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Gadgets

Motorola's Moto Watch Ultra Brings Back Wear OS for a Premium Push

Motorola's new flagship smartwatch swaps its custom software for Google's Wear OS, but skips the rugged extras rivals offer.

Motorola is stepping up its smartwatch ambitions with the Moto Watch Ultra, arriving in a single size and two color options. The biggest change from the standard Moto Watch released earlier this year is under the hood: instead of Motorola's own operating system, the Ultra runs Google's Wear OS, powered by a Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 chip.

That switch matters because Wear OS gives users access to a much broader app ecosystem and smoother integration with Android phones compared to Motorola's previous proprietary software. However, despite the "Ultra" branding, the watch reportedly lacks the rugged, outdoor-focused features - like extreme durability ratings or advanced offline navigation - that define competitors such as the Apple Watch Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Why it matters: Motorola's pivot back to Wear OS signals that even budget-friendly Android hardware makers see more value in Google's ecosystem than building their own software. But calling this an 'Ultra' without matching the rugged capabilities of true adventure watches risks diluting the term and setting up unfavorable comparisons at review time.

Sources: The Verge