OnePlus Watch 2 Review: A Near-Perfect Second Attempt! But Can it Take on the Galaxy Watch 6?

When it comes to smartwatches, Samsung and Apple have few competitors in India. The Galaxy Watch series is easily the most popular choice for those looking for Wear OS smartwatch, while the Apple Watch reigns supreme for iOS users.

However, the latest iteration of the OnePlus Watch aims to challenge Samsung's domination by offering another compelling Android alternative to the Apple Watch. With a starting price of Rs 24,999, the OnePlus Watch 2 is by no means affordable but does have a versatile spec sheet. So let's find out if the OnePlus Watch 2 should be your next Wear OS smartwatch.

PROS

• Elegant Design, Premium Build
• Bright, Vibrant AMOLED Display
• Good Software with Dual OS Strategy
• Excellent Battery Life
• Fast and Innovative Charging Solution
• Wide Range of Activity Modes
• Smooth Performance

CONS

• Only Comes in One Size
• Bulky Design
• Missing Health Features
• No LTE Option

Design and Build

The OnePlus Watch 2 gives out some serious premium design vibes. The watch itself is made of stainless steel and boasts a brushed metal finish with a glossy surface. The chassis is quite being, measuring 47mm in size. The display is also protected by 2.5D sapphire crystal glass, with a flat design.

The OnePlus Watch 2 has two buttons on the right, one which has a flat surface to blend into the dial and the other a circular crown button that can be pressed or rotated to control different functionality on the watch. The buttons are quite responsive and are conveniently positioned to prevent accidental presses.

While the OnePlus Watch 2 doesn't have a rugged appearance, it does come with a MIL-STD-810H durability rating and an IP68 rating for water resistance when swimming. The OnePlus Watch 2 uses a 22-mm fluoro-rubber strap, which is soft and resistant to dirt. The strap perfectly complements the smartwatch's size and is easily replaceable thanks to its standard latch.

The overall build quality of the OnePlus Watch 2 is second to none in the segment, although I did find the watch on the heavy side. If you are accustomed to wearing watches to track your sleep or your daily routine, then you won't have any issues with the OnePlus Watch 2's heft.

However, I certainly felt the bulk after a few hours. OnePlus's one-size-fits-all approach appears to be tailored towards users with bigger wrists. The OnePlus Watch 2 has a premium look and feel, although it can come at the cost of comfort. The Watch 2 also features a though build.

Display

OnePlus doesn't skimp on the Watch 2's display, offering a 1.43-inch circular AMOLED screen with a 466 x 466 pixels resolution and a smooth 60Hz refresh rate. The screen gets plenty bright and is visible in all scenarios, especially under direct mid-afternoon sunlight, thanks to its peak brightness of 1,000 nits.

The display outputs vibrant colors with deep blacks and is easily visible from all angles. The screen's auto-brightness feature also works well in adjusting brightness indoors and outdoors. The display on the Watch 2 also has rather slim bezels adding to its elegant look.

Performance

The OnePlus Watch 2 utilizes a dual-chip strategy. The BES 2700 chip is used to run RTOS and takes care of more less demanding tasks like the always-on display and background activity. However, when you need to run third-party apps, Wear OS kicks and the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chipset jumps into action.

The Watch 2's UI worked well with no slowdowns while navigating the OS. The OnePlus Watch 2 is only compatible with Android smartphones and must be paired with the OHealth app. The OHealth app is a good companion health app, monitoring all your activities, SpO2 data, sleep, and stress tracking, and more.

You can also manage notifications and switch watch faces within the app. You can also sign into the app to sync your data across devices. The app also has a ton of watch faces, many of which are customizable. The OHealth app's interface is simple and convenient, offering all the basic tracking features, while maintaining a good balance of customizability.

Considering the Watch 2 runs on Wear OS, you have full access to the Google Play Store as well as Google's standard pre-installed apps. Wear OS on the OnePlus Watch 2 feels light and clean, while apps run effortlessly thanks to the Snapdragon chip.

The OnePlus Watch 2 also supports Bluetooth calling when paired with a smartphone, although it isn't suited for outdoor use. Moreover, the watch also supports popular apps like Gmail, Google Messages, WhatsApp, Spotify, YouTube Music, etc. You can also use the Play Store to access other third-party fitness apps.

Connectivity options on the OnePlus Watch 2 include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, and GPS. The OnePlus Watch 2 also comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The smartwatch is compatible with Android 8 or later, although it doesn't support iOS and smartphones running Android (Go Edition).

Health & Fitness Tracking

The OnePlus Watch 2 gives users access to a plethora of fitness activities and sports modes to cater to different preferences and lifestyles. The OnePlus Watch 2 boasts an impressive list of over 100 activities, including soccer, badminton, indoor/outdoor cycling, indoor/outdoor running, pool swimming, jump rope, mountain hiking, and tennis, to name a few.

The activities I tested on the Watch 2 included soccer, badminton, cycling, and indoor running, all of which were tracked consistently. However, I did notice some discrepancies in the OnePlus Watch 2 while counting steps.

The OnePlus Watch 2's auto-detect feature also worked flawlessly, pausing and resuming workouts accurately. Where the Fitbit Versa 4 recorded 4,423 steps, the OnePlus Watch 2 logged 4016 steps, which is quite a big discrepancy, considering the accuracy of the Fitbit.

The OnePlus Watch 2 also monitors several health tracking features including SpO2 level, heart rate, stress levels, and sleep patterns. The OnePlus Watch 2 accurately tracked Deep, REM, and Light sleep and shows detailed results. Another useful feature I found on the OnePlus Watch 2 was its ability to monitor snoring.

The Watch 2 doesn't come with ECG and blood pressure monitoring, which does feel like an obstacle at this price point. However, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 offers both those features if you are willing to pay around Rs 3,000 more. Another notable absentee is the lack of cycle tracking for women, which has become standard for most smartwatches.

Battery

The OnePlus Watch 2 is equipped with a 500 mAh battery, which is touted to deliver up to 100 hours of battery life in Smart mode and up to 12 days in Power Saving mode. In a world where it is difficult to cross the second-day mark, advertising over four days of battery life is really something. But does the Watch 2 live up to expectations?

The OnePlus Watch 2 never quite reached the company's four-day claim but it got quite close, offering well-over three days of battery life under average usage. This also included two hours of continuous use while cycling. OnePlus achieves this impressive battery life with the combination of Wear OS and RTOS.

RTOS tackles basic functionality like notifications and various other background tasks, while Wear OS does all the heavy lifting. Power saving mode kicks in when you are down to your last 10% and there's no way of overriding this to use the watch in Smart Mode, although the Power Saver mode is key to the Watch 2's excellent battery life.

When it comes to charging, the OnePlus Watch 2 is no slouch, incorporating a simple yet innovation solution to powerup the watch. The magnetic charging dock on the Watch 2 uses pogo pins to power-up the watch, although there's no wire attached to it.

Instead, it has a USB Type-C port to plug in a cable, which we found quite convenient for on-the-go use. I didn't quite keep track of charging speed, although it was pretty fast. OnePlus claims the Watch 2 can deliver a full charge in 60 minutes and deliver 24 hours of battery life on a 10-minute charge.

Overall, the OnePlus Watch 2 offers excellent battery life, perhaps the best I've seen on a Wear OS or watchOS smartwatch. Adding to the impressive battery life is an innovative and quick charging solution. It is worth noting that our battery testing was undertaken with the always-on display turned off.

Verdict

How does the saying go; "if at first you don't succeed try, try again"? Thankfully, OnePlus appears to have got it right on attempt number two itself. The OnePlus Watch 2 ups the ante to take on the Galaxy Watch 6 series and the Pixel Watch 2. Sure, there are some minor hurdles to overcome, including the lack of some important features, but that's hardly a reason to overlook the OnePlus Watch 2.

The Watch 2's elegant design is complemented by its sturdy exterior, which uses premium materials. There's a plethora of activities at your disposal and OnePlus also promises two years of software support for the Watch 2. To output that data, the OnePlus Watch 2 also features one of the best displays I've seen on a smartwatch.

Then there's battery life, which is the best we've seen on a full-fledge smartwatch, all made possible by OnePlus's highly innovative dual-software strategy. While the OnePlus Watch 2 is twice as expensive as its predecessor, the improvements here are monumental to the extent that it can actually compete with the Galaxy Watch 6 series.

Now, Samsung does offer a few more features but that does come at a higher price. Not to mention, only the sub-40K Galaxy Watch 6 Classic boasts a stainless-steel build. So would I recommend the OnePlus Watch 2? That's an easy 'Yes'! As things stand, it would be near-impossible to find a Wear OS smartwatch better than the OnePlus Watch 2 in the sub-25K segment.