After a lackluster first generation, the OnePlus Watch 2 really turned things around, and now the third generation looks to push the envelope even further. OnePlus has announced that the Watch 3 will launch in the U.S. and Europe on February 18 with an updated design that takes some cues from the Apple Watch and a battery life that blows the best Android smartwatches out of the water.
The OnePlus Watch 3 boasts a battery life of 120 hours, or five full days, on a single charge, up from 100 hours on the OnePlus Watch 2. That's a full three days longer than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, and three and a half days longer than the Pixel Watch 3. To hit that five-day mark, you'll have to turn off the power-hungry always-on display, but if you're willing to give up even more features, the Watch 3 will run as long as 16 days straight using the smartwatch's power saver settings, 9to5Google reports.
As with the OnePlus Watch 2, you can chalk that impressive longevity up to its use of two separate chipsets: the same Snapdragon W5 performance chip as its predecessor plus a new BES2800 efficiency chipset. By leaning on the less powerful chip for specific tasks and during specific time frames, the One Plus Watch 3 should outlast its competitors by a healthy margin.
"Our software seamlessly switches operations between these two chipsets enabling the OnePlus Watch 3 to run with maximum efficiency and strike the perfect balance between peak performance and extended battery life," OnePlus Europe's chief marketing exec Celina Shi told TechRadar. “Furthermore, we have increased the battery capacity to 631mAH and equipped it with the OnePlus Silicon NanoStack Battery, the same technology used in our latest flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 13, which significantly boosts energy density for long-lasting power.”
A new way to navigate
The rest of the design has been updated slightly, but the biggest new addition is the rotating digital crown that can be used as an additional way to control the watch alongside the touch screen for scrolling and app selection. It's a feature the best Apple Watches have had for nearly a decade, and to be fair, the OnePlus Watch 2 also had a crown that rotated — it just had no functionality, basically making it a glorified fidget spinner.
OnePlus developed the rotating crown in response to "calls from our community" to revamp its functionality, Shi explained. "With the ability to both press and rotate, the rotating crown makes navigating through apps and menus efficient and intuitive – and ultimately the user experience even better.”
There's no word yet on how much the OnePlus Watch 3 will cost, but you can sign up for notifications to snag a $30 discount when it launches.
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