On the finish of February, a big bundle arrived on my doorstep. Inside had been 11 packing containers containing the identical model of the $299.99 OnePlus Watch 2. My eyes watered and I whispered, “Not once more.”
This was a delivery accident. My field had 10 extra watches than I wanted for a evaluation. It occurs and usually doesn’t maintain any bigger that means. However I used to be nervous as a result of the unique OnePlus Watch was by far the worst smartwatch I’ve ever had the misfortune of reviewing. Every part that would go incorrect did. The health and well being monitoring deserved the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Troubleshooting the buggy software program was a nightmare. That entire abysmal expertise was seared into my reminiscence. So when OnePlus reached out to say it was making a second watch — and that this one was markedly higher — I used to be hopeful. After which a field of 11 smartwatches arrived on my doorstep.
Nonetheless, it wouldn’t be honest to let previous errors colour my opinions of a brand new watch. I took my time to get to know the OnePlus Watch 2 by itself deserves. So after I say this watch will not be solely competent but in addition fairly good, I actually imply it.
It really works!
The bar for the OnePlus Watch 2 was low. All it needed to do was be higher than its craptacular predecessor. It’s been some time, so I reread my original review to refresh my reminiscence. To beat the unique watch, this one solely needed to:
- Document moderately correct exercise and well being knowledge. Final time, it recorded 15,314 additional steps in comparison with a management smartwatch.
- Precisely sync knowledge between the telephone and watch. If I took a mile-long stroll, it wanted to log one mile on my watch and telephone. The info for steps, coronary heart fee, distance, and many others., needed to additionally match. The final OnePlus Watch repeatedly gaslit me by exhibiting radically completely different metrics on the telephone versus the wrist.
- View historic sleep knowledge within the app and never simply on the wrist. The final one couldn’t do that.
- Ship push notifications in a well timed method. Not 40 notifications 4 hours later, suddenly.
I’m genuinely satisfied to say sporting the watch these previous few weeks was a therapeutic expertise. OnePlus did all of that after which some. Whereas the unique watch was principally a health tracker, this can be a real smartwatch with a dual-processor structure, together with the newest Put on OS chip and a novel twin OS to delay battery life.
By upgrading from a proprietary OS to Put on OS 4, the watch delivers a a lot richer general expertise. I can now entry third-party apps from the Play Retailer. There are a number of music apps to select from, together with Spotify and YouTube Music! There’s contactless funds! I can flip off my sensible lights with Google Assistant. That’s enormous contemplating virtually no third-party Android smartwatches have launched with Google Assistant for the reason that swap to Put on OS 3. That is the stuff you’d anticipate from a correct flagship.
Construct high quality can be higher. The unique watch was a reasonably display with chintzy, plasticky supplies. This has stainless-steel and sapphire crystal. The silicone strap is far thicker. The 1.43-inch OLED show is agreeable to take a look at. Scrolling by means of screens is easy, and colours are crisp. I want display brightness went above 600 nits — it could actually look washed out in direct daylight — however that’s a quibble.
I don’t have any complaints with well being, exercise, and sleep monitoring, both. I wore the OnePlus Watch 2 alongside the Oura Ring, the Garmin Forerunner 165 Music, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and some different sensible rings. I noticed some regular minor discrepancies however nothing to jot down dwelling about. The OnePlus Watch 2 additionally provides dual-frequency GPS. It’s a typical addition to extra premium or rugged smartwatches today however principally interprets to barely extra correct GPS knowledge in difficult environments. My ends in testing had been fairly just like the Extremely 2 and my telephone, which each have dual-frequency GPS. Great things in the event you’re the outdoorsy sort.
However whereas these are huge enhancements, it’s not good. Whereas I preferred the addition of a brand new shortcut button, the “digital crown” isn’t actually a crown. It seems to be like one and spins like one, however it doesn’t really scroll. It’s functionally a button. The watch, like many more recent Put on OS watches, helps Android solely. There’s no mobile functionality, both, which stinks if you wish to go away your telephone at dwelling for a run. Likewise, the OnePlus Watch 2 doesn’t have fall detection, EKGs, native interval monitoring (you could possibly obtain a third-party app), or physique temperature monitoring. Most of those omissions aren’t the tip of the world if all you need is fundamental exercise monitoring. It simply means this isn’t a watch the place you may comfortably go away your telephone at dwelling.
Multiday battery life
The OnePlus Watch 2 has some fancy stuff occurring underneath the hood that interprets to wonderful battery life. The gist is you’ve received two processors — the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 and the BES2700 MCU. The W5 handles the power-guzzling duties and runs Put on OS 4. The BES2700 runs background duties utilizing a proprietary OS. Stuff gets handed off between the two, and the result’s lengthy battery life. It helps that there’s a 500mAh battery, too.
How lengthy relies on your utilization. For those who flip the always-on show off, preserve notifications to a minimal, and train about half-hour with GPS on, you may get a number of days. Probably the most I received was about 4 days earlier than an influence saving mode kicked on after which about yet one more day after that mode kicked in. That’s very good and it’s longer than what you’ll get on an Apple, Samsung, or Google smartwatch. With the always-on show turned on, I received nearer to 1.5 to 2 days. That’s normal, although not too shabby.
In energy saving mode, the watch loses Put on OS, however you continue to can obtain notifications and observe well being / actions. OnePlus says you may get round 12 days. I by no means used the watch in energy saving mode solely. That type of defeats the aim of getting a flagship smartwatch, however it’s good to have in the event you neglect your charger at dwelling.
To get wonderful battery life, OnePlus made one large design tradeoff. This watch solely is available in a single 47mm dimension.
That 47mm watch case is why you may stuff in a 500mAh battery. Nevertheless it bumps the burden to 80g with the strap. I’ve received petite wrists. I felt gravity’s pull on the watch every time I ran. I actually felt it after I wore my leather-based jacket. The watch was so chunky, I virtually didn’t have sufficient area to drag my wrist by means of the cuff.
For those who’ve received greater wrists, this gained’t be a difficulty. However there’s no different possibility for everybody else. That’s a bummer. Most flagship smartwatch makers provide at the least a small and large dimension. They’re making the identical tradeoffs — the smaller ones are normally extra snug, however the greater ones have higher battery life. Shoppers perceive that, and most are pleased to decide on the tradeoff that most closely fits them. Right here, that selection has been made for you.
Filling a void
OnePlus has an actual alternative right here to take over because the “default various.” It’s the primary Put on OS 4 watch that isn’t made by Samsung or Google, and it trounces them each in battery life. Not like its predecessor, it nails the fundamentals. At $300, it’s competitively priced. Whereas there’s room for enchancment, it’s properly suited to of us who need one thing fashionable with out too many bells and whistles.
I really held onto the ten additional OnePlus Watch 2 smartwatches throughout testing. A part of me was afraid that the one I opened could be riddled with bugs. This manner, I wouldn’t must request alternate items. I’d have the ability to definitively inform if one unit was flawed — or if the watch was yet one more unmitigated catastrophe. However I by no means wanted to open a second watch. Now that my evaluation is completed, I can see how foolish I used to be being. This watch is the precise reverse of its predecessor. For as soon as, that’s a great factor.
Correction, April seventeenth, 2024, 5:08PM ET: A earlier model of this evaluation famous the facet button wasn’t customizable. It’s. We remorse the error.