OnePlus Watch 2 Review: The wearOS Wearable That Matters

Smartwatches have become essential tools for the tech-savvy and health-conscious, but their Achilles' heel has always been battery life. The constant need to charge a smartwatch is a source of frustration for many users, who dread the idea of carrying a watch charger wherever they go.

Despite this, the smartwatch market is thriving and Apple has managed to dominate it with the Apple Watch lineup, which, until 2022, offered a mere 18 hours of battery life at best. However, the Apple Watch Ultra, with its doubled battery life, has caught the attention of consumers and competitors alike.

Enter the OnePlus Watch 2, a device that aims to address the battery life issue head-on for Android users. With a claimed 100 hours of battery life on a single charge in Smart Mode, the OnePlus Watch 2 is more than just a premium smartwatch running WearOS 4. It's the first mainstream watch to feature dual operating systems and SoCs, boasting an impressive array of specifications. We’ll discuss how all of this is connected to battery life in this review.

While OnePlus takes pride in the watch's fitness capabilities, the OnePlus Watch 2's true identity lies in its challenge to all smartwatch users who have long been frustrated by short battery life. It's a bold statement from OnePlus, and it could potentially reshape the smartwatch landscape.

OnePlus Watch 2 Design

OnePlus's first smartwatch was a budget offering; it was round, elegant, and offered excellent battery life for its time, but other than that, it was a decidedly average device. Its pedometer wasn't very accurate, it couldn't run apps because it was based on RTOS rather than wearOS, and generally, its build quality was also not of the highest standard. 

All of that changes with the OnePlus Watch 2. This is a legitimate Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch rival in terms of design and capabilities, but is significantly more affordable than them. 

Its 46mm dial is massive, and perhaps will not be suitable for women. But if you dont mind its bulk, then this one is a looker. It's circular, sure, like most watches, but it is built using premium materials such as a sapphire crystal cover glass and a stainless steel frame. The entire sensor hub is on the bottom of the watch. OnePlus has designed a very comfortable wrist band, which I could wear even while sleeping, but the Watch 2 is compatible with standard 22mm straps. The device is IP68 dust and water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min), and built to the MIL-STD-810H specification for ruggedness.  

OnePlus Watch 2 Display, Specifications and Battery Life

The 1.43-inch AMOLED display on the OnePlus Watch 2 is top class. It is not only vibrant and colourful, but can also get very bright at 1000 nits. No, it is not on the same level as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or even the first-generation model, but then again, look at its price. Compared to the Apple Watch Series 9, this screen looks stellar.

It is also running twin processors — the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip in tandem with the ultra-low-power BESTechnic BES2700 chipset, which is more commonly found in devices such as true wireless earphones. This unique dual-chip and dual-OS design is what enables its monstrous battery life. Yes, the fact that there’s a relatively large 500 mAh battery helps, but what is happening is that for all basic tasks, the frugal BES2700 chip is running the show with RTOS running in the background. The W5 chip and WearOS 4 only engage when an app that actually needs that kind of power or user interaction lights up.

OnePlus claims that this device can run for 100 hours on a single charge. That's basically five days — and while I didn't quite manage to reach that target, I consistently managed four days. When I wasn’t getting as many notifications as usual, it did seem as though that 100-hour claim could be achievable. 

To see how long I could go without charging the OnePlus Watch 2,  I charged it fully on a Wednesday (Feb 28) afternoon and basically kept it on until around 4am on Sunday (March 3).During this time, I even flew across the country to Goa, jogged regularly, and was walking upwards of 12,000 steps a day, and was using the watch to attend to notifications.When taking off the watch for the first time in four days, its battery level was still at 20 percent 

This hardware architecture is the reason I often felt a buzz for a notification, but the watch would then take a second or so to actually display it. In automotive parlance, this is almost like how a strong hybrid car works. It is running off the battery when you're in city traffic driving below 50 kmph, but the engine kicks in when you hit the highway. It is a novel and a very smart way of going about things. 

I expected this to be frustrating, but I found it was easy to live with because, while there is a bit of latency in notifications being displayed, it is in no way a slow experience. 

The watch UI is highly customisable with a variety of watch faces that can be called up using the OHealth app. 

OnePlus Watch 2 Performance

The OnePlus Watch 2 is a great fitness companion, considering it can accurately track your sleep, stress, workouts, heart rate, and SpO2 levels. The tracking matched what I observed on my WHOOP band. The OnePlus Watch even did a  better job than the Apple Watch Series 9, and costs a lot less. 

One problem is that the OHealth App is not available on iOS, which means iPhone users will be stuck with limited wearOS functionality via the WearOS app. But still, this is better than nothing, which is the case for Android phone users who might aspire to have an Apple Watch. That said, this device is best used in tandem with OnePlus products — the OnePlus 12 smartphone, the OnePlus Watch 2, and OnePlus Buds 3.

One additional impressive thing I'd like to highlight: the charging puck is brilliant. It is not as fiddly as the one Apple ships with its Apple Watch models. It needs to be connected via a USB Type-C cable, which enables 7W VooC charging. It is also  convenient to not be dependent on a proprietary charger. 

Verdict

At the end of the day, the OnePlus Watch 2 is a fabulous smartwatch and is very reasonably priced for what it is. It is smartly designed, attractive, and functional wearable that will serve you just as well while jogging as attending a black-tie event. Its bands can be swapped out easily, it looks elegant, and does its job for a fraction of the price of today's premium smartwatches. What's not to like? The lack of iPhone support, perhaps.

(Product Images: OnePlus Watch 2 by Jitendra)