OnePlus has announced that the Watch 3 will launch in the US and Europe on February 18th. It features even better battery life than the OnePlus Watch 2, running for up to five days without needing a charge. It also introduces a new digital crown, which unlike the last one can rotate to navigate Wear OS. OnePlus hasn’t announced how much it will cost.
Getting that five-day battery life – up to 120 hours – requires using the watch’s default health tracking settings and turning off the power-hungry always-on display (AOD). It can last even longer if you’re willing to give up more features. According to 9to5Google, the Watch 3 will run for 16 days straight using the smartwatch’s power saver settings. Conversely, heavy users who switch almost everything on – including the AOD – should find it runs for three days.
Like the OnePlus Watch 2, that impressive longevity is achieved by using two separate chipsets: a Snapdragon W5 performance chip (unchanged from the previous model), and a new BES2800 efficiency chipset. By using the less powerful chip for specific tasks and at specific times, the Watch 3 should last longer than rivals like the Pixel Watch 3 or Galaxy Watch 7, which need to be charged daily.
OnePlus says it boosted battery life this time around partly through the upgraded efficiency chip, and partly through adopting the same silicon carbon battery tech it used in last month’s OnePlus 13 phone. That makes it possible to squeeze larger battery capacity into the same-size cells, meaning the Watch 3 has a 631mAh capacity – significantly up on the 500mAh in the Watch 2.
“With the ability to both press and rotate, the rotating crown makes navigating through apps and menus efficient and intuitive – and ultimately the user experience even better,” she explained.
The rest of the design has been updated slightly from the prior generation, but it still looks familiar enough. The stainless steel chassis is paired with a titanium alloy bezel and sapphire crystal face, and it launches in black and green versions.
Whatever the Watch 3 ends up costing, you can sign up for notifications from the company to net a $30 discount on the wearable, or the chance to win a OnePlus Pad 2 or pair of Buds Pro 3 earbuds.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
