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

The first wearable from Motorola that I tried out was the MOTOACTV again in 2012 and that device served me effectively for a few of a long time. I also used time with the Moto 360 in 2014 and uncovered it to be one particular of the improved Android Use devices.

Previous month I obtained an email from Motorola advertising the new Moto Check out a hundred and for just $a hundred I figured I would get one particular to attempt out. I missed the news that eBuyNow is a enterprise that licenses the Motorola branding and this enjoy will come from that enterprise and is not a immediate Motorola item. Following 10 times of irritation, I’ve initiated a return considering the fact that there are just much too many troubles despite the two firmware updates I’ve presently put in.

Like

  • $a hundred price tag
  • Reliable components style and design and quality develop
  • Outstanding AMOLED display screen
  • Snug silicone strap

Never Like

  • Buggy Android app
  • Laggy display screen response
  • Messy smartwatch software program
  • Info locked in the smartphone app
  • Constrained check out of historic info, no reviews
  • No third social gathering apps

Essential features of wearables should really be correct info collection, reputable syncing to your smartphone app, the skill to check out tendencies and run reviews so you can monitor your progress, and flawless utilization that does not consume your time or trigger irritation. Regrettably, the Moto Check out a hundred only does fantastic in a few of these features and even then the info does not seem to be to be of the very best quality.

Hardware

The Moto Check out a hundred is accessible in Glacier Silver or Phantom Black for just $99.99. The components is clearly the very best part of the enjoy expertise with an aluminum enjoy case with curved edges, big side buttons, hard plastic again panel. The display screen is a Color Lcd that is crisp and apparent, but not that shiny. The issue with the display screen is that swiping up and down by way of lists is painfully gradual and laggy.

The black silicone strap is effectively made and cozy for prolonged dress in. The enjoy prices by using a proprietary USB cable with a magnetic conclusion that has two pins that link with the again panel.


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Technical specs

  • Display screen: 1.3-inch Lcd touchscreen
  • Check out case: Aluminum
  • H2o 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 common utilization, prices from vacant to comprehensive in sixty minutes
  • Band sizing: 20mm standard with quick-release pins
  • Proportions: forty six x forty six x eleven.9mm and forty five.six grams

Check out software program

Elevate your wrist or push one particular of the buttons to convert on the display screen and display your chosen enjoy facial area. There are seven enjoy faces accessible for you to pick from buried down in the settings uncovered on the enjoy, there is no syncing of enjoy faces from your smartphone either and the enjoy faces are not customizable.

Swipe down from the major to check out the manage heart that demonstrates quick controls this sort of as silent method toggle, alarm, settings, continue to keep display screen on for five minutes, and discover my cell phone. This display screen demonstrates you the date and remaining battery everyday living of the enjoy.

Urgent the major appropriate button opens up the record of apps and utilities uncovered on the enjoy. These contain settings, actions, snooze, SpO2, heart price, notifications, tunes, weather, flashlight, alarm, discover my cell phone, shutter, timer, and stopwatch. There are no other accessible apps or widgets to set up. Tapping one particular of these opens up the app and then demonstrates you some other info or perform.

Urgent the bottom appropriate button takes you to a record of 26 exercise options. There are no customizable shows for what is proven on the display screen whilst collaborating in one particular of these actions so it is a very restricted and confined expertise, but there are rather a couple sports and actions accessible to monitor and GPS is supported by the enjoy.

Swipe from left to appropriate to go again one particular display screen when you dive into an app or workout selection. From the enjoy facial area you swipe left or appropriate to go by way of well being summary of your working day, tunes controls, weather, snooze, SpO2, and heart price widgets.

Smartphone software program

In get to link your Android cell phone and the Moto Check out a hundred you should set up the Moto Check out app. The web-site states that a variation of the software program is also coming to iOS in December 2021. There are 4 most important tabs in the app dwelling, snooze, wellness, and exercise. Tapping the icon in the major left corner takes you to the display screen where by you can control the enjoy link and your account. You are also meant to be equipped to control your profile, but making any changes here never ever get saved so do not bother with the profile settings.

On the dwelling tab you can pick from cards that are proven two extensive down the display screen. Card options contain snooze, methods, energy burned, active minutes, weight, heart price, and SpO2. The chosen cards display up with standing charts for each info variety you pick. Underneath this your modern actions are proven on the dwelling site. Tapping a card takes you into the card with more info, this sort of as weekly and month-to-month sights.


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The snooze tab demonstrates your everyday and weekly snooze scores, snooze objective, and your averages. At the bottom are your snooze timetable and a line for viewing your snooze log. When viewing your snooze log it just demonstrates you the whole several hours slept for the past times and there is no capacity to tap on that working day and check out the particulars of your snooze.

The wellness tab demonstrates your heart price, resting heart price, substantial heart price, and blood oxygen saturation level. There is also a line for your weight that you can log manually. Tapping on your heart price will open up a check out with now, weekly, and month-to-month plots.

The exercise tab demonstrates your exercise, active energy, active minutes, and methods for the week or seven week interval. Scrolling down to the exercise log demonstrates your past actions and tapping these does in truth open up a display screen with those people particulars. The particulars display a GPS plot, length, length, and active energy, laps, average tempo, whole methods, and heart price. For the operates I tested with the enjoy no methods or heart price info was proven. The enjoy did Okay with the GPS length and calorie estimate, but it is not likely to earn any contest for GPS precision. The info also mixes up units from the universal assortment so the expertise is pretty broken.

Day by day utilization activities and summary

Through the enjoy and smartphone app, there are misspelled words, wrong captalization, settings and options that cannot be enabled, and other settings that do not remain chosen following navigating to one more part of the app. There is a mixing of units even when one particular universal assortment is made. The enjoy and smartphone software program both will need some perform to be constant and specialist.

There is no rhyme or explanation to the record of widgets, utilities, and options in the enjoy software program so issues are not even structured alphabetically. When you push the major button you see options this sort of as exercise log, snooze, heart price, SpO2, and then notifications in that get. You cannot pick to reorder anything so discovering some thing to do is a disheartening waste of time.

The smartphone app seems to be good at first with captivating hues and cards for the info with most important tabs for dwelling, snooze, wellness, and exercise. Having said that, you have very confined access to check out past actions and info with no skill to develop or export reviews. You cannot export your info or share it with any other services so other than viewing some thing on the working day you are exercise, accumulating the info is relatively ineffective and not beneficial for strengthening your well being and health.

The OnePlus Check out is a substantially improved selection, but continue to not that good and priced $50 more. If you are looking for a health tracker that does a improved job with monitoring your info and delivering you with the skill to use that info, then you should really take into consideration some thing like a Fitbit Luxe or Amazfit Band 5.

I will be returning mine soon and so much the people today responding to my return ask for at eBuyNow have been beneficial and understanding with regards to my ask for to return the enjoy. Even with a few of firmware updates considering the fact that it arrived, the enjoy software program and smartphone app continue to will need a good deal of perform for me to propose this enjoy to any one.