Smartwatches

Affordable, health-focused OnePlus Watch makes its debut

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Say hello to the first smartwatch from OnePlus
OnePlus
Say hello to the first smartwatch from OnePlus
OnePlus
Plenty of health and fitness tracking features are on board
OnePlus
The OnePlus Watch is waterproof, but don't take it diving
OnePlus
The OnePlus Watch features a 1.39-inch screen and a stainless steel case
OnePlus
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As well as unveiling the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro flagship phones today, OnePlus has also debuted a brand new smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch. It's the company's second wearable after the OnePlus Band, which is currently only available in India.

Rather than trying to tackle the likes of the Apple Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch head on, it looks as though OnePlus is positioning this as more of a budget alternative. It comes with a 1.39-inch AMOLED screen that runs at a 454 x 454 pixel resolution, and the overall diameter of the round stainless steel casing is 46 mm (1.81 in).

There are two physical buttons on the OnePlus Watch for getting around the on-board operating system, which isn't Google's Wear OS. OnePlus has put together its own custom smartwatch OS, which can show calls and notifications from your Android phone (iOS compatibility is coming soon, OnePlus says).

All of the standard smartwatch health tracking features are here, plus some advanced ones too. The OnePlus Watch is able to track heart rate, stress levels, blood oxygen levels, and sleep. There's also GPS on board, but there's no cellular option that can make and take calls on its own without a phone nearby.

The OnePlus Watch is waterproof, but don't take it diving
OnePlus

As well as 1 GB of RAM there's 4 GB of storage built in: OnePlus says this can be used for syncing music to the watch, but at the moment it's not clear what sort of apps will be available for the wearable, or how you'll be able to link the watch to music or mapping apps on your phone, for example.

There's IP68-rated, 5ATM waterproofing here, so the smartwatch can last for up to 10 minutes underwater at a depth pressure of up to 50 m (164 ft). However, it's not suitable for use in the ocean or the pool, OnePlus says – it'll survive brief dunkings and lengthy thunderstorms, but it's not a diving watch.

In a nod toward the growing ecosystem of OnePlus devices, the OnePlus Watch works very nicely with the OnePlus TV. It can act as a remote control for the television, and even automatically turn off the TV if it detects you've fallen asleep while watching.

Battery life sounds like being one of the best features of the OnePlus Watch, with up to 14 days promised from a single charge. That's from pretty light use though – if you've got the GPS enabled all the time, that goes down to 25 hours.

Pre-orders for the OnePlus Watch open on April 14, with the price set at US$159, though OnePlus hasn't yet said when the wearable is actually going to ship. A limited edition cobalt version is also in the pipeline too, though again OnePlus hasn't confirmed exactly when it will be available.

Product page: OnePlus Watch

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2 comments
Username
10 years since I've had my first stand alone smartwatch (smart phone on wrist) and companies are still putting out this nonsense.
Kevin Ritchey
I have a OnePlus 6T smartphone that I only bought to record portions of a Rick Wakeman concert with because of the camera. It’s been sitting ever since because I’m not an Android fan. Amazing specs. Already obsolete in their eyes. Just keep pushing out more product for the masses.