OnePlus Watch 3 Review: Taking Apple Watch To Task With Two Key Features

OnePlus has been killing it lately. It started off the year launching the OnePlus 13, arguably one of the phones to beat for 2025. It hit some midrange highs with the OnePlus 13R, and now it's launching the OnePlus Watch 3. I've said this before, but it's rare that a device solves every problem I had with it from the previous generation, but here we are.

Last year's OnePlus Watch 2 was very good but it came with some flaws that, while they weren't real deal breakers, they certainly held the watch back from its full potential. Those flaws have been addressed, and it's lovely to see.

Like the OnePlus 13, this watch is not without fault, but the faults themselves are getting smaller and a bit more nit picky. To have come this far in just two generations after the ... ahem ... challenges that faced the original OnePlus watch is a remarkable journey in and of itself. I've been wearing the OnePlus Watch 3 sample provided by OnePlus for one week, and this is my full review.

From a hardware perspective, the OnePlus Watch 3 seems like a combination of the OnePlus Watch 2 and the OnePlus Watch 2R. The buttons and form factor definitely mimic the former, while the bezel has numbers around the circumference like the latter. I've said before, I'm not a fan of numbers being etched around the bezel — it feels a bit too much like "hey! Look at me! I'm a watch!" Definitely not the worst thing, but a little annoying.

One new and very welcome addition to the hardware comes in the form of the spinning top button, aka a rotating digital crown, and the spinning actually does something this time around. The OnePlus Watch 2 and 2R both had rotating buttons, but the rotation didn't actually do anything. Now you can use it to navigate the watch, which just feels right. Last year, OnePlus insisted that the spinning mechanism made the buttons more resistant to impacts. This year, the company added the functionality that should have come with it in the first place, so it's a win. 

This watch is a looker, but like its predecessors, it's a thicc boi. The watch is around 14mm thick. For reference, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is less than 8.5 mm. It's also chunky. It's not so heavy at 81 grams (including the wrist strap) that it's really noticeable, and the watch doesn't catch on jacket sleeve and the like.

There are two buttons on the side. The top one is the spinner, and the bottom is just a pusher. The buttons are not symmetrical, so OCD watch fans should look elsewhere. Personally, I like the look. It's different in a unique and fun way.

Inside, the guts are very similar to the OnePlus Watch 2. OnePlus continues to use the dual chip architecture that makes the watch so battery efficient. The primary processor is a Snapdragon W5 processor while the less powerful processor is the BES2800BP. WearOS functions run on the faster processor, everything else runs on the more power efficient core. Once again, you can't tell the difference between them. The transition is so smooth, you'd only know there were two processors because you read it here. It's really remarkable.

The OnePlus Watch 3 runs on a combination of Wear OS 5 and RTOS. The Wear OS 5 part is where the next improvement comes in — you can move your watch from one phone to another without resetting the watch. This was only possible through a QR code that, to be perfectly honest, felt hacked together with the OnePlus Watch 2, especially since Wear OS already has that functionality built in.

It works this time around, as I confirmed switching the watch from one phone to another because I have a stupid job. For most people, this won't be a really big deal. Most people buy a phone and don't worry about switching to another phone weeks or months later. Part of this was a big deal because if your phone got damaged, your health data would be lost. That is also no longer the case. Heath data transfers from phone to phone as it should. I'm very happy that OnePlus built this functionality in.

OnePlus's OHealth app has one of the best health interfaces you can find on a smartwatch these days. That's odd considering the majority of smartwatches focus on health first and foremost. This category is certainly subjective, but I just really like how simply the data is presented and how easy it is to dig into trends.

Some apps can feel cluttered or complicated because there's a lot to absorb when it comes to the sensors on the watch. OnePlus takes a much more simple approach, and that's also reflected in the rest of the app. There aren't a ton of features in there, but the basics are definitely covered.

The watch also has a nice variety of watch faces and complications. Having recently reviewed a pair of smartwatches with limited capability in that area, this was nice to see. In fact, I had trouble settling on a watch face because I liked so many of them. Watch faces and complications might just be my kryptonite in this arena.

OnePlus included a new feature in the watch this time around called the 60-second Health Check-In. As the name implies, when you launch this feature, the watch will analyze your overall health in 60 seconds including heart bate, SP02, ECG measuring — more on that later — arterial stiffness, and more. Overall, there are seven key metrics that this analyzer will take into account, and report back to you how you're doing.

The ECG feature is not FDA approved in the U.S. and OnePlus says it is not going to pursue that. Therefore, if you live in the U.S. or Canada, the 60-second Health Check will not include ECG data, nor will the app be separately available. You may notice that the watch is reading my ECG in the photo. OnePlus included it so reviewers could test the feature for those outside the U.S. and Canada who wanted to check this watch out. This is, to put it frankly, not great. This is a cost-saving move, and that's fair, but this is the one area where it feels like the watch is nerfed just a bit.

As was the case with the OnePlus Watch 2 and Watch 2R, the battery life is simply phenomenal. It's hard to get a good gauge because I had a relatively short review period in relation to the advertised battery life. Speaking of which, OnePlus advertises around 5 days in Smartwatch mode and over 12 days in power saving mode.

That seems pretty consistent with my testing. I had the watch on the charger exactly twice — the first time was to charge it initially and the second was about five days into my review period. Realistically, with AOD on, you can expect about four to five days of battery life which is just crazy for a smartwatch with this capability.

Other smartwatches and fitness bands can get that much battery life, but typically when they do, there are a ton of compromises. That's simply not the case here and I am loving it.

With a new usable rotating digital crown and a battery life that leaves basically every competitor in the dust, can the OnePlus Watch 3 convince users of the Samsung Watch Ultra and/or the latest Apple Watch to switch teams? It'll depend largely on whether they're locked in to their chosen ecosystem — if that's no issue, the OnePlus Watch 3 is a true competitor. 

The OnePlus watch is available from the OnePlus.com online store for $329.99. As always, there are some deals you can take advantage of. If you use the promo code TIME1010 (through March 31 or while supplies last), you can get an additional $30 off and you can trade in any device in any condition, you can get an additional $50 off. Presale starts February 18 2025, and the open sales start on February 25. 

Overall, this is a fantastic device that absolutely deserves to ride on your wrist, but it's admittedly not for everyone. As mentioned, this is a chunky watch, so if your wrists are more on the dainty side, it may feel extremely bulky. While we pined for Google to release a larger version of the Pixel Watch 3, I'm similarly pining for OnePlus to launch a smaller OnePlus watch 4.

Speaking of which, the fact that OnePlus has come so far in just two generations past the dumpster fire that was the OnePlus watch, it's really remarkable. Yes, I found a few flaw on this watch, but they feel very subjective. This may be someone's perfect watch, and for everyone else, it's nearly perfect. That's more than anyone has any right to expect.