IFA 2026: Motorola returns to Wear OS with the new Moto Watch Ultra

Motorola has gone properly back into the smartwatch business. The new Moto Watch Ultra unveiled at IFA 2026 runs Wear OS 6, packs LTE and dual-band GPS, and keeps Polar in charge of much of the fitness side.

That is quite a jump from the Moto Watch Motorola launched at CES earlier this year. The regular Moto Watch⁠ deliberately skipped Wear OS in favour of a lighter operating system and much longer battery life, while the Ultra heads straight into Galaxy Watch and Pixel Watch territory.

Motorola goes back to Wear OS

The biggest change is software. Moto Watch Ultra runs Wear OS 6 and gets access to Google Play along with apps including Google Maps, Messages and YouTube Music.

Google Gemini is on there too, while Motorola has also added its own Qira assistant. Qira can pull information from compatible Motorola and Lenovo devices, although having two AI assistants sitting on the same watch could get a little confusing.

This is also the first Motorola watch in its current range with LTE. The built-in eSIM means you can make and receive calls, send messages and deal with notifications without carrying your phone, while Google Wallet handles contactless payments.

Motorola has included dual-band GPS as well. That is another fairly big step up from its cheaper watches and makes more sense given that the company is continuing its partnership with Polar.

The hardware has moved upmarket too. Moto Watch Ultra comes in a single 46mm stainless steel case with a 1.5-inch OLED display, and Notebookcheck reports⁠ a resolution of 466 x 466 pixels, a variable refresh rate between 1Hz and 60Hz and peak brightness of 2,700 nits.

Gorilla Glass 3 protects the screen, while IP68 and 5ATM ratings give it much more useful water resistance than the regular Moto Watch. Motorola has also stuck with standard 22mm straps, so you are not locked into a proprietary band system.

Inside is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The chipset has been around for a few years now, so Motorola is not using the latest silicon available, but the memory and storage figures are where you would expect them to be for a full Wear OS watch.

Polar stays on fitness duty

Motorola could have dropped Polar once it moved to Wear OS, but it has done the opposite. The relationship that started with the Polar-powered Moto Watch⁠ continues on the Ultra, giving it a health and fitness platform that looks quite different from Google’s Fitbit approach or Samsung Health.

The watch gets Polar features including Nightly Recharge, Sleep Plus Stages and Serene breathing exercises. Activity Goal, Activity Score, Active Intensity Zones, Smart Calories and Energy Sources are included too, while Running Coach provides guided walking and running plans directly from the wrist.

That combination might actually be the more interesting part of the watch. There are plenty of Wear OS models around now, but a Wear OS watch built around Polar’s fitness and recovery tools is still unusual.

The Ultra also lands at an interesting point for Motorola’s wider wearable range. We noted earlier this year that Motorola had quietly trimmed its smartwatch lineup⁠, leaving the Moto Watch Fit and Moto Watch as its main options.

Moto Watch Ultra now creates a much clearer third tier. Moto Watch Fit handles the lightweight fitness-watch end, Moto Watch offers the round design with long battery life, and Ultra is the full smartwatch with Wear OS, LTE and Google apps.

There is a price to pay for all of that, and it comes in battery life. Motorola quotes up to two days of active use with the always-on display switched off, compared with up to 13 days on the regular Moto Watch.

The 550mAh battery does support fairly quick top-ups, with Motorola claiming a 15-minute charge can provide up to 24 hours of use. Still, anyone moving across from the regular model is going to notice the difference immediately.

The Moto Watch Ultra will cost $349.99 in the US and goes on sale through Motorola from September 10. Availability will spread across other parts of the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, although exact dates and pricing vary by market.