There’s a new smartwatch in town and it’s not just promising a decent build quality, it’s promising an improvement to the thing plaguing most smartwatches: battery life. After deploying different battery technology in its latest flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 13, the company has applied some of that knowledge to its new watch.
We’re still in the process of reviewing the OnePlus Watch 3 – we will bring you that in the next couple of weeks – but while you’re waiting, here’s everything you need to know about the latest Android smartwatch.
OnePlus Watch 3 design and features
Like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7, the OnePlus Watch 3 features a round design, premium materials and a gorgeous display. The case is made from stainless steel but there is a titanium bezel that sits on the top of the device, surrounding the 1.5-inch LTPO display.
The bezel doesn’t spin – which on first impressions feels like a shame – though there is a rotating crown positioned on the right edge of the steel casing (oddly it’s not in the centre), along with a secondary button below. The display is protected by 2D sapphire crystal, while the watch itself is built to the MIL-STD-810H standard and offers IP68 water and dust water resistance.
When it comes to features – because beauty is skin deep after all – the OnePlus Watch 3 packs a punch. It has an eight-channel heart rate sensor, said to deliver accurate heart rate detection, while the ECG feature can detect atrial fibrillation, sinus rhythm, high and low heart rates, and extreme heart rate fluctuations.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
There’s also a 60S Health Check-In feature that you can do quickly during the day by tapping on the dedicated button on the right of the OnePlus Watch 3. This health feature monitors seven key health metrics including heart rate, SpO2, ECG, vascular age, along with wrist temperature, sleep, and mental well-being.
Elsewhere, a 360 Mind and Body feature analyses key metrics including HRV (heart rate variability), resting heart rate, and activity intensity to offer an assessment of emotional and stress levels.
There’s also dual-frequency GPS, like you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, and the OnePlus Watch 3 supports over 100 sports modes, including 11 professional modes, whilst also providing insights into fat-burning efficiency, workout intensity, and exercise effectiveness.
OnePlus Watch specs and battery
The OnePlus Watch 3 runs on a dual-engine architecture, which combines Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 platform with the a new BES2800 MCU Efficiency chipset. Without getting too geeky here, the BES2800 MCU Efficiency chipset is designed to handle background activity and tasks, while the Snapdragon platform takes care of the more demanding tasks, like running Google’s apps. The idea is to strike a balance between peak performance and extended battery life.
Speaking of battery life, we still need to properly put the OnePlus Watch 3 through its paces, but OnePlus is promising up to 16 days in power saver mode, 5 days in smart mode and 3 days in heavy use. It is also said to offer a day of charge in 10 minutes. The battery capacity is 613mAh, which is quite large for a smartwatch and OnePlus has also used a Silicon NanoStack battery, like the OnePlus 13, designed to boost energy density for longer-lasting power within a slim design.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
When it comes to software, the OnePlus Watch 3 runs Wear OS 5, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and the Google Pixel Watch 3. That means this smartwatch is not compatible with iPhone, but it is compatible with any Android phone, whether that’s the Google Pixel 9, or the Samsung Galaxy S25. If you use it with a OnePlus phone though, you get a couple of extra features including the ability to remotely control OnePlus phones to play videos including Tik Tok and YouTube Shorts, and remotely control the phone’s camera too.
OnePlus Watch price and availability
The OnePlus Watch 3 costs £319 in the UK, available through oneplus.com. It launched on 18 February and you can buy it in the UK, Europe and North America. It comes in two colour options of Emerald Titanium and Obsidian Titanium.
It’s worth noting that the ECG features we mentioned will be available in the UK from Q3 2025 so they aren’t there currently.
