OnePlus Watch is the Shenzhen-based company’s first wearable after ditching its previous attempt months prior to the announcement. As fitness trackers have become increasingly popular in recent years, OnePlus is competing with its debut attempt: OnePlus Watch against Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Moto 360 and Fitbit.
According to OnePlus, the OnePlus watch should “be integrated into the daily digital life of OnePlus users and offer a stylish design, seamless connection, intelligent fitness tracking and an incredibly long battery life”. The latter seems to really set the OnePlus watch apart from the closest competition. The Chinese company claims that thanks to the 402 mAh cell, carriers can leave two weeks between charges.
For the most active users who rely on the OnePlus Watch to keep track of their physical activity regularly, the battery life drops to a week. This is similar to Fitbit wearables, but much longer than what you can expect from an Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch Active. As you’d expect from OnePlus, known for its fast smartphone charging technology, the OnePlus Watch doesn’t have to be plugged into a power outlet for long to get you up and running. According to the company, five minutes on the charger is enough to provide a full day of power, while those who want two weeks between charges only need to plug in the device for 20 minutes.
Like Samsung’s smartwatches, OnePlus opted for a circular touchscreen display. This looks more like a traditional watch and stands out when compared to the wearable efforts of Apple and Fitbit.
The 46mm case is made of stainless steel and features 2.5D curved glass to protect the 1.3 ” AMOLED screen. A glossy CD pattern has been etched into the display bezel to add “an extra touch of class,” says OnePlus. A limited version of the OnePlus watch uses sapphire to protect the touchscreen. In addition, the limited edition watch case is made of a cobalt alloy, a unique hypoallergenic material that is twice as hard and more corrosion-resistant than conventional stainless steel.
Regardless of whether you own the standard model or the OnePlus Watch Cobalt Limited Edition, you can track a variety of training sessions with this wearable.
OnePlus has preprogrammed its smartwatch with 110 different types of training. There’s also automatic exercise detection for jogging and running so you don’t have to bother scrolling through the settings menus before starting your morning run. With a water and dust resistance of IP68, the OnePlus Watch can shake off training sessions in rain, sweat and swimming. The latter is thanks to the 5ATM rating, which means the OnePlus watch is waterproof to up to 50 meters of fresh water for 10 minutes.
Training performance is measured using measurements such as heart rate, distance, calories, speed monitoring and SWOLF efficiency for swimmers. With a built-in GPS, the OnePlus Watch accurately tracks all of your activities, even when the phone is not nearby. In addition, it offers blood oxygen saturation monitoring, stress detection, breathing training, quick heart rate alerts and sedentary reminders that can be easily managed with the OnePlus Health app.
OnePlus Watch does not use Samsung’s Tizen operating system or Google’s Wear operating system. Instead, the latest smartwatch is operated with OnePlus’ own operating system. There aren’t a lot of details right now on what exactly this means for wearers, but OnePlus claims that its new gadget can handle all of the usual smartwatch functions we’ve come to expect from Google, Fitbit, and Samsung. This includes viewing and responding to notifications, making and answering phone calls, playing music, and taking photos.
The OnePlus Watch has 4GB of dedicated storage (2GB for actual use) which is enough for over 500 songs and is compatible with most Bluetooth earbuds for wireless music playback on the go. It also connects to the OnePlus TV and acts as a smart remote control that can turn the volume down when a call comes in, or even turn off the TV before it detects you’re asleep.
The OnePlus watch starts at £ 149 and availability will be shared across Europe in the following weeks, OnePlus says. Check Express.co.uk for the latest release date information.
