, SpO2, and then notifications in that order. You are not able to pick to reorder anything at all so acquiring some thing to do is a irritating squander of time.

The smartphone app seems to be great at first with attractive colors and playing cards for the data with main tabs for household, sleep, wellness, and exercise. On the other hand, you have pretty restricted access to see earlier pursuits and data with no potential to produce or export reviews. You are not able to export your data or share it with any other companies so other than viewing some thing on the working day you are exercise, gathering the data is fairly ineffective and not handy for bettering your wellness and exercise.

The OnePlus Watch is a considerably superior option, but still not that good and priced $fifty additional. If you are hunting for a exercise tracker that does a superior position with monitoring your data and providing you with the potential to use that data, then you must consider some thing like a Fitbit Luxe or Amazfit Band 5.

I will be returning mine shortly and so significantly the men and women responding to my return ask for at eBuyNow have been handy and being familiar with regarding my ask for to return the view. Inspite of a couple of firmware updates considering the fact that it arrived, the view software package and smartphone app still have to have a whole lot of get the job done for me to advise this view to everyone.