OnePlus Watch 3 Review A Compelling Smartwatch Evolution

 OnePlus Watch 3 Review: A Highly Discounted Smartwatch Evolution

After three weeks of living with the OnePlus Watch 3 strapped to my wrist, I can confidently say this is not just another incremental refresh. OnePlus has clearly listened to what the last generation had to say and has come out with something that is a genuine step forward instead of a rush refresh.

 

First Impressions Count

The build quality strikes you right out of the box. The aluminum case is solid without feeling chunky, and the 1.43-inch AMOLED screen is truly impressive. Colors are vibrant in a manner that makes you overlook the fact that it is a smartwatch screen. It maintains good levels of brightness even when exposed to direct sunlight, a welcome surprise when doing my morning runs.

 

The silicone strap may be basic, but it wears well for longer periods. I hardly ever noticed it when tracking sleep, and that's saying a lot considering how particular I am when it comes to wrist comfort.

 

Performance That Gets Results

This is where things get interesting. The W5+ Gen 1 Snapdragon chip makes everything snappy. Application launches are instant, scrolling menus are smooth, and there is no annoying lag that was ever a hallmark of earlier OnePlus watches.

 

Battery life is worth a special mention. Up to 100 hours in power saving mode is what OnePlus promises, and though I did not put it to that extreme test, 4-5 days of ordinary usage was a consistent outcome. That includes things like always-on display, heart rate tracking, and 3-4 times a week of working out. My earlier smartwatch required charging once every other day.

 

Track Your Health: The Ultimate Test

The health monitors are precise and reliable. Heart rate monitoring was closely matching my chest strap during exercise, usually to within 2-3 BPM. Sleep monitoring included detailed breakdowns that seem to correspond to just how I actually did feel each day.

 

Blood oxygen monitoring functioned reliably, though I'm not guaranteeing medical-grade precision. The stress monitoring was a pleasant surprise for busy work weeks, indeed causing me to reach for breathing breaks when levels rose.

 

GPS tracking during runs was solid. Route accuracy looked good when compared to my phone's tracking, and it locked onto satellites fairly quickly, usually within 30 seconds.

Software Experience: Potential for Improvement

The watch version of Oxygen OS is straightforward and minimalist but still a ways off from more mature platforms. It's a familiar interface and a certain degree of customization is provided, but the app ecosystem is lacking when placed in comparison to Wear OS or Apple's efforts.

 

Third-party app choice is better but still seems lacking. You get the staples such as weather, music control, and core productivity apps but no choice close to that of other platforms.

 

Notifications work well enough. Text previews are readable, and you can respond with quick replies or voice to text, which worked surprisingly well in quiet environments.

The Exercise Buddy

This watch hits the right marks for fitness enthusiasts. The exercise detection is clever but not too pushy. It properly picked up when you began to run or bike without false alarms when doing mundane daily activities.

 

The coaching features of the exercise permit helpful real time advice. Pace alerts kept me within target zones, and the recovery advice from more demanding sessions seemed thoughtful rather than generic.

 

Water resistance is sturdy. It has stayed with me through swim periods and hot and sweaty exercise periods without complaint.

 

What Could Be Better

The always on display, though a nice feature to have, certainly eats into battery life more than I care to admit. Disabling it doubles usage, but then you lose one of the watch's most valuable features.

Third party integration needs work. While it connects fine with Google Fit and other major platforms, the syncing sometimes feels delayed compared to other smartwatches.

The Value Question

Where the current pricing of the OnePlus Watch 3 puts it is in an interesting place. It's costlier than budget level activity trackers but much more affordable than Apple or Samsung's high end smartwatches.

 

The question is whether you value the integration into the OnePlus ecosystem and longer battery life more than more mature app ecosystems of mainstream competitors. Integration is second nature to customers of the OnePlus phone and is worth paying for.

 

Final Thoughts

The OnePlus Watch 3 represents genuine progress. It addresses most complaints from previous generations while adding meaningful improvements in performance and battery life.

 

Is it perfect? No. It needs to mature its app ecosystem and some features are still getting their legs underneath them. But for customers who value battery life, construction, and robust health monitoring above the availability of every conceivable application, this watch offers real value.

 

After three weeks of daily wear, I found myself automatically reaching for it instead of just wearing it out of a sense of responsibility for the test. That's the highest recommendation I can offer a wearable device.