What you need to know
- Polar announced that its health and fitness software will be used in a "new generation of Motorola’s smartwatches," with a new Moto Watch coming soon.
- Recent Moto watches relied on another health brand, Vitalist, while Polar watches are well-known for fitness tests and insights.
- The new Moto Watch will have a 47mm round aluminum case, IP68 and GG3 protection, and a mic & speaker for calls.
A new Moto Watch is coming soon, and while it won't be the resurrected Moto 360 Wear OS watch that many of us hoped for, it will have brand-new fitness software "powered by Polar," a prominent and respected fitness watch brand.
Polar announced its new strategic, long-term partnership with Motorola on Tuesday, promising that new Moto Watches will employ Polar's "comprehensive suite of science-backed algorithms," as well as "fitness tracking and biomarker analytics."
Motorola, which previously relied on long-time partner Vitalist/ CE Brands for its health insights, will now offer the same fitness tools found in premium Polar watches like the Vantage V3, "without the need for extensive in-house development."
"Our partnership with Polar brings together decades of leadership in fitness science with Motorola’s commitment to meaningful technology, empowering consumers to better understand their health, stay connected, and live more confidently every day,” says Sergio Buniac, President of Motorola Mobility.
The press release implies that a new Moto Watch is coming very soon; it could even be announced during CES 2026. For now, we know that it will have a rounded 47mm case — unlike recent squircle Moto Watches like the Watch Fit — an aluminum case with stainless steel crown, IP68 dust and water resistance, Gorilla Glass 3, and a mic & speaker.
Why we're seeing a Moto-Polar partnership instead of Moto-Google
By avoiding Wear OS, Motorola locks itself out of certain smarts: Play Store apps, Gemini commands, and easy messaging tools. But we've seen a slow exodus of Wear OS partners in recent years, as other Android OEMs like OnePlus and Xiaomi struggle to keep up with Google and Samsung for updates.
Evidently, Motorola has decided that it trusts Polar more than Google as a wearable partner, and would rather sell an affordable, long-lived fitness watch than a pricier model that would have to compete with Galaxy and Pixel Watches.
Polar, a long-time Garmin rival that recently launched a Whoop-like Polar Loop Band, typically sells premium fitness watches targeted to serious athletes. Moto will be in the unique position of selling cheap fitness watches with disproportionately high-end health & fitness insights, which will help Moto Watches stand out.
In fact, given that Polar watches have become much more expensive in the U.S. due to tariffs, the new Moto Watch could be a more accessible way to access these insights, competing with budget running watches like the Garmin Forerunner 165 and COROS PACE 4.
If Moto Watches will use the Polar Flow app, new users may find it a bit overwhelming or archaic, but Polar promised last year that it's in the midst of revamping its app to be more "dynamic and data-centric," sharing the sample screenshots above. This app redesign should help both Polar and Moto watches.
Overall, Moto watches "powered by Polar" sound intriguing, but the question will be whether Motorola phone buyers will buy a sporty, long-lived Moto Watch with limited Android smarts, or if they'd prefer a shorter-lived Moto 360 successor.
Polar, meanwhile, gets its first major licensing partner since Casio started using Polar insights in its watches in 2023, a significant win for the brand.
