Its first smartwatch barely moved the needle so OnePlus put everything inside the second generation, like seriously. Launching globally at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 trade show in Barcelona, the OnePlus Watch 2 takes a fresh swing at Samsung but even more importantly, at redemption, after a near three-year-long hiatus, a time period that the company is calling a “reflective pause”.
The OnePlus Watch 2 has a “dual-engine architecture” meaning that it has two different processors— a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip for all the heavy-lifting and another BES 2700 MCU for simpler tasks. Each of those chips has access to its own different software, too, with the W5 running a full-blown WearOS 4 even as the BES sticks to the fundamentally more basic real-time OS (RTOS). Depending on the use-case and mode you select, the watch can smartly alternate and give you the best of performance and battery life — at least in theory.
No surprises that OnePlus is quoting some insane numbers (though to be fair, the first-generation OnePlus Watch also had great battery life) — that’s up to 100 hours of “regular use with all functionalities accessible in smart mode” or up to 48 hours “with heavy use”. Fast charging is available for speedy top-ups with the bundled “7.5W VOOC” charger taking 60 minutes to fill the 500mAh battery of the OnePlus Watch 2 from flat out to 100 percent.
The OnePlus Watch 2 can track more than 100 types of sports in conjunction with OnePlus’s OHealth companion app in addition to offering “detailed” sleep tracking analysis including sleep snoring risk assessment and stress level monitoring by calculating heart rate variability (HRV). Dual frequency GPS is available for more precise and reliable positioning data, for runners.
The OnePlus Watch 2 has a new design and stronger build materials. It has a chassis made out of stainless-steel and a sapphire crystal watch face. The smartwatch will come in two colours— Black Steel and Radiant Steel. The OnePlus 12 was the inspiration apparently but the overall look has a more masculine feel to it this time as opposed to the original that had a more unisex appeal (though all this is subjective). The watch is both IP68 and 5ATM rated, and also, built to the MIL-STD-810H standard. It has a 1.43-inch AMOLED display and 32GB of internal storage.
In India, the OnePlus Watch 2 will be available at a price of Rs 24,999 starting from March 4, 2024.
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