The next Moto Watch might be able to work independently of a smartphone thanks to LTE connectivity, according to leaked images shared by The Mac Observer. The new watch, dubbed the “Moto Watch Ultra,” would be Motorola’s first smartwatch with cellular connectivity since the company ditched Wear OS in favor of a custom operating system this past January.

The Moto Watch Ultra looks fairly similar to the smartwatch Motorola launched earlier this year, with a round watch face, a lined bezel, a single side button, and a rotating crown. Inscriptions around the sensor on the back, however, hint at a few potential differences. The Moto Watch Ultra apparently has a 46mm stainless steel case compared to the 47mm aluminum one on the company’s current watch. It also appears to offer IP68 water and dust resistance, a 5ATM rating, GPS, and, critically, LTE support. Motorola’s previous watch offered Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, but didn’t have a cellular connection of its own.

Integrating Polar’s health and fitness features was Motorola’s key focus with the current Moto Watch, and a proper LTE connection could make those features even more capable. A Moto Watch Ultra with LTE could theoretically receive notifications when you’re away from your phone, yes, but a cellular connection could also let you do things like share your location during a run or bike ride without bringing your phone.

A likely downside, as is common with LTE-connected wearables, is that cellular connection tends to weigh on battery life; the current Moto Watch is rated for an impressive 13 days. Motorola achieved that lifespan by opting for a real-time operating system rather than the Android-based Wear OS that powers the Pixel Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 9. As a consequence, you canât use many Play Store apps on the Moto Watch, but the device is more focused and efficient.

Without more information, it’s hard to know whether Motorola has updated its software to support cellular connectivity or is switching back to Wear OSâbut the company is clearly interested in offering something more premium than the $150 watch it currently sells.

At one point, Motorola was on the cutting edge of smartwatches. The company’s Moto 360 was, for a time, one of the best-looking Android smartwatches by a country mileâso recognizable that a separate company later revived it under a licensing agreement. Motorola is a decidedly different company with different ambitions now, but the Moto Watch Ultra, if it is real, could be a significant step toward something more.