OnePlus' inaugural eSIM smartwatch debuts with classic design and up to 12 days of battery life

The Watch 2 that OnePlus has introduced today (June 27, 2024) is not the same as the one released previously to the international market, yet still has a round 1.43-inch, 326 ppi AMOLED display with a 1,000-nit peak brightness rating. It is also a dual-chip, dual-OS wearable designed to get up to 12 days of use per charge with its secondary RTOS platform on.

In full 2GB RAM/32GB internal storage/Snapdragon W5 Gen 1-powered "Smart Mode", it might get 2.5 to 4 days of battery life with and without its always-on display (AoD) mode on respectively.

The Watch 2 also ships with OnePlus' latest fast-charging tech for smartwatches, touted to go from 0 to 100% in about an hour.

The watch also boasts multi-functional NFC, ~100 work-out modes, an 8-channel heart-rate monitor with 16-channel SpO2 monitoring and advanced syncing features when paired to OnePlus mobile devices such as the Ace 3 Pro or Pad Pro.

Accordingly, the 'new' Watch 2 contains a lot of features some international OnePlus fans might like to see in the brand's next-gen flagship wearable for their regions.

On the other hand, its new Meteorite Black and Nebula Green SKUs are finished in aluminum rather than the stainless steel of its forebear.

Nevertheless, the OEM asserts that its new "high-end" chronograph and separate dual buttons can make up for that, not to mention its compatibility with third-party 22mm bands.

Furthermore, it runs ColorOS Watch 6.0 rather than Wear OS, with ~80 "popular" Google-alternative apps such as maps and navigation via Baidu; in-house OPPO features such as the "pro-grade" personal running coach thanks to advanced dual-band GPS tracking; new alerts when the effects of sleep disturbances (snoring included) are detected; WeChat integration and smart car key features rated to work with vehicles of several domestic marques, those of BYD included.

Furthermore, even OnePlus concedes that its new eSIM features will not work in all Chinese regions and cities right away on its release.

It can manage calls and texts for a paired smartphone over Bluetooth as well as independently in any case. Nevertheless, the OnePlus Watch 2 is priced at 1,749 yuan ($515) for pre-orders in its native market, whereas the global version remains at $279.98 on Amazon right now.