What you need to know
- Motorola’s new Moto Tag 2 arrives in North America with Bluetooth 6.0, UWB support, Google Find Hub integration, and over 500 days of battery life.
- Adds Find My Phone, camera remote controls, location sharing, IP68 durability, privacy protections, and support for third-party accessories.
- The Moto Buds 2 Plus have a new look with the Swarovski-encrusted Brilliant collection and new Pantone color options, while maintaining the same hardware.
Motorola’s connected ecosystem is getting a small boost, but only one of its latest accessories is actually new. The company brings the new Moto Tag 2, an updated bluetooth tracker which includes newer wireless technology, longer battery life, and tighter integration with Google’s Find Hub network, to North America along with new color options for the Moto Buds 2 Plus.
In North America, the Moto Buds 2 Plus are available in the eye-catching Brilliant Collection, which combines a PANTONE Violet Indigo finish with Swarovski crystals, or a more discreet PANTONE Cool White. A Canadian PANTONE silhouette option is also available.
The Brilliant collection includes 12 Swarovski crystals embedded in each earbud, plus another 41 hand-placed crystals around the Motorola logo on the charging case.
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The styling is new, but the hardware is the same. The Moto Buds 2 Plus still have Sound by Bose tuning, dual 11mm dynamic drivers with Knowles balanced armature drivers, Hi-Res Audio support, and spatial audio support Motorola phonesand dynamic active noise cancellation. Transparency mode and six microphones with CrystalTalk AI also return to enhance calls and keep users aware of their surroundings when necessary.
Motorola hasn’t skimped on features either. bluetooth 6.0Dual device connectivity with auto switching, wear detection, customizable EQ, bass boost, low latency gaming mode, audio sharing, fit testing, and Motorola AI integrations are still present on supported devices.
Battery life is up to nine hours with the earbuds alone, or up to 40 hours with the charging case, with a quick 10-minute recharge offering up to two hours of listening. The earbuds also feature an IP54 rating, while the charging case comes with an IPX2 splash resistance rating.
The price hasn’t changed much either. The Swarovski Brilliant Collection edition is priced at $200 in the United States, while the PANTONE Cool White version costs $150. Availability begins June 30 through Motorola online stores.
Android Central’s opinion
The Moto Buds 2 Plus has many significant updates beyond the flashy Swarovski crystals, and the Moto Tag 2 finally catches up with new Android tracking features. That said, I can’t help but feel like Motorola is trying too hard to convince us that crystals belong in headphones. I’d rather companies spend more time improving battery life, smarter software, and better ecosystem features than disguising devices as fashion accessories.
The biggest announcement is the Moto Tag 2. Motorola’s new Bluetooth tracker includes Bluetooth 6.0 with channel sound and supports Ultra Wideband (UWB) on compatible Android phones, helping you locate lost items more accurately.
It also works with Google’s Find Hub network, so Android users can find tagged items across the crowdsourced device network.
Motorola also emphasizes practicality. The Moto Tag 2 runs for over 500 days on a user-replaceable CR2032 battery, has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, and works with Android 9 and newer devices.
In addition to basic item tracking, it has Find My Phone, camera remotes, location sharing, unwanted tracking alerts, and end-to-end encryption and works with third-party accessories. Those additions make it more versatile and address growing privacy concerns around Bluetooth trackers.
