The OnePlus Watch 2R brings the amazing battery life of the Watch 2 but in a lighter package. Here are its specs, features, and where to buy it.
Many smartwatches, especially those that run Google's Wear OS, struggle to get more than 1 or even 2 days of battery life. That's not the case for the OnePlus Watch 2, which was unveiled earlier this year. The OnePlus Watch 2 boasted an impressive 100 hours of battery life in its default Smart Mode, putting it well ahead of other Wear OS smartwatches. Now, the company has unveiled the OnePlus Watch 2R, which offers the same performance and battery life as the regular Watch 2 but with a lighter frame.
The OnePlus Watch 2R was unveiled today with a tagline of "It's Time to Move," highlighting the product's focus on fitness and wellness tracking features. Under the hood, it packs the same Dual-Engine Architecture as the regular OnePlus Watch 2, combining Qualcomm's Snapdragon W5 chipset for performance with the BES 2700 microcontroller unit (MCU) for efficiency. The Snapdragon W5 handles the smartwatch's high-level operating system, Wear OS 4 based on Android 13, whereas the MCU runs on a proprietary real-time operating system. The smartwatch adeptly delegates less demanding tasks to the BES 2700, and thanks to the Wear OS hybrid interface that we talked extensively about in episode 33 of the podcast, the orchestration of tasks appears seamless to the user.
With its large 500mAh battery and Dual-Engine Architecture, the OnePlus Watch 2R promises up to 100 hours of regular use in Smart Mode or up to 48 hours with heavy use. OnePlus defines regular use as keeping the AOD off, 30 minutes/day of outdoor running, and 15 minutes/day of music streaming, among other things, so your mileage may vary as to the smartwatch's actual battery backup. However, in my experience with the OnePlus Watch 2, you shouldn't have any trouble with battery, as my device easily lasts 3-4 days on average. Do note that, if you want to take full advantage of the battery longevity offered by the Dual-Engine Architecture, you'll need to use one of OnePlus's stock watch faces as the rendering of these are able to be offloaded to the MCU.
The OnePlus Watch 2R also features 7.5W VOOC Fast Charging through its included charging puck, enabling the 500mAh battery to be fully charged in just 60 minutes. It runs on 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is plenty of space for your apps and some music. And since it runs on Wear OS 4, you'll get access to apps like Google Home, Google Assistant, Google Maps, and more through Google Play. The watch has an NFC chip built-in so you can tap to pay with it anywhere Google Pay is accepted, too.
To use the smartwatch, you'll need to pair it to an Android phone that has the OHealth app installed. This is the same app used to pair the OnePlus Watch 2, but OnePlus has upgraded it with some new workout modes, an updated workout UI, and other new features. There are now over 100 sports tracking modes available, including badminton, running, tennis, skiing, and more. The watch's sensors include an optical heart rate sensor, optical pulse oximeter, dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS tracking (with separate antennas for each signal), a sleep tracker, and more. Plus, it's 5ATM and IP68 rated, so it can safely be used while swimming or outdoors.
The OnePlus Watch 2R launches on July 16th in the U.S. and Canada for USD 229.99 / CAD 299.99. It will be available on OnePlus.com and Amazon (early August) in two colorways: Forest Green and Gunmetal Gray. The Watch 2R is made of aluminum, which OnePlus says is what allows it to be almost 25% lighter than the Watch 2.
From now until July 28th, OnePlus is offering $30 USD / $30 CAD off on purchases, a 30% discount with the purchase of a OnePlus Pad 2/Open/12/12R, 50% off on straps, and 50% off on the charging base.
