The Moto Watch Fit is a fascinating case study. Motorola left smartwatches behind for years, licensing out its watches to another company. Now Motorola seems to be stepping back into the fray with the Moto Watch Fit. But it needs more than the Moto Watch name to make its budget squircle watch stand out in a crowded field.

Long-time Android fans still think fondly about the Moto 360, which was ahead of its time with its cool gesture controls and seamless design in 2014. I wrote in March that Motorola should return to Wear OS with a spiritual successor to the 360.

Instead, a month later, we got the budget Moto Watch Fit, with its 1.9-inch squircle display, 16-day battery life, 100 sports modes, and “real-time fitness stats and intelligent sleep tracking.”

It’s the fifth Moto Watch tracker after the Watch 40, 70, 100, and 120, a mix of circular and squircle watches with the same basic fitness software and Google Fit integration.

Two weeks ago, I sent Motorola a series of questions. I wanted to know how the Watch Fit’s “advanced fitness and wellness assistance features,” how the companion app would work, and other basic questions. I’m still waiting on answers, and the more I research the Moto Watch brand, the more confused I get.

It’s unclear how involved Motorola is in its own watches

The Moto Watch Fit isn’t on sale yet, but the Motorola UK site says this new model is “designed and manufactured by/for Motorola Mobility LLC.”

Given the Moto branding, that should be obvious, right? But the official Moto Watch site lists Calgary-based CE Brands, Inc. as an “official brand licensee of Motorola” that “ensures global sales and support for the products found on this site,” like the Moto Watch 120, 70, and 40.

CE Brands, or Vitalist, says on its site that it “designs, manufactures, and sells” wearables, and lists Moto Watch as “our brand.” And this 2024 Vitalist press release explicitly says the Moto Watch 120 is “the latest addition to [CE Brands’] line of Motorola smartwatches” as Motorola’s “strategic brand partner.”

If you look at the Moto Watch 100 app and Moto Watch 70 app on the Play Store, both are managed by CE Brands, Inc. These apps have some pretty brutal ratings too, with many users calling them “barely functional” because they stopped syncing with Google Fit or allowing phone notifications on the watch without constant resets.

After a little digging, I realized that CE Brands owned eBuyNow, the subsidiary that made the Moto 360 (3rd Gen) in 2020. CE Brands went bankrupt in 2023 before rebranding eBuyNow as Vitalist in 2023, promising to “deliver biometric and biomarker insights to consumers.”

The Moto Watch Fit isn’t listed on the Moto Watch site, and Vitalist didn’t write a press release about this model, either. That suggests Motorola may have taken over the brand, while ditching the numbered names for a Moto Watch revamp.

But it’s also possible that Motorola Mobility designed the old Moto Watches, while CE Brands handled the health and software tools. It’s hard to say, as the licensing deal makes it nebulous. Maybe Vitalist will make the Watch Fit health software, too?

Regardless, that’s really all besides the point. My main point is that Motorola is best known for making flagship phones from everyone else look overpriced by offering similar perks in cheaper packages. However, the Moto Watch lineup has never really stood out against Android watches or fitness watches, and Motorola has a lot to prove with the Watch Fit when it launches.

How will the Moto Watch live up to the Moto name?

Look at the budget fitness trackers out there: companies like Amazfit and Xiaomi have put intense effort into full-fledged health suites, AI coaching, and dedicated fitness tools in an affordable package. And you have bigger names like the Galaxy Fit 3 and Fitbit Charge 6 that sync directly with the biggest health apps, with their own AI insights and (for Fitbit) Google apps.

Motorola phone fans will see the Moto Watch branding and look for something affordable, long-lasting, and straightforward. However, the Watch Fit needs some kind of signature feature to stand out and keep these users happy.

CE Brands had an interesting Effort Points system that, like Fitbit Cardio Load, scored your all-day effort based on your time in HR zones. But the Moto Watch Fit might use an entirely different system, and it’ll have to compete with watch brands that invest huge amounts of money in health & fitness R&D.

One sign of Motorola taking more direct ownership is how the Watch Fit can use Moto AI text prompts to generate watch faces. That’s a unique trick, one I’m hoping Google emulates on Wear OS 6 this year. We’ll see if people see it as a highlight or a five-minute gimmick; however, it’ll depend on how good these AI-made faces are.

Otherwise, the press release mentions “seamless smartphone integration,” but only mentions notifications, music controls, and camera controls. An RTOS watch can rarely do much more than that, even though many people will buy a Moto Watch hoping for actionable notifications and replies. The Amazfit Balance pulls this off with text-to-speech and a keyboard, but I don’t expect it from the Moto Watch Fit.

Ultimately, aside from the Moto AI gimmick, the Moto Watch Fit sounds pretty generic. The built-in GPS on a cheap tracker is a nice perk, but it’s not uncommon these days — see the $99 Amazfit Active 2 — and most fitness trackers have 100+ sports modes and IP68 water resistance.

That said, we’ve reached out to Motorola for more information about the Watch Fit, and we will update this article when we hear back.

Making a watch isn’t as simple as it used to be

The Moto Watch brand is like a time capsule to an early smartwatch era when they didn’t try to squeeze dozens of features and a full AI-backed health suite into a device. Some people will appreciate its simplicity, affordability, and longevity; others will be frustrated by the lack of Motorola flair they’ve come to expect from its foldable phones like the Razr 2025.

It will ultimately come down to whether this Motorola-made wearable delivers a higher standard of quality than past Moto Watches.

I’m not sure why Motorola has been so hands-off with wearables up until this point, selling budget trackers through its licensee for years while spending R&D on wearable phone concepts like the one above.

Maybe Motorola was truly so burned by its Android Wear experience that it never wanted to go back; clearly, Lenovo phone sales are strong enough despite not having a full “ecosystem” of devices. Or maybe it isn’t willing to spend the money on health & fitness necessary to compete with Samsung Health and Fitbit.

Whatever the reason, the Moto Watch Fit needs to be a stepping stone to bigger and better things if Motorola wants to make an impact in the wearable space.

As one of the first new Motorola phones of 2025, I was pretty excited to get my hands on the Moto G Power 2025. At $299, it’s by no means a flagship phone, so I knew very well what I was getting myself into. But while I have plenty of experience with flagships, like the Galaxy S25 Plus I just reviewed, I always enjoy seeing how phones on the lower end improve.

The Moto G Power 2025 is a middle-of-the-road phone for Motorola that leans toward the low-end. That’s something to keep in mind when looking at a phone priced just under $300. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about it, but it does come with a few surprises that we wouldn’t have expected to see on such an affordable phone.

Moto G Power 2025: Price, specs, and availability

Motorola launched the Moto G Power 2025 on January 14, and the phone went on sale on February 6. It can be purchased unlocked directly from Motorola.com or retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy. The phone will also be sold through carriers, including T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Cricket, AT&T, Straight Talk, Total Wireless, Verizon, UScellular, and Consumer Cellular.

The Moto G Power 2025 will be available starting at $299, although pricing may vary depending on the retailer or carrier.

The phone will only come in two colorways: Leaf Green and Slate Gray. Availability of these colors may also depend on the retailer or carrier.

Moto G Power 2025: What I like

For years, Motorola’s phones have had very basic designs, especially the budget Moto G series. The company has been switching that up in recent years, borrowing design cues from its higher-end Edge series like a seamless camera housing and vegan leather finishes. The Moto G Power 2025 is possibly the best-looking Moto G phone I’ve reviewed, in many ways looking more like a flagship than a $300 phone.

The phone only comes in two colors but the standout is the Leaf Green (not to be confused with the 2004 Pokémon game of the same name). It’s incredibly vibrant, and the soft vegan leather is contrasted by the glossy camera rings, which add a nice flair. The frame of the phone also matches the color and sports a brushed finish. Fingerprints are pretty much non-existent on this phone.

But it’s not just good looks that make this phone stand out; it’s the build quality. The Moto G Power 2025 is one of the cheapest phones to sport an IP68/IP69 water and dust resistance rating. It may not seem like a huge deal, but this will ensure that the phone can not only handle being submerged but can also withstand high-pressure jets of water. Has anyone ever had their phone accidentally fall into a dishwasher right before they started a cycle? No? Just me? Well, now, that’s one less thing you have to worry about.

I’m not brave enough to test this out myself, but Android Central Phones editor Nick Sutrich did just that with the OnePlus 13, and it came out unscathed. I’ll take his word for it.

The MIL-STD-810H certification is also a plus, especially since I’ve recently taken up skiing and tend to keep my phone in my pocket despite still being quite a novice on the slopes.

Motorola sticks with a Full HD+ LCD panel for the Moto G Power 2025, which is plenty bright and responsive thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate. Despite not being the brightest at 1000 nits, I haven’t had any trouble viewing the display in any lighting conditions. The bezels are also pretty minimal despite the larger chin and slightly larger forehead.

The high refresh rate helps make Android 15 feel very smooth when scrolling through apps and pages. There aren’t any significant changes with Motorola’s version of Android 15 since shifting its software to the new Hello UX with Android 14. It’s a fairly clean and simple flavor of Android that doesn’t feature too many extra flourishes, although it’s dotted here and there with some of Motorola’s fixins, like the new dual-panel Control Center/notification pane that more Android phones are adopting.

Motorola also retains its useful gestures, which continue to be a favorite of mine. Copping the phone twice turns on the flashlight, twisting twice enables the camera, and a double tap on the back can open apps or perform certain actions. I also love the Sidebar, which can be used to house your frequently used apps, and I think every OEM should have something like this (looking at you, Google).

Performance isn’t as big of an issue as one might think. I haven’t noticed many problems in this area, but it’s important to manage your expectations to some extent. For instance, I can’t get away with playing Honkai: Star Rail on its highest settings unless I wanna struggle through poor frame rates and barely functional gameplay. But the phone can surprisingly manage the game at visual settings set to “High” and at 60fps, which is honestly still a great way to play the game.

You’ll also be happy to know that battery life is quite good. While I would like to see a 6,000mAh battery on the phone with “Power” in the name, the 5,000mAh capacity still gets the phone through a full day of regular use without issue. It’s helped by 30W wired charging, which is still faster than the likes of the Galaxy S25, and 15W wireless charging is a nice thing to have, even if it’s not Qi2.

Motorola is also doing a better job with its software promise. Previously, the company would offer one OS upgrade with three years of software updates. In 2025, the company is upping that for its budget phones with one additional OS upgrade, meaning the Moto G Power 2025 will support Android 17 when it launches, giving this $300 even more value.

Moto G Power 2025: What could use some work

While I mostly enjoy Motorola’s flavor of Android, the downside of buying a cheap Android phone like this is that you’re likely to find some level of bloatware. There are quite a few apps preinstalled that I don’t want and wasn’t given an option to opt out of. They’re easy to uninstall, but that’s just another step in the setup process that no one wants to deal with.

The silver lining is that the annoying Glance lock screen is disabled by default, although it still lingers in the lock screen settings. However, a new annoyance has seemingly replaced it in the way of the Weather app, powered by 1Weather. It’s a pretty busy app filled with ads and the constant ping of weather warnings that I largely don’t care about or need. This one you can’t uninstall, but you can disable it or turn off the notifications because, honestly, your best bet is to stick with Google’s At a Glance widget.

And while you’ll find quite a bit of bloatware, one thing you won’t really find is AI. The Moto G Power 2025 is a pretty barebones, straightforward phone with none of the flair you’ll find on more expensive models. Likely due to limitations with the chipset, you don’t get things like Circle to Search, Magic Canvas, or any of the other cool Moto AI features. You do get Magic Editor and Magic Compose, although don’t expect any on-device AI processing.

The Moto G Power 2025 features a triple dual camera system with a 50MP primary sensor and an 8MP ultrawide that doubles as a macro sensor. The cameras are… usable. In good lighting, you can get a decent image, the shutter speed is pretty quick, and I don’t hate the selfies taken with the 16MP front-facing camera. However, images are often noisy and lack detail. Lowlight images don’t fare very well either.

One saving grace is the built-in Auto Enhance feature that you can switch on with a tap. It utilizes Google Photos to automatically improve images right after they’re taken, adjusting colors, lighting, and more. Improvements can be subtle, but they help to make the camera more usable.

Oh, and there’s a third rear sensor, but it’s just an ambient light sensor and it doesn’t seem to actually be much help here.

On the other hand, one feature you’ll want to turn off when you set up the Moto G Power 2025 is the RAM Boost. I’m already not a fan of virtual RAM solutions, and it’s turned on by default on the Power, upping its 8GB to 12GB. While it feels like it should help, the phone felt quite sluggish in my initial use, especially when gaming. It wasn’t until I turned off the RAM Boost that performance improved.

Moto G Power 2025: Competition

There are a fair amount of options for anyone looking for a $300 phone. The Moto G Power 2025 competes with the likes of the CMF Phone 1, which comes from Nothing’s budget brand. It comes with a unique design with changeable backplates, a pretty good camera, and an AMOLED display, which isn’t very common at this price point. That said, there’s no NFC, and if you’re in the U.S., network support is fairly spotty.

The Galaxy A25 is also an option. Even though it’s last year’s model, the A25 comes with an OLED display, a 50MP triple camera system, and an impressive update promise with four OS upgrades and five years of software updates. However, if you’re PWM sensitive, you may not find the display very pleasing to use. It also has a dated design with a waterdrop notch, and the Exynos chip can be quite sluggish.

Finally, there’s the Redmi Note 13 Pro. This is also a 2024 model featuring an impressive 200MP camera, a sleek design, and great battery life. However, it’s held back by hardware limitations, you’ll find plenty of bloatware, and you may not wanna hold out for timely updates.

Moto G Power 2025: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You’re looking for a cheap, no-frills phone.
• You want a phone with great battery life and wireless charging.
• You want a tough phone that will be able to take a beating.

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You want a great camera.
• You want access to Google AI features like Circle to Search.
• You want a phone that can handle high-quality gaming without issue.

In 2025, AI is the name of the game, but you won’t really find that here. For $300, the Moto G Power 2025 is a solid budget phone that can get you through the day without weighing down the experience with a ton of superfluous features. It’s for someone who just wants a phone that can do the basics, maybe play some games, and not much else. And honestly, that’s great.

Maybe the camera could be better. Maybe the bloatware can be a little annoying. But these are the concessions you’ll have to deal with at this price point, and frankly, the Moto G Power 2025 could be a lot worse. Instead, Motorola seems to be making the best out of what it could get with the Power, improving its software support, giving it flagship-level durability, and making it look better than any other $300 phone on the market.

Like the Moto G 2025, this phone surprised me, not because of how good it is, but because of how much worse it could be. It’s not perfect, but you have to take it for what it is, and that’s a pretty good cheap phone.