Android Authority Recommends Five Alternatives to Motorola's Moto Watch Ultra

Android Authority said there are plenty of alternatives from Google, Samsung, Garmin, and Amazfit. It framed the list as a way to consider other options before settling on the Moto Watch Ultra.

The first alternative is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025), a refresh of the 2024 model with double the storage and a new color. Android Authority said it can be found on Amazon for $330, making it good value. It has a chunky, rugged design similar to the Moto Watch Ultra, a 1.5-inch AMOLED display, 64GB of storage, LTE, and a larger battery. It also uses sapphire crystal glass and has MIL-STD-810H certification. The article said health and fitness tracking is solid, GPS tracking is accurate, and the watch offers four years of OS upgrades, with battery life lasting two or more days. Its $650 launch price was a drawback, but Android Authority said that is no longer an issue.

Android Authority also recommended the Google Pixel Watch 4, saying it remains a solid choice one year after release. Compared with the Moto Watch Ultra, it offers a lighter, sleeker design, a brighter display, a faster chipset, two size options, and optional LTE. The 41mm model can be found for as low as $230, while the 45mm LTE model reaches $530, according to the article. Google offers three years of OS upgrades, supporting the Pixel Watch 4 until October 2028. The Pixel Watch 5 replaces it this year, but Android Authority said there is not much new in hardware, making the new $499 starting price less of a value. The article's reviewer said they had daily-driven the Pixel Watch 4 for months and praised its display quality, battery life, sleep and health tracking, and roughly 30-minute full charge time.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 was cited for better future proofing. The 2026 model uses Qualcomm's new Snapdragon Wear Elite SoC and will get five generations of Wear OS updates, Android Authority said. It also supports the Raise to Talk feature, which had been Pixel Watch-exclusive until now. The Galaxy Watch 9 is slimmer and lighter than the Moto Watch Ultra and has tougher scratch-resistant glass. Android Authority said health and fitness tracking on the Galaxy Watch 8 was excellent and expected the same or better from the Watch 9. It noted two drawbacks: using all health-tracking features requires a Samsung Galaxy phone, and charging speed is only 10W.

For buyers focused on health and fitness tracking, Android Authority pointed to the Garmin Venu 4. Like Polar's strong health-tracking features on the Moto Watch Ultra, Garmin watches are known for highly accurate health-tracking, the article said. The Venu 4 comes in two dial sizes and multiple colors. In the article's review, its refined design, vivid display, responsive OS, advanced fitness and training tools, accurate heart rate and GPS tracking, and up to 12 days of battery life stood out. It offers smartwatch basics such as notifications and calls, but lacks features such as on-device Gemini, has a limited variety of watch apps, no LTE variant, and costs more than the Moto Watch Ultra. Android Authority said it is appealing for users who want serious health and fitness features in a sleek form factor.

The fifth recommendation is the Amazfit Balance 2. Android Authority said it looks similar to the Moto Watch Ultra but costs less and can run up to 21 days on a single charge. It includes sapphire glass over the display, a bright 1.5-inch AMOLED screen, dual-band GPS, downloadable maps, and a comprehensive suite of health and fitness-tracking tools.