OnePlus has launched the OnePlus Watch 3, a strong upgrade to one of the best Android smartwatches on the market.
The OnePlus Watch 3 refines the Watch 2’s winning formula with a sleeker design, a larger and brighter display, and a 20% battery boost for one of the best smartwatch batteries available. With Wear OS 5, dual-frequency GPS, and enhanced health tracking, it balances smart features with endurance better than any competitor. For those who want a premium smartwatch without constantly worrying about charging, this might be the best option out there.
Design
The OnePlus Watch 3 is one of the suavest looking smartwatches on the market. It refines the design of its predecessor, maintaining a familiar round face but with thinner bezels and a larger display, giving it an even more modern, edge-to-edge look.
The screen is still covered in scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass, and there’s a new titanium bezel with engraved watch numbers to add a more premium touch. The rest of the watch face is wrapped in durable stainless steel, providing military-grade durability with IP68 water resistance. The round face and metal details make for an undeniably striking aesthetic.
The display has grown to 1.5 inches (up from 1.43”), using an AMOLED panel with the same sharp 466×466 resolution, but now it’s brighter—peaking at 2200 nits—for better outdoor visibility.
There’s still the same looking fluororubber wristband and stainless steel buckle, but an updated design offers a more ergonomic fit for better comfort and heart rate tracking. It’s comfortable enough for 24/7 wear, even through workouts and sleep.
Compared to an Apple Watch Ultra 2, the OnePlus Watch 3 feels less bulky, even though the face is similar sized. It’s a few millimeters thinner and 12 grams lighter, making a noticeable difference in day-to-day wear.
With a 46mm case, it’s still a large watch, which may not suit smaller wrists. That said, we love the large size and dozens of watch faces with categories like: classic, utility, videos, photos, workouts, live, metal, big numbers, digital, style, and fun. There’s something for everyone and it’s hard to choose just one.
OnePlus has beautifully captured all the different watch personalities that exist. Most faces offer customization and you can personalize which stats you want displayed at all times, like weather, date, humidity, battery life, steps, UV index, elevation, and heart rate.
The rotating crown enhances the refined look and is now fully functional for easy scrolling and smooth navigation.
Battery
Battery life was a highlight of the OnePlus Watch 2, and it’s even better on the Watch 3. The previous model boasted 100 hours of battery life, but the Watch 3 extends that to 120 hours in Smart Mode. There are only two modes: Smart Mode and Power Saver Mode. In Power Saver Mode, the watch can last up to 16 days, though many apps and notifications are disabled.
For users like myself, who want all the smart features and health tracking enabled without worrying about battery life, the OnePlus Watch 3 delivers. Without making any effort to save power—using always-on display, continuous heart rate monitoring, and breathing tracking—I still got a full 3-4 days per charge. At 10% it falls back to Power Saver Mode and it felt like the battery could last a couple more days after that. Since VOOC fast charging is incredibly quick, you only need to top it up every couple of days while showering.
We were able to charge from 1% to 50% in under 14 minutes. After 20 minutes it charged to 70% and took less than 39 minutes to charge to 100%. It seemed to charge around 6W, while the charger is rated for 10W.
The charging base is unchanged from the Watch 2, using a USB-A to USB-C cable and a puck that relies on four metal contact points. Unfortunately, charging remains a bit awkward figuring out how to orient the watch without placing it face down.
Features, Specs, and Compatibility
The OnePlus Watch 3 is built exclusively for Android users, seamlessly integrating with smartphones through the OHealth app, which serves as the hub for health tracking and watch settings. Unfortunately, iOS is not supported, meaning iPhone users are out of luck.
Powering the watch is the Snapdragon W5 processor, paired with a low-power RTOS-based chipset for efficient multitasking and extended battery life. This atypical “dual operating system” setup consists of Wear OS 5, which provides access to Google Assistant, Google apps, notifications, and third-party apps, and the RTOS (Real-Time Operating System), which handles basic apps, background tasks, health tracking, and power management with minimal energy consumption. These two systems work together seamlessly—users won’t even notice the transition unless the battery drops to 10%, when the watch automatically switches to low-power mode, disabling Wear OS features to extend usage.
While the OnePlus Watch 3 lacks built-in cellular, it does feature WiFi, meaning you can receive notifications, use apps, and access online features without needing your phone nearby. Your watch can even be on a different WiFi network as your phone and receive notifications. You can pair headphones to the watch and stream music from your favorite streaming app like YouTube Music or Spotify. There’s also NFC so you can use Google Wallet to pay for stuff without needing your phone.
For location tracking, the dual-frequency GPS significantly improves accuracy, reduces errors in GPS positioning, locks onto your location faster, and works better in urban areas, forests, and high-interference environments where single-frequency GPS can struggle.
OnePlus has stepped up its health monitoring, introducing a 60-second Health Check-In. The watch monitors six key health metrics: heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen levels), vascular health, wrist temperature, sleep quality, and overall well-being. The watch tracks sleep automatically, recognizing deep sleep, light sleep, REM, and even naps, no setup required. It also monitors snoring and breathing patterns, making it an excellent health companion.
Experience and Usability
The OnePlus Watch 2 was already one of the best Android smartwatches, and the Watch 3 refines the formula with a larger, brighter display, a thinner titanium bezel, a more comfortable band, and 20% more battery life. It also brings improved health, wellness, and exercise tracking, making it feel like more of a safety net. Features like breathing and snoring detection, continuous heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, and even mental well-being tracking add an extra layer of insight. While it’s not a replacement for medical advice, it’s a great tool for starting conversations about health.
For those new to smartwatches or overdue for an upgrade, the OnePlus Watch 3 is an easy recommendation. It blends health tracking with smartwatch features without overwhelming users. The OHealth app, while not native to Android, is well-designed and intuitive, making it easy to track health metrics and customize settings.
The large variety of watch faces—ranging from fun to professional to sporty to analytical—allows for you to find the perfect aesthetic that represents you. And, it only takes a few seconds to switch a watch face — we do it all the time. We love ourselves a highly informative watch face where a quick glance can inform us of 10 different stats, including time, weather, steps, heart rate, and battery life.
Sleep tracking is particularly impressive, automatically detecting sleep patterns without requiring manual setup. Unlike some competitors, it also tracks naps accurately. We like that you don’t need to set up a sleep schedule or tell the watch when you’re going to sleep for tracking to work. Sleep data is broken down into deep sleep, light sleep, REM, and wakefulness, while also providing insights on breathing quality, heart rate fluctuations, and snoring.
The battery is of course excellent, ane the watch nicely empowers you to make good battery decisions. The watch will inform you about power-hungry features and makes it easy to balance performance with longevity.
That said, there are a few minor gripes. The built-in speaker isn’t particularly loud or high quality, which we notice when using Google Assistant. You also can’t play music directly from the watch. Notifications that include pictures or videos can’t be displayed on the watch, which I found annoying. If someone messages you a photo, or you get a security camera notification, you’ll have to open it on your phone despite having a good-enough resolution to display it on the watch.
Bottom line
The OnePlus Watch 3 is a small but meaningful refinement of an already excellent smartwatch. Every upgrade—from the larger and brighter display to the thinner titanium bezel, improved band fit, and extended battery life—makes it a more polished and capable device.
While none of these changes demand an immediate upgrade from the Watch 2 or Watch 2r, they solidify the Watch 3 as one of the best smartwatches available for Android users. Battery life remains unmatched, easily lasting several days with full features enabled, and fast charging makes it even more convenient. It’s comfortable enough for all-day wear, whether you’re tracking workouts, sleep, or just going about your day. The health and wellness features continue to improve, offering valuable insights without feeling intrusive.
There are still some small drawbacks like an awkward charging puck, no cellular, a subpar speaker, and some software quirks, but these are minor complaints for a watch that excels in the areas that matter most: battery life, comfort, durability, health tracking, and seamless functionality. The more notable downsides are that it’s Android only and only comes in one size.
At $329.99 (or $299.99 with the launch coupon), the OnePlus Watch 3 delivers exceptional value. If you’re looking for a reliable, long-lasting, and well-designed smartwatch, this is an easy recommendation.