Last week, OnePlus very strongly hinted that it would be unveiling the OnePlus Watch alongside a trio of new phones. Now, we’ve got our first look at the OnePlus Watch courtesy of Unbox Therapy.
If you’re doubting the veracity of the image, you really shouldn’t, because the official OnePlus account then shared the tweet, adding that “we’ve got a lot more to show on March 23.” This is the same day that OnePlus will be unveiling the OnePlus 9 phone lineup.
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At a glance, you might think you’re looking at a picture of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active 2. Both share the round face, rubber strap that tucks into itself and two buttons on the right hand side. Crucially, it looks like the straps don’t appear to be proprietary, meaning you can likely customize away without needing to pay for official OnePlus accessories.
This is also a very limited first insight into what OnePlus’ wearable operating system looks like, given its now been confirmed that the company won’t be using Wear OS. Replying to a direct question on the OnePlus forums, CEO Pete Lau said that the company would be using a RTOS (real-time operating system) instead.
“We believe it provides you a smooth and reliable experience while offering a great battery life, covering some of the biggest concerns we've been hearing from people looking to buy a smartwatch,” Lau explained.
While we shouldn’t read too much into one watch face image, it’s possible that the colored bars around the time indicate activity levels, similar to the activity rings on the Apple Watch, which fill as you move, burn calories and exercise.
OnePlus Watch features
And from a reveal earlier this week, it certainly seems that OnePlus is heavily chasing the fitness crowd with a feature set that includes auto workout detection, heart-rate monitoring and blood saturation tracking.
The OnePlus Watch, according to leaker Ishan Agarwal, “packed in terms of at least Workout Features,” which hopefully means it includes built-in GPS, but given the company has promised an “affordable” price, that may well be off the table.
While the leaks don’t point to something particularly revolutionary, there’s one area where the OnePlus Watch could potentially stand out against the best smartwatches: battery life. Although Agarwal doesn’t give us the full battery stats, he does mention that it includes OnePlus’ super-fast Warp Charge technology, and this should offer “a week of charge in 20 minutes.”
Still, if charging is quick, the watch performs well, and the price is as competitive as OnePlus suggests, the company’s first wearable could be very compelling indeed.
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