Motorola's New Fitness Tracker Shows Up Unannounced On BestBuy
Despite being among the first tech companies to jump onto the smartwatch bandwagon, Motorola has had somewhat of a troubled history with smartwatches. The company's debut smartwatch model — the first-generation Moto 360 — was launched in 2014. It was superseded by the second-gen Moto 360 the following year. Motorola continued selling the second-gen Moto 360 until 2017 — following which the company stayed away from the smartwatch game for another two years. 2019 saw Motorola make a comeback with a new Moto 360 model. Despite having the Moto tag, this smartwatch was made by a third-party company called eBuyNow. However, in the three years since its announcement, Motorola seems to have given up on the Moto 360 brand — at least for now.
In late 2021, Motorola made somewhat of a comeback into the world of smartwatches with a new sub-brand — the Moto Watch. The first product to wear this updated brand name was the Moto Watch 100. This product was different from previous gen Moto 360 products in that it ran the company's own smartwatch OS. The Watch 100 didn't set the sales charts on fire and received mixed reviews from across the board. Exactly a year after the Moto Watch 100's debut, it seems Motorola is on the verge of launching another "Moto Watch" product — the Moto Watch 70.
If not already evident from its name, the MotoWatch 70 is positioned below last year's Moto Watch 100 and is more of a fitness tracker than a full-fledged smartwatch. While Motorola has yet to formally announce this new device, the product page for the Moto Watch 70 is live on BestBuy Canada, suggesting an imminent launch.
Moto Watch 70: Here's everything we know
The design language of the Moto Watch 70 is radically different from Motorola's previous wearable products. For starters, this one features an Apple Watch-styled square display — instead of the standard round displays we have gotten used to seeing on older Motorola wearable products. The Moto Watch 70 gets many health-tracking features one would expect from a 2022 fitness tracker. The device gets a plethora of onboard sensors that include an accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate monitor, and SpO2 sensor. These sensors let the watch monitor the users' steps, distance traversed, running data, elevation gain, heart rate, and estimated amount of calories burned.
The display used on the Moto Watch 70 measures 1.69-inches across and boasts a resolution of 240x280 pixels. With the supplied straps, the fitness band weighs a little over 150g. It supports Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity — and also has the ability to pair with Android and iOS smartphones. While the spec sheet doesn't reveal the battery capacity of the Moto Watch 70, the product listing claims that it is good to last up to 14 hours when used continuously. The device can also be fully charged in just about an hour, the listing asserts. Along with the watch, the retail packaging of the Moto Watch 70 also includes a Zinc Alloy Case, as well as a silicone strap. The product is also IP67 rated for water resistance making it apt for quick dashes to the pool and surviving an occasional shower.
There is no official word yet about the Moto Watch 70 from Motorola. However, we do expect the company to announce this product in the weeks to come.