Between brandspremium available in Spain, OnePlus is one of the most talked about in recent years. The one that in its day was a benchmark in quality / price for the high-end range, little by little it has continued to climb until it is measured against the best.
In 2020 we have seen how the brand expanded its product catalog, offering more affordable terminals such as the OnePlus Nord, some in the line of previous generations such as the 8T and for the first time entry-level models with the N10 and N100 that are not very Recommended, but that show that OnePlus goes for it all.And now they are going for the smart watch.
Pete Lau confirms first OnePlus watch for 2021
In recent years, the wearable fever has left us with some interest in OnePlus. Practically all the greats of technology have already shown their own smart watches, some in the more advanced sector and others with more modest proposals. However, OnePlus had not yet moved a tab, and there were not a few users who requested it.
Many of you said you wanted a watch, and as you might have heard over the weekend — we’re making one, to be released early next year. Wishes do come true.🎁 https://t.co/H1Fqv9srXj
– Pete Lau (@PeteLau) December 22, 2020
It was Pete Lau himself who confirmed it on Twitter, indicating that “Several of you have told us that you want a watch, and you may have heard last weekend that we are making one, to be shown early next year. Wishes come true.
Now that we finally know that OnePlus will create its own smartwatch, we can fantasize a bit about the features it might have. As smartwatch enthusiasts, we have a very clear idea of what we would like to see in the first OnePlus smartwatch.
Wear OS with Oxygen OS
Oppo Watch with Wear OS.
For years, Wear OS has been a system that has not had as decent a track record as it should, lagging far behind Apple and Samsung. But despite its slow evolution, it’s still a great system for smartwatches, and it wasn’t until I’ve tried watches from realme, Huawei, and Amazfit that I’ve really started to appreciate the virtues of the Wear OS ecosystem.
Notification control, features like Google Pay, and exceptionally good apps like Google Maps or CityMapper add incredible value. When we add the power of Google Assistant (in watches where it works well) and the possibility of sending WhatsApp and Telegram messages from the assistant, they make it a unique system. Perhaps far from the best, but very well positioned.
On the software side, OnePlus is known for its good optimization and now that Wear OS is more permissive with layers of customization, Oxygen OS could be a version that contributes to the ecosystem in a similar way to how Oppo has done recently.
Snapdragon Wear 4100, NFC, LTE and memory to spare
Most Wear OS problems have a main culprit, and that is Qualcomm’s passivity when it comes to using cutting-edge technologies in its watch processors. Before the arrival of the Snapdragon Wear 4100 that we already tested in the Ticwatch Pro 3, the more advanced Snapdragon Wear was based on the technology of the Snapdragon 400 that we saw in the first generation Motorola Moto Gs.
The Snapdragon 4100 flies and makes Wear OS for the first time since 2015 feel like a nimble, non-stagnant system, achieving great performance in the interface, applications, and assistant usage.
As extras that we would love to have, the NFC connection for payments with the watch and LTE would be very appreciated features (we would even consider NFC as an essential) as well as at least 16 GB of memory to store local music.
TicWatch Pro 3, review: now yes, long live Wear OSAfter several weeks testing the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, we tell you our impressions. It is the best choice if you want Wear OS.
A design that copies the best smartwatch interface
OnePlus is a company that when it believes that a solution is ideal is not afraid to copy it. And in this sense I would love for them to copy Samsung and its rotating bezel, since in my experience I consider that it is the best way to interact with a watch.
In case they bet on copying the design of the Apple Watch (which personally seems the most probable) I hope they at least include a digital crown.
Good quality and price
While I don’t expect OnePlus to create a cheap watch (rather, I wouldn’t want them to make a watch that isn’t as good as possible because of price constraints) we do expect OnePlus’ first proposal to be price-ambitious.
Without having a figure in mind, I think that a segment that would make it very attractive would be the 250-300 euros in the event that they bet on offering the best of the best. And given the progression of the company in recent years, we do believe they would be capable.
The entry OnePlus makes its first smartwatch official for 2021: this is what we expect from it appears first in The Free Android.
