Moto Watch 100 Sightings Hint That The Comeback Is Near

When smartwatches first came to the market, Motorola enjoyed the prestige of being the first to dare put a familiar circular face on the nascent wearables. Of course, it was also notorious for its initial "flat tire" design, and almost all smartwatches today now sport round bodies, with the exception of the Apple Watch. Like many smartphone makers aside from Samsung, Motorola's activity in the smartwatch market eventually faded into the background. Now the name might be ready for a revival early next year, but, as before, it won't be made by Motorola either.

The Moto 360 smartwatch name did live on even after Motorola called it quits in the wearable market, but the 2019 model wasn't manufactured by the former mobile giant. The license for the brand was acquired by eBuyNow, which itself was later acquired by CE Brands. The latter teased new Moto-branded smartwatches coming this year, and it seems that it hasn't given up yet despite its delayed schedule.

9to5Google now reports on various appearances of what has been known as the "Moto Watch 100" that should have launched back in June. CE Brands now revises its schedule and puts a November 2021 date for the start of mass production for the smartwatch, which it labels as an entry-level device in terms of price point. That already raises questions on what the smartwatch will be packing inside, but that question is left unanswered.

Even an FCC listing brings more questions than answers. While it does provide some details, like 5 ATM water resistance, Bluetooth 5.2 support, and a 355 mAh battery, other aspects remain in doubt. The processor, in particular, is still up for debate at this point, not to mention what OS it will be running.

It's almost unimaginable that this Moto Watch 100 would have anything but the latest Snapdragon Wear 4100, but that won't be unheard of, especially for a company that might not have had much of a track record when it comes to smartwatches. A bit more concerning is the possibility that it won't be running Wear OS at all, which is also possible for smaller OEMs like eBuyNow and CE Brands. Either way, we're looking at an early 2022 launch, presuming the global supply shortage doesn't cause further delays.