I first noticed OnePlus back in 2014. The tech company was making waves by creating high-spec mobile phones at prices significantly lower than the incumbent smartphones of the time. I bought the first product known as OnePlus One and enjoyed it completely. The company has in fact made sure to offer a promise that it will come to a price that will be impossible to defeat the “flagship killer” performance. OnePlus is still strong even after more than 10 years. They have released several smartphone devices and recently entered the smartwatch space. The latest smartwatch release is the OnePlus Watch 3, and the brand’s central spirit of offering excellent specs at an invincible price is still true.
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The OnePlus Watch 3 is a Google Wear OS 5-based smartwatch that greatly improves the OnePlus Watch 2, and is significantly challenging value propositions from other companies when it comes to this kind of set. The smartwatch market is notoriously difficult for consumers to navigate, as it is difficult to understand how it translates into different technical specifications and product performance. Not only are there a large number of different smartwatch operating systems available in the market, but there are also a wide variety of types within the category of smartwatches that use the Google Wear operating system. Where does OnePlus see the OnePlus Watch 3 as stand out? According to OnePlus, the main advantages of the OnePlus Watch 3 are that it wears comfort along with overall high-speed hardware performance, battery life, screen quality and attractive design. The price of the OnePlus Watch 3 feels very competitive, so I’m worried that many consumers will underestimate what they bring to the table based solely on retail costs.
One interesting innovation in the OnePlus Watch 3 is aimed at extending battery life. This is the use of a dual chipset system that relies on a more powerful Snapdragon W5 processor when the watch is in active “on” mode and a secondary processor that consumes power when the watch is in standby. Additionally, the watch comes equipped with new silicon carbon battery technology that allows for a capacity of 631MAH. All this together promises OnePlus to “up to 5 days” battery life in standard smartwatch mode. Plus, you can expand to more than two weeks in the power saving mode. A 5-day battery life rating assumes that the “Always On” screen is off. This means it will be dark unless you raise your wrist or activate the screen. As a watch lover, I don’t like that mode because I always like to look at the screen.
OnePlus warns that turning on the Always On screen (the core feature of Wear OS) will significantly reduce battery life. That didn’t bother me. Because these days I don’t wear smartwatches that don’t have a screen state that is always on (for aesthetic reasons). Having a screen that is always on (take care, it’s not always on at full power, but it will enter a special dimming screen state until the screen is fully activated) Does it affect battery life? That’s a good question, but in this condition you can expect at least 2-3 days of battery life, but it’s probably a little longer (I couldn’t drain the battery completely like that). In my opinion, the OnePlus Watch 3 has such a lovely LTPO AMOLED screen, and it’s perfectly worth it to have a state at all times. I’ve noticed that the battery life is significantly better than other wear OS-based smartwatches I’ve worn recently.
What surprised me the most when I first wore it on the OnePlus Watch 3 was how comfortable it was and how nice the price was. Unlike Google’s Pixel Watch series, which aims to be uncompromising minimalism, OnePlus feels that the smartwatch is more consistent with the traditional world of watches, just like other competitors like Apple and Samsung Do. The case and bezel design of the OnePlus Watch 3 is more similar to traditional watches, and I really like the interesting arrangement of the case pusher and functional crown. This asymmetry makes this watch visually interesting and distinctive on the wrist.
The case itself is mainly produced from steel and features a titanium alloy bezel. OnePlus launches the OnePlus Watch 3 in two cosmetic styles, including black coating or naturally finished silver case colors. The case is a bigger aspect, but the strap integration and lug design make it comfortable even on small wrists. The OnePlus Watch 3 case is 46.6mm wide and the lug-to-lug distance is approximately 53mm. The OnePlus suggests that the case is 11.75mm thick (no rear sensor), but that’s a bit misleading given the actual thickness being close to 14mm. That being said, the tapered nature of the caseback allows you to wear the watch with a low wrist profile. The case is also water resistant to 50 meters and uses a welcome of actual scratch-resistant sapphire crystals on the touch screen. This is rare for this low-cost smartwatch. Finally, with the included strap, the OnePlus Watch 3 weighs only 81 grams incredibly wearable weight.
The Crown in particular is the realm that OnePlus has made many advances over the previous OnePlus Watch 2. With OnePlus Watch 3, the crown is excellent for use, and you can easily scroll up and down the screen or menu with welcome feedback in the form of small vibrations from the case itself when moving items. You can use a touchscreen to fully navigate the operating system, but people seem to prefer to do a lot of it through the crown. The main reason is that constant touching the screen will cause fingerprints that you want to wipe off later. That said, the OnePlus Watch 3 screen doesn’t attract fingerprints or dirt almost as much as some of the other smartwatches I’ve reviewed. In addition to the crown, the case also has an additional physical button (by default it activates fitness tracking). Speaking of the usefulness of watches, I would like to praise OnePlus for the design of the magnetic attack charging dock. These connectors on some other smartwatches are usually not easily removed or properly installed from the start, making them a bit of a nuance to connect. OnePlus Watch 3 Charger USB 3 Connection Easy to monitor the magnetic charging dock and secure its position without any hassle.
The OnePlus Watch 3 may not be the smallest smartwatch on the market, but it is a big power in terms of hardware. In addition to the dual chipset design, it also has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. This is much of the internal memory for software, media, and tracking/activity data. We found the watch to perform better without the delays or delays that can sometimes occur on budget-oriented devices. As with the start of the company, OnePlus seems rarely forgotten in terms of the hardware of the OnePlus Watch 3. The 466 x 466 pixel resolution screen is particularly gentle to view and can brighten up to 2,200 knits.
As a fitness and health tracking device, OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus Watch 3 has a full stack of modern sensors, including software that understands everything. In addition to basics such as heart rate monitoring and step tracking, OnePlus Watch 3 offers advanced technology that allows for electrocardiogram monitoring, sleep tracking, and even sensors to measure changes in wrist temperature. OnePlus appears to want the OnePlus Watch 3 to act as an exercise tracking device as well as a health surveillance system. For users who rely on such features, the beef technical specifications and battery life of the OnePlus Watch 3 should be quite useful.
OnePlus includes an assortment of preloaded watch face options. Of course, there is a larger universe of third-party digital dials that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store Marketplace (free or paid), but I like to check the software that has been preloaded on the watch. One of the minor drawbacks of getting products from companies is that it focuses primarily on money, while it focuses on hardware is that areas such as artistic originality and distinction are secondary priorities. OnePlus has a lovely array of digital and analog style dialing options to choose from, but most are derivative designs inspired by those created by Apple and Tag Heuer (particularly). That’s fine, but if you want a more original looking watch face for the OnePlus Watch 3, you may need to sort the near-endless options that you can download individually.
That said, I found the pre-installed watch face to be convenient and almost appealing. The customization options were great, but I think the brand was moving further to allow the brand to be a little more personalized. For example, some dials have slogans like “OnePlus” branding and “Never Settle,” which not always want to see. From what I can decide, there was no easy way to use those dials without branding/text. We hope OnePlus continues to invest in more watch faces and personalization options, as OnePlus is a relatively simple area for making customers happy, and less design talent and technical or hardware innovation.
Like many Apple Watch bands, OnePlus ships the OnePlus Watch 3 with a perfect black (or green in a silver case) strap that is perfect for the case, produced from similar “Fluoro Rubber” material. The straps use a handy quick release spring bar and can be replaced with other custom fit straps sold on OnePlus (approx. $30-40 each). These straps integrate well with the shape of the case and create small wear units visually for the wrist. However, the OnePlus Watch 3 case also appears to look like the standard 22mm wide strap you want to pair with. For those who want a more fashionable or unique wearing experience with the OnePlus Watch 3, adding your own straps is the easiest way to achieve that goal.
For reference, this article also displays a photo of OnePlus’ latest flagship smartphone (OnePlus 13) in a pearlescent white “Dawn of the Arctic” case. It’s been over a decade since I’ve handled OnePlus phones, and I’ve certainly been impressed with the design and construction. Details of the OnePlus 13 phone are really pretty, with polished metal rimmings and sections with four camera lenses. OnePlus collaborated with high-end camera manufacturer Hasselblad for its optical systems. The phone has a 5th generation Hasselblad camera for mobile systems, capturing shots up to 50 megapixels. I look forward to experimenting to capture not only landscapes but also watch wrist shots. The OnePlus 13 smartphone in the photo has 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage, and retails at $999 USD.
What I like most about the high-performance yet budget-conscious OnePlus Watch 3 is that it appears to be chasing the right type of enthusiast product. Rather than trying to become the best generic smartwatch on the market, it’s style and personality that fits the spirit of the OnePlus brand. I really couldn’t find any major complaints about it and consider it a very strong value proposition for price. Users can enjoy it out of the box immediately, and the wide world of software and watches available in the Google Wear OS environment enables extremely versatile devices. The OnePlus Watch 3 smartwatch costs USD 329. Find out more on the OnePlus website.
