What you need to know
- The OnePlus Watch reportedly sold out within a minute after going live.
- Reviews of the smartwatch haven't been kind, criticizing the software experience.
- The watch retails for $159, but a $20 voucher is still available.
Reviews of OnePlus' first smartwatch are in, and boy, are they harsh. Reviewers have largely ripped apart the device, criticizing its seeming lack of software polish while praising some of its hardware. Our own Harish Jonnalagadda complains in his OnePlus Watch review that the device offers limited support for notifications, no third-party app support, and no always-on display, the latter of which is kind of the point of having a watch. Yet, despite the bad reviews, it seems the watch is still coveted by many, as it apparently sold out within a minute of going on sale.
If you take a look on the OnePlus website, you'll see that the watch is currently out of stock. Whether that's due to low initial stock or an actual high volume of sales is unclear, but enough people seemed to want it to clear OnePlus of its initial batch. Reddit users were complaining about not being able to purchase one the moment the device went on sale, indicating it sold out fast.
Meanwhile, even a cursory glance at OnePlus Watch reviews shows just how unpolished this device seems to be. Gizmodo gave the OnePlus Watch a scathing review:
It's rare for a flagship gadget to fail on every single front, and yet the OnePlus Watch has managed to pull it off...When I sat down to write this review, I wondered if it was too harsh to call this the worst smartwatch ever made. After all, it could at the very least deliver notifications. My wrist then buzzed with the fury of a thousand angry bees as I simultaneously got 40 notifications for emails that were sent four hours earlier. It's impossible to overstate how bad this smartwatch is at its job.
Engadget suggested that you'd be better off purchasing one of the best fitness trackers from Fitbit:
For $159, the OnePlus Watch is certainly affordable, but it would have felt half-baked even in 2018. If you're after a cheap watch for your Android phone that can reliably track your fitness and last about a week, consider a lower-cost Fitbit like the Charge 4 instead. Even the older Versa would serve you well.
Even Michael Fisher preferred to switch back to any of the best Wear OS watches, despite OnePlus opting not to use the platform to achieve better battery life, which, to its credit, it does:
It's safe to say that if you're looking for the best cheap Android smartwatch, this isn't it, even with the additional $20 discount you can get from the OnePlus website. Perhaps sometime down the road, when OnePlus brings more features and polish, we might recommend it. Still, on the off chance you'd like to try your hand at purchasing one, you can find it at the link below. Otherwise, it might be worth checking out the much cheaper Mobvoi TicWatch GTH.
A decent first try.
As OnePlus' first smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch manages to get some things right. It offers good-looking hardware, decent fitness tracking, and amazing battery life. Some software kinks need to be ironed out, but thankfully, OnePlus already has plans to update the watch soon, which should improve the experience.
