OnePlus has made a name for itself by offering flagship-level smartphones at affordable prices. With the new OnePlus Watch 2, the company is bringing that same value proposition to the smartwatch market. Priced at $399, the OnePlus Watch 2 packs a suite of health, fitness and convenience features into a sleek, premium design. After spending two weeks testing the watch, it’s clear that OnePlus has another hit on its hands.
Sleek and Sophisticated Design
The OnePlus Watch 2 features a round 1.4-inch always-on AMOLED display enclosed in a stainless steel case. With a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels, the display is incredibly sharp and gets plenty bright, even in direct sunlight. The exterior also now sports a physical rotating bezel for easier navigation. There are two buttons on the side — one customizable for shortcuts and another for going back or waking up the display.
On the design front, OnePlus offers two color options: Moonlight Silver and Midnight Black. I tested the silver model and loved the shiny finish. The watch feels premium in every way, easily competing with more expensive options from Samsung and Apple. An IP68 rating means you can safely take it for a swim too.
Top of the Line Fitness Tracking
Inside the OnePlus Watch 2 you’ll find all of the usual fitness tracking capabilities, plus a few extras. There’s built-in GPS for tracking outdoor runs and rides without needing your phone. You also get heart rate monitoring, SpO2 readings, sleep tracking and stress monitoring. OnePlus packed in one of the largest libraries of workout modes I’ve seen on any smartwatch, with over 150 options.
During testing, I found all of the health metrics to be accurate and reliable. GPS-tracked activities were spot on and heart rate monitoring aligned perfectly with a dedicated fitness tracker I wore simultaneously. Sleep and stress tracking were also on par with what I expected based on how I felt each day.
Smartwatch Convenience Features
In addition to health and fitness tracking, the OnePlus Watch 2 offers a robust set of features to enhance convenience and productivity throughout your day. You get the ability to view and respond to smartphone notifications from the watch, control music playback, make contactless payments through NFC and access Google Assistant entirely through voice commands.
Phone call functionality is also built into the OnePlus Watch 2. You can answer calls directly on the watch thanks to the built-in speaker and microphone. Call quality won’t match having an actual phone up to your ear, but it works well enough for short conversations. Audio sounds fairly clear without any dropouts.
Blazing Fast Performance
Powering the comprehensive set of features is a Snapdragon W5+ platform with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. During my time with the watch, performance felt exceptionally snappy. Apps open instantly, workouts trigger without delay, notifications come through on time and Google Assistant responds rapidly to voice commands.
The experience is every bit as fluid as flagship smartwatches costing nearly twice as much. Even with dozens of notifications coming in throughout the day and using apps regularly, I never experienced any lag.
Up to a Week of Battery Life
Battery life is often the Achilles heel of full-featured smartwatches, but that’s not the case with the OnePlus Watch 2. The company claims a whopping 100 hours of runtime between charges. While I didn’t quite hit that mark in testing, results were still impressive.
With continuous heart rate monitoring enabled, notifications turned on, one or two tracked workouts per day and regular app/feature use, I managed a consistent five days on a single charge. That’s nearly as long as I can go on my smartphone.
Even if you tax the battery more heavily, you’re still looking at a minimum of two days between charges. When it does come time to juice up, the included magnetic charger goes from 0 to 100 percent in just over 30 minutes.
OnePlus Watch 2 Review: The Verdict
With best-in-class battery life, a premium design, tons of features and blazing-fast performance, the OnePlus Watch 2 offers tremendous value. It goes toe-to-toe with smartwatches costing nearly twice as much in many areas. If you own a OnePlus smartphone or simply want a feature-packed wearable at an affordable price point, the OnePlus Watch 2 is a stellar choice.
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