It's 2024. All smartwatches should offer several days of battery life. As it stands, there's amazingly wide range across devices. I would go so far as to say that the limited battery was—and still is—the Apple Watch's single biggest problem. The Series 9 is currently rated at 18 hours in standard mode and 36 in low power mode.
Meanwhile, the upcoming OnePlus Watch 2 promises an astonishing 100 hours “in full smart mode.” This, of course, is exactly the kind of claim that's best taken with a pinch of salt before the wearable's official unveiling next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I would like to take this a step further and ask interested parties to wait for the first reviews to trickle in.
according to Blog The company then took a “three-year hiatus and reflexive hiatus after the OnePlus Watch 1.”
The battery is exactly the kind of thing OnePlus needs to rely on. The first-generation product promises up to two weeks of life thanks to a 3,402 mAh battery, or 25 hours with GPS turned off. Even then, it was the watch's marquee feature that failed to impress. Not only is it impossible to get noticed among Wear OS devices, one has to put in that extra effort — especially now that both Google and Samsung make devices for the OS.
OnePlus has proven that it can still impress, even when it's not first on the market. This has been a theme in the early days of its smartphone releases, and the company has proven itself with the OnePlus Open. I was among the reviewers who was truly surprised that I loved the product as much as I did. This isn't a OnePlus thing, so much as a commentary on the state of consumer electronics.
Speaking of the early days, OnePlus says: “We went back to the drawing board, driven by community feedback, to make sure the OnePlus Watch 2 delivered an exceptional user experience.” Community feedback was the key differentiator for OnePlus when it was initially launched. However, it is difficult to maintain such a direct line as companies grow. Since then, the smartphone maker has been officially merged into Chinese hardware giant Oppo.
However, it doesn't take hours of live conversations with users to know that battery life is of paramount importance in smartwatches. These are designed to be worn all day and night. This doesn't leave much room for charging. Being able to wear a device for days without having to worry about such things greatly improves the experience. It also paints a fuller picture of your fitness and sleep patterns when you're not charging the device every night.
Three years is a lifetime in the world of consumer electronics. The Watch 1 hasn't moved the needle much in the world of smartwatches. Perhaps leaning into battery life in a meaningful way will improve its chances in the second round. I'm not holding my breath for a category that's currently saddled with a few big names and monopolized by very inexpensive devices at the other end. However, anything that refocuses the importance of better battery life is probably a net positive for this category.
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