OnePlus Watch Won't Run Wear OS, Other Specs Leak

OnePlus fans are probably excited for the company's first smartwatch (not its first wearable, mind) coming in just a few days alongside its early 2021 flagship. However, OnePlus's own CEO may have poured some cold water on that enthusiasm, at least depending on their expectations and opinions about smartwatch operating systems. Unlike what it has done with smartphones and its smart TV and more in line with the OnePlus Band, the company has decided to craft its own smartwatch OS mostly for the sake of battery life.

This seems to be a common trend among manufacturers who opt to ignore Google's Wear OS and probably not without good reason. Smartwatches that advertise days, sometimes even weeks, of battery life often make use of their own operating system. In contrast, Wear OS smartwatches usually aren't able to last for more than 3 days tops on average.

Regardless of the reason why Wear OS is like that, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau reveals that they chose to develop their own RTOS (Real-Time Operating System) to provide a smoother experience and great battery life. That, of course, indirectly suggests that Wear OS doesn't offer those in contrast.

Despite the many teasers, OnePlus has been pretty coy about the features and specs of its still-unnamed smartwatch. Pricebaba, however, was able to get some of those via tipster Ishan Agarwal and the list sounds as you would expect. Notable features include an SpO2 sensor and Warp Charge technology that will offer a week's worth of use for just 20 minutes of charging.

As far as the software is concerned, the OnePlus Watch, if that will indeed be its name, will have the staples of allowing users to view notifications, handle calls, and control music from their wrists. OnePlus TV owners will reportedly also have remote TV controls available. Unfortunately, going with its own wearable OS also means that users won't be able to enjoy a wider ecosystem of apps but Lau hinted that people are more concerned about battery life anyway.