Editor’s notice, March 4, 2025: We have up to date our rating for the OnePlus Watch 3 from 8.5 to eight.8 to mirror that OnePlus prolonged its Put on OS replace cycle to 3 years of software program and safety updates, with help lasting till 2027 with Put on OS 7.
In my 10-plus years of testing smartwatches, I’ve by no means needed to actively attempt to drain a battery. That modified once I strapped on the $330 OnePlus Watch 3. 5 days into my battery check, after charging it to 100%, this watch was nonetheless going sturdy; monitoring my sleep, runs and vitals with out lacking a beat.
I will admit that the Watch 3 did not take advantage of favorable first impression, with its clearly masculine design and outsized display screen that virtually swallowed up my normal-size wrist. I half-expected to write down it off as simply one other midrange smartwatch destined to gather mud in a drawer. But it surely seems, I am prepared to miss just a few issues like the scale and lack of ECG performance for distinctive battery life.
Execs
- 5-day battery life with all options enabled
- Smooth comfy design
- Customizable buttons as shortcuts Superior metrics for choose sports activities modes
Cons
- Single dimension choice is just too giant for small wrists
- Solely three years of software program and safety updates
- Lacks menstrual cycle monitoring
- ECG is just not accessible within the US or Canada
- No LTE model or iOS compatibility
4 years after its shaky debut, OnePlus’ underdog smartwatch has matured into a real competitor to Samsung and Pixel watches, delivering the perfect battery life I’ve ever examined on a Put on OS gadget — all whereas packing stable well being options right into a subdued and chic (albeit giant) design.
Battery life takes heart stage
It took over 5 days for me to see this pop up on my OnePlus Watch 3.
In contrast to the unique $160 OnePlus Watch and final yr’s $180 Watch 2R, whose major draw was affordability, the Watch 3 shifts the main focus from value to efficiency. With its $330 price ticket, OnePlus is positioning it as a premium flagship gadget, competing straight with equally priced Put on OS watches just like the Google Pixel Watch 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. What actually units it aside is its battery, which is bigger than its predecessor at 631mAh (versus 500mAh on the Watch 2).
The Watch 3 makes use of a twin chipset system to separate up duties and optimize energy consumption and get much more out of its large battery. The Snapdragon W5 processor focuses on powering app utilization, whereas the BES2800 MCU Effectivity chip handles background duties that do not use as a lot energy.
Although initially skeptical, my two weeks of testing confirmed that the OnePlus Watch 3 delivers on its five-day battery declare. I did three GPS exercises, one among which was an hour and a half hike, and 6 full nights of sleep monitoring. Even its fiercest Put on OS rivals would wrestle to final three days with out resorting to utilizing a low-power mode that strips the watch of its “sensible” options and turns it right into a glorified digital clock. The one caveat with the Watch 3 is that it stays on the default “Sensible mode” to attain the complete 5 days. This mode has a raise-to-wake display screen and requires utilizing one among OnePlus’ official watch faces. I usually want an always-on show with a busier watch face crammed with my most-used problems and shortcuts which might possible deliver the battery life nearer to 3 days — nonetheless a feat contemplating how vivid the display screen is, even in dormant mode.
After I first began testing the watch, I made the error of choosing a non-OnePlus watch face with a 3 out of three score on the battery drain scale and nonetheless managed to squeeze in 4 days price of cost. Whereas I have never examined the declare but, OnePlus says the watch could make it to 16 days in “Energy Save” leaving it principally as a devoted health tracker fairly than a full-featured smartwatch.
In fact, everybody has a special model of what “regular” use is, and whenever you lastly cost it, the Watch 3 goes from zero to 100% in just below an hour.
Polished design, with one big oversight
The OnePlus Watch 3 solely is available in a single dimension.
The OnePlus Watch 3 has a modern chrome steel design with a rotating crown with an easy-to-grip texture making it easy to show. There is a slim titanium bezel framing the display screen that is paying homage to the outdated rotating bezels on the early Samsung watches that I beloved. Sadly, this one would not transfer, however I like the way it elevates the design, making it look much less like an enormous round 1.5-inch AMOLED show strapped to my wrist.
Objectively, this can be a handsome watch. However as a girl with an average-size wrist, this watch feels large and clearly not designed with me in thoughts. I do not want a rose gold body and a glittery pink band, I simply want it had extra inclusive sizing choices and possibly a basic gold choice.
The Watch 3 is much too large for my wrist.
The watch is available in a black or silver end, with interchangeable rubber watch bands in moss inexperienced, black or Nordic blue that scream “made for males.” If the Watch 3’s dimension and bands have been its solely exclusion of feminine illustration, I would be capable to write it off. But it surely’s lacking another characteristic I’ve come to anticipate on a smartwatch: menstrual monitoring.
Strong well being options, minus interval monitoring
The OnePlus Watch 3 is filled with sensor to trace your coronary heart price, blood oxygen ranges and even sleep.
It is a large miss that OnePlus did not embrace menstrual monitoring on the Watch 3. Menstrual monitoring is now a normal characteristic in newer Apple Watch and Garmin smartwatches. The Watch 3 has just about each different well being characteristic together with temperature monitoring, which can be utilized to assist establish a girl’s ovulation window.
Oversight apart, it is clear that OnePlus is investing closely in well being monitoring. Past primary coronary heart price and sleep information, the watch measures extra superior metrics like cardiovascular well being, blood oxygen ranges, wrist temperature, and general well-being, together with emotional and stress ranges. It additionally options an electrocardiogram, although as of publication, OnePlus hasn’t sought FDA approval, which means the characteristic is not going to be energetic within the US or Canada.
Whereas not medical-grade, OnePlus says that the Watch 3’s well being metrics are extra correct than in earlier fashions, due to upgraded sensors, refined algorithms, and improved cowl glass over the again sensors for clearer readings.
The Watch 3 additionally debuts a 60-second well being check-in, a characteristic that checks all of your vitals directly by urgent your finger on the watch’s backside button to create a circuit. My first well being check-in was regarding and displayed a crimson exclamation mark with the phrase “irregular” subsequent to it. It seems that every one my vitals have been in vary, however my sleep rating was so low that it skewed the outcomes.
Battery life is a recreation changer for sleep monitoring
Whereas not outstanding on this watch face, the Watch 3’s greatest characteristic is its battery life.
As a low-key sleep-tracking hater, I by no means realized simply how a lot battery life factored into my frustration. As a guardian of younger children, I already know I am not getting sufficient sleep, and seeing a nasty sleep report very first thing within the morning simply units me up for a day of dragging and self-pity. I really feel the identical approach about wellness checks. Not having to take off the look ahead to 5 consecutive days made me extra inclined to trace my sleep, and I could have even realized a factor or two about my sleep patterns.
The Watch 3’s lengthy battery let me collapse into mattress on the finish of the day with out worrying whether or not my watch had sufficient cost to final by means of the night time. The watch even tracked my sleep on night time six, regardless of being all the way down to 10% battery in “Energy Save” mode. The watch additionally has an choice to watch SpO2 (blood oxygen ranges) and respiration patterns throughout sleep to assist establish extra severe respiration points, however it’s going to drain the battery sooner and must be activated manually from both the watch or the cell app.
Based on a latest interview from Wareable, OnePlus is already within the technique of looking for FDA approval for sleep apnea detection, which can make the additional battery drain worthwhile.
A worthy health companion to place you thru the paces
The Watch 3 can help over 100 various kinds of exercises.
When it comes to health, the OnePlus Watch 3 covers all of the fundamentals, with greater than 100 totally different sports activities modes, six of which it detects mechanically: operating, strolling, rowing, elliptical machine, biking and swimming. It additionally affords a “skilled” mode for 11 sports activities that preserve tabs on extra nuanced metrics associated to that sport. For runners, it is issues like type and foot stability, and for tennis gamers, it is swing pace and stroke. Whereas it could be overkill for many, as a runner who just lately realized the right way to leverage coronary heart price zones to accentuate exercises, I used to be excited to nerd out on the extra metrics.
I used it throughout my standard 3-mile run and realized that whereas I’ve wonderful stability between my proper and left ft, my floor contact time (how lengthy my foot stays on the bottom) and vertical oscillation (how a lot I bounce) may use some enchancment to make my runs extra environment friendly and fewer injury-prone. The app offers context for the extra information, but it surely be overwhelming, and it’s a must to dig round for a definition of every metric. I used to be additionally left eager for extra actionable suggestions for bettering my stats.
The One Plus Watch 3’s coronary heart price monitoring saved up with my Polar chest strap (the gold customary for athletes), with a lag of only a second or two and a one level distinction in common coronary heart price between the chest strap and the watch. Coronary heart price serves as a baseline for lots of the health metrics on the Watch 3. Nevertheless, as soon as I began operating uphill and inching nearer to my most coronary heart price, I seen that lag time elevated to about 25 seconds between what the chest strap was exhibiting (on my telephone) and the quantity on my wrist. I attempted tightening the band, but it surely solely helped quickly. By the tip of my exercise, the watch confirmed that I had stayed in my peak coronary heart price zone for 19 seconds, whereas the chest strap recorded me on this zone for about three and a half minutes.
On the left are two screenshots from the OHealth app exhibiting what my Watch 3 tracked throughout a run. On the appropriate are two screenshots from the Polar app exhibiting what my chest strap coronary heart price monitor tracked.
The lag may very well be partially as a result of sensor’s proximity to the center (versus the wrist). Sweat and arm motion may additionally intrude with an correct learn — an issue for many smartwatches. Regardless of the case, coronary heart price accuracy may very well be a difficulty in the event you use it for high-intensity sports activities or extra severe coaching. You are still higher off utilizing a chest strap.
One other key characteristic for outside sports activities fans is its dual-frequency GPS monitoring system, which OnePlus says can place you precisely even in difficult environments, reminiscent of crowded cities surrounded by excessive rises. I reside in a rural atmosphere that is extra sheep than skyscrapers, so I have never been capable of totally check this declare. It did place me completely on my hour and a half hike by means of oak bushes and vineyards.
With an IP69 score, the OnePlus Watch 3 can also be waterproof as much as 50 meters.
Weighed down by Put on OS and restricted updates
Here is the OnePlus Watch 3 subsequent to a OnePlus 13 with the OHealth app open.
The Watch 3 runs on Put on OS 5, with just a few further OnePlus design and navigation options. You’ll be able to customise the rotating crown and facet button as shortcuts, however every part else will really feel like a normal Put on OS watch packed along with your downloaded apps.
The interface of the Watch 3 feels sluggish, with a slight lag in response time, although it grew to become simpler to make use of as I acquired extra conversant in the swipe and faucet instructions. The UI is not precisely intuitive, both. For instance, the battery icon reveals the remaining cost however would not allow you to swap to “Sensible” or “Energy Save” mode, which, after some trial and error, I discovered hidden behind what appears to be like like an infinity icon. There are additionally 3 ways to entry the exercise display screen, however solely a kind of methods will assist you to add a exercise kind (by means of the checklist of apps). This can be extra of a Put on OS navigation challenge than a OnePlus drawback, but it surely’s nonetheless cumbersome.
Moreover, you may must obtain the separate OHealth app to your telephone to entry the watch’s full vary of health-tracking options. The app itself is visually interesting and intuitive, however the setup wasn’t seamless. It took a number of tries to sync with my Google Well being information. It is price noting that I used to be utilizing a developer’s model of the OHealth app, so setup could also be smoother on the general public model.
The OnePlus Watch 3 may change into out of date sooner than a few of its rivals. In contrast to Samsung’s Galaxy Watches, which provide 5 years of Put on OS updates, the OnePlus ensures help for software program and safety updates solely till 2027. The Watch 3 will get up to date to Put on OS 6, and seven, placing it in step with the Pixel 3, which launched within the fall of 2024.
Strong battery life and options tip the dimensions
Here is the Watch 3 being charged.
When you’re searching for a watch with a smaller footprint or a extra female design, then the OnePlus Watch 3 will not be your greatest wager. But when battery life is on the prime of your wishlist, that is one Android smartwatch that is undoubtedly price contemplating. The OnePlus Watch 3 is a premium smartwatch at a midrange value that checks almost all of the packing containers for well being and health options and outlasts most rivals in terms of battery life — simply not in terms of software program updates. The OnePlus Watch 3 is now accessible for $330 on the OnePlus web site.
