The OnePlus Watch is the first smartwatch from OnePlus and stands out with its competitive price of 159 euros. If your expectations are low, the smart watch could be interesting. But most interested parties should ignore it. In this OnePlus Watch review you can read why.
OnePlus Watch
price € 159,-
Colors silver or black
Display 1.39 inch OLED (545 x 454 pixels)
Weight 45 grams without strap, 76 grams with strap,
Operating system Custom RTOS
Battery 402 mAh, charging via magnetic pogo charger
Dimensions 46.4 x 46.4 x 10.9 millimeters
Other Waterproof (5ATM and IP68), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, Heart Rate Monitor, Blood Oxygen Monitor, Environmental Sensors
Website www.oneplus.com 5 Score 50 
OnePlus has been making – mainly good – smartphones for years and is also tapping into more and more other product groups. The brand sells its own smart TVs in India and the first fitness tracker and smartwatch recently appeared in Europe. I tested the latter, clearly named OnePlus Watch. However, the availability of the 159 euro smartwatch leaves much to be desired. If all goes well, this will change later. I tested the smartwatch for six weeks, mainly because OnePlus indicated in the first week that a software update would be available later that should fix known bugs and add new features. I have been waiting for that update. In this OnePlus Watch review you can read my experiences with the smart watch.
OnePlus Watch design and screen
The OnePlus Watch is for sale in one size and measures a hefty 46.4 by 46.4 millimeters. This makes it a larger smartwatch and you notice that when you have it on. It is a bit bulky for the average women’s wrist, but I also find it a bit too big for my smaller men’s wrist. I would therefore rather have had a choice of two models: a smaller and a larger one. Brands such as Huawei, Samsung and Apple do offer that choice.
The smart OnePlus watch uses a different type of strap that I find getting used to and clumsy. Just give me a normal watch strap. Fortunately, you can easily remove the standard strap and replace it with another. The smartwatch is comfortable to wear and does not irritate after a long day with warm temperatures.
The watch has a 1.39 inch touch-sensitive screen that looks sharp thanks to the high resolution of 454 by 454 pixels. The OLED screen shows beautiful colors and the brightness is high enough to read the screen outside. On the right side of the OnePlus Watch you will find two buttons. You use it to turn the watch on and off and to perform quick commands, such as starting a workout.
You can buy the smartwatch in two colors: black and silver. I tested the black edition. The watch is waterproof and dustproof with a 5ATM and IP68 certificate. The screen is still free of scratches after six weeks; a positive first experience.
Limited OS
The OnePlus Watch runs on an RTOS, or a real-time operating system. Simple hardware is enough for this software, is energy efficient and has some smart functions. OnePlus installs a handful of its own apps on the watch, including a timer and shortcuts to measuring your heart rate, oxygen level and sports activities. But apps are also missing, including a calendar and calculator. Sin.
The operating system runs like a charm; the OnePlus Watch feels fast. Nice, but in terms of possibilities the watch is very limited. And you notice that more. The smartwatch does not have a voice assistant to ask questions and give commands. So you always have to operate the Watch with your fingers and that is not always convenient. It is also strange that the watch is not suitable for contactless debit card payments in shops, despite its built-in NFC chip. Competitive smartwatches from Samsung and Fitbit, among others, can do this.
The OnePlus Watch connects via bluetooth to your smartphone, but that must be an Android device. There is no iOS app. It is not clear to me when the Watch will become suitable for use with the iPhone.
You can – linked to you androidsmartphone – take calls on the watch and make calls, because the watch has its own microphone and speaker. This works properly and can certainly be useful. Responding to notifications could have been a lot better. Incoming messages are not clearly displayed, smileys are not visible at all and you can only answer from your wrist with five standard responses. They are always the same and often irrelevant. It would have been much more useful if you could formulate and send an answer using your voice. A missed opportunity. The software on the watch also does not allow additional apps. So there is no app store with useful apps from fitness services and other parties. This is possible on watches from Samsung, Apple and Google (Wear OS).
Battery life as an asset
The main advantage of the simple operating system is that it is very favorable for the battery life. Even with all functions turned on, the OnePlus Watch lasts more than a week on a battery charge. Smart watches from other brands can be happy with two days. If you use the OnePlus Watch less intensively, it will last at least ten days. Charging is done in no time. OnePlus supplies a charger that has provided the watch with enough power for about five days of use after twenty minutes. Other smartwatches can’t match this either.
Monitor your health
But those smartwatches usually measure your mental and physical health accurately. The OnePlus Watch cannot do that and that is a shame. The smartwatch regularly counts hundreds to thousands of steps more in a day than other fitness trackers and simply gives incorrect information about my sleeping behavior. The heart rate monitor and recording of my oxygen level in my blood perform more accurately when I compare them with the statistics of other wearables.
You can also use the OnePlus Watch to track a variety of sports activities, including running, cycling, and fitness. This works fine, although the GPS is not the most accurate.
Beautiful app keeps data to itself
The aforementioned OnePlus app is called OnePlus Health and is nicely put together. The app is well-arranged, works properly and also lets you adjust the watch face. The collection is large enough and contains something for everyone.
The app’s main pain point is that OnePlus has decided that you can’t share health data with alternative services other than Google Fit. If you do not use or do not want to use Google Fit, you are therefore bound to the OnePlus app. Fans of services like Strave, Runkeeper, Withings and many more fine services will be justifiably disappointed.
Conclusion: Buy OnePlus Watch?
The OnePlus Watch is a minimalist smartwatch that stands out positively with its beautiful screen, exceptionally long battery life and fast charging function. The installed operating system also works smoothly and intuitively. The price of 159 euros is also favorable. Unfortunately, OnePlus makes so many compromises to arrive at that competitive price that the Watch is especially frustrating to use. The registration of steps and sleep is unreliable, the software functions are limited, the technical possibilities are also limited and the watch does not even work with the iPhone (yet). OnePlus’ – beautifully designed – app can only share your health data with Google Fit, where many competing smartwatches work well with all kinds of fitness services.
The OnePlus Watch is therefore limited in its scope and because of its bulky design, it is not recommended if you have a narrow wrist. By far most interested parties are better off with a slightly more expensive smartwatch from, for example, Samsung, Huawei or Fitbit. iPhone owners should look at an Apple Watch, which – admittedly – is a lot more expensive than the OnePlus Watch. Quality comes with a price. My experience with the OnePlus Watch therefore makes me especially curious about a more expensive and better OnePlus smartwatch.
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