The OnePlus Watch 3 is my favorite smartwatch on the market right now. The 43mm one, which is my personal favorite, comes in a minimal, round design that reminds me of the beloved Moto 360 from 2014. The larger 46mm model is constructed a bit differently, and that’s fine too. There’s something for everyone here.

As always, it’s up to you to decide what you want in a smartwatch. It’s an extremely personal device, so there’s probably a balance of personal style and functionality that you’re trying to meet. You might just be looking for notifications on your wrist, you might want a fancy pedometer, you might want to track workouts, and you might want deeper health insights.

For me, the OnePlus Watch 3 is the right blend of style and features. It’s the prettiest smartwatch on the market, in my opinion, and OHealth is pretty robust, while not taking over your device like Samsung Health does.

OnePlus sent XDA the Watch 3 for review. It did not have any input on the contents of this article.

OnePlus Watch 3

Battery Life

Battery life for standard use in smart mode up to 60h Battery life for heavy use in smart mode up to 36h Battery life in power saver mode up to 7 days

Operating System

Wear OS by Google + RTOS

Onboard GPS

Beidou, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS

Case Material

Stainless Steel

Pros & Cons

  • Multiple days of battery life
  • Beautiful design
  • OHealth is a solid platform
  • No iOS compatibility
  • No 5G variant

OnePlus Watch 3 pricing and availability

The OnePlus Watch 3 is available now from OnePlus.com, coming in 43mm and 46mm sizes and priced at $299.99 and $349.99, respectively. The smaller model comes in Silver Steel and Black Steel, while the larger one comes in Obsidian Titanium and Emerald Titanium. I’ll leave it to you to guess what the case is made out of.

OnePlus sent me both models, but for the purpose of this review, I’m focused more on the 43mm one. Frankly, it’s because that’s the one I like more, but they’re both great.

Battery Life

Battery life for standard use in smart mode up to 60h Battery life for heavy use in smart mode up to 36h Battery life in power saver mode up to 7 days

Operating System

Wear OS by Google + RTOS

Onboard GPS

Beidou, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS

Case Material

Stainless Steel

Colors

Silver Steel, Black Steel

Display

Screen Size: 1.32 inches Panel type: AMOLED Resolution: 466 x 466 pixels Pixel Density: 352PPI Cover Glasses: 2.5D Glass

CPU

Snapdragon® W5 Gen 1 Wearable Platform

RAM

2GB

Storage

32GB

Battery

354mAh (typical) ，345mAh (rated)

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.2, WLAN 5G/2.4G, 802.11 a/b/g/n, NFC

Health sensors

Acceleration sensor, gyroscope sensor, optical heart rate sensor, optical pulse oximeter sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, barometer

Strap size

Fluoroelastomer Strap： 130mm-210mm

Dimensions

Approximately 43.2mm x 43.2mm x 11mm（excluding PPG）

Weight

Approximately 37.8g (excluding strap) Approximately 59g (including Strap)

Brightness

Default maximum brightness 600nit High brightness mode 1000nit

Fast charging

10 minutes charge for up to 24 hours of normal use Up to 100% charge in about an hour

This watch is absolutely gorgeous

It comes in two sizes, and two different shapes

I love the sleek design of the 43mm OnePlus Watch 3. It’s a bit similar to the Pixel Watch 3 with its round design and curved glass, but it has flat sides, really reminding me of the Moto 360 from over a decade ago. And yes, that’s one of the most beloved smartwatch designs of all time. It still has larger bezels than that Motorola classic though, since no one to date has been willing to replicate the “flat tire”.

The OnePlus Watch 3 style reminds me of the beloved Moto 360 from over a decade ago.

But let’s talk about the 46mm model for a bit too. It’s made out of titanium instead of steel, and while there are similar design elements, it’s clearly more pronounced. The casing doesn’t blend into the background like it does on the smaller one, and the glass is flat. The border around the display is etched with numbers, and the buttons on the one side are raised.

This is a totally different route from the one that Google and Apple take, which is to make the exact same product but in different sizes. This was carefully thought out. OnePlus definitely considered a style that’s made for people that want a larger watch and a style for people that want a smaller one. Again, I’m the latter, but like I said earlier, smartwatches are personal. There are two designs to choose from, not just two sizes.

The two buttons on the side are a rotating crown and a regular button, which serve their usual functionality. It’s running Wear OS, so how it actually works should be pretty familiar at this point.

On the bottom, there are four pins for charging, so once again, I’m asking that all smartwatch manufacturers use wireless charging like Apple and Samsung do. In my experience, pin charging always means a problem for long-term use. You wear it, you sweat on those pins, they get dirty, and charging becomes a pain.

The two sizes have thoughtfully different designs.

There’s not too much to say about the functionality of the watch itself; these things have largely been commoditized. You can track workouts, it’ll track your sleep, etc. One thing that I do want to shout out is the battery life, which is fantastic. I’m over here testing out the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and struggling to get a full day out of it, let alone the multiple days I got out of the OnePlus Watch 3, and I spent most of my time with the smaller one.

OnePlus Watch 3-1

I got a solid two days out of it, with some power left over so that I’m not running to the charger. This is the extreme low end of battery life. The always-on display is always on, I’m leaving it on for sleep tracking, and I turn on all of the optional features. If you keep all of that stuff turned off, which is it by default, and run it until it’s empty, you can probably get a full five days out of it.

Taking a look at OHealth

It’s a pretty complete health offering

Gone are the old days of all Wear OS watches being powered by the Wear OS and Google Fit. These days, if you’re pairing a Wear OS watch, you’re doing it through the company’s own app, and in this case, it’s OHealth. To me, OHealth is the right mix of giving you insights, while not being too in your face about it.

For comparison, I despise Google’s Pixel Watch software. It has its own app for managing the device, and then it has to integrate with the Fitbit app, which can be a mess sometimes. Also, Fitbit has a premium subscription if you want to get all it offers. For Samsung, there’s Galaxy Wearables and Samsung Health, but I really don’t care for just how often it shows me my data on a Samsung phone.

For example, let’s talk about sleep tracking, something that I only do when I’m reviewing a smartwatch. I do not need or want my phone telling me how I slept last night. I’m pretty sure I can tell by how tired I am today. There’s also a psychosomatic feeling of being more tired because a device told me that I didn’t get enough sleep.

Insights on how to do better are good, and I do feel like OHealth falls a little short there. While it’ll tell you plenty on how you slept, there’s not a whole lot there one how you can sleep better.

While other health platforms to a better job of actionable insights, you could always just, you know, use Google. OHealth has metrics to check on your activity, heart rate, ‘mind and body’, sleep, and more. If one of those is off, you can just look up how to do better.

No, really. If you struggle with sleep, it doesn’t take an expensive device backed by a powerful health platform to tell you that you should stop drinking caffeine earlier, don’t drink water before bed, exercise, and eat better.

OHealth is pretty robust in the data it provides. It’s a little messy in places, like how there’s a Stress section that only exists to tell you it’s been replaced by Mind and Body.

But those types of things can be actionable, and if you take advantage of that, there’s plenty of data in OHealth that you can use for better living.

Should you buy the OnePlus Watch 3?

You should buy the OnePlus Watch 3 if:

  • You like the design
  • You want days of battery life
  • You want to be able to run third-party apps

You should NOT buy the OnePlus Watch 3 if:

  • You don’t like the design
  • You have an iPhone

Personally, I think the OnePlus Watch 3 is the best smartwatch on the market for Android phones, and I say that with a Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Pixel Watch 3 on hand. Everything about it is just good.

The design is gorgeous, and I really respect that the two sizes were properly thought out as slightly different styles. And let’s not forget, the battery life is multiple days, which is rare when it comes to Wear OS.

It’s priced right, at $299 for the smaller model and $349 for the larger one, so if you’re using an Android phone and you like the design, this product is definitely something to pick up.

OnePlus Watch 3

Battery Life

Battery life for standard use in smart mode up to 60h Battery life for heavy use in smart mode up to 36h Battery life in power saver mode up to 7 days

Operating System

Wear OS by Google + RTOS

Onboard GPS

Beidou, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS

Case Material

Stainless Steel