OnePlus' First Wearable Might Not Be The OnePlus Watch

There has been quite some talk about OnePlus' repeatedly canceled smartwatch and the company's top exec even confirmed it will eventually become a thing. Of course, that won't happen until sometime next year or maybe even later than that but OnePlus may have something to fill in the gap until then. It will have a wearable coming, sources say, but it won't be a smartwatch. Instead, it will be a budget fitness tracker that will be its soft introduction into that already crowded market.

It might be a bit disappointing for those expecting OnePlus to make a big bang with the OnePlus Watch but it isn't exactly out of character either. The company has avoided leaping head-first into new markets and products that could irreparably hurt its business. Aside from its smartphones, its biggest gamble has so far been its Android TV, and even then its limited availability in India.

The OnePlus Band, as it is being called, will be a gentler entry into the wearable market, allowing OnePlus to test the waters. That said, it might not exactly be putting out something terribly innovative, as Android Central reports that this tracker will take after the Xiaomi Mi Band pictured above in more ways than one.

Like Xiaomi's wearable, the OnePlus Band is expected to use an AMOLED screen of the flat kind that doesn't exactly wrap around your wrist. Other staple features are also expected, like water resistance and days, not hours, of battery life. Naturally, it won't be running a full smartwatch OS like Wear OS by Google, so it will be interesting what functionality the band will offer.

The OnePlus Band won't just take after the Xiaomi Mi Band, it will also take it on. Just like the OnePlus TV, the company might launch the wearable first in India, where it might retail for $40. That definitely puts it in the same budget market as other Chinese wearables instead of giants like Fitbit.