Tech

OnePlus snubs Google’s Wear OS, announces $159 smartwatch

OnePlus is launching a smartwatch. OnePlus announced the OnePlus Watch today, and despite being a longtime Android OEM, the company isn’t using Google’s Android-based Wear OS. Like Garmin and Fitbit (pre-Google), the company is striking off on its own and shipping an in-house OS on the watch. The OnePlus Watch is only $159, so it’s very much a budget option.

OnePlus has announced the watch, but it’s still being cagey about the spec sheet. We don’t know what the SoC is, even after asking, but the lack of information suggests it’s not something the company wants to brag about. The body of the watch is a huge 46×10.9 mm, so there’s definitely room in there for an old Snapdragon Wear SoC. The display is a 1.39-inch, 454×454 OLED. There’s 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a 402 mAh battery. The watch has GPS, Bluetooth, an optical heart rate monitor, and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

The body is stainless steel with a glass top, and the bands are easily swappable. OnePlus says the battery will last anywhere from 25 hours (with GPS on) to 14 days, depending on which features you use. There’s a “Warp charge” pogo charger, and OnePlus says you’ll get a week’s usage (so 50 percent?) after 20 minutes of charging.

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