OnePlus Watch 3 vs Watch 2 - What's The Difference?
This is the OnePlus Watch 3 and Oneplus took what was already an excellent smartwatch and improved in a lot of ways, some of which are not that obvious. And if you're wondering, what exactly have they improved from 2 to 3? Should you get the new one or save money and go for the 2024 model?
Well, you're about to find out, and I'll tell you right now that a few new tricks are up its sleeve. Which you can have if you are willing to spend an extra £80. So the price of the OnePlus watch 3 on release will be £319, Vs £239 on the watch 2.
Design and Build Quality
So, for the money, you get a nicely designed circular watch. Like before, the stainless steel body is used on the Watch 2 & Just. It has 2D Sapphire glass across the top, which is scratch-resistant. But this time, OnePlus has added a titanium alloy bezel around the edges of the glass, which adds extra reinforcement and a more premium look. Just like before, and just like all good smartwatches, the watch 3 can take a few knocks.
It has an official IP68 and 5 ATM rating and a Military standard 810H certification. Put simply, it's dust, water, shock, extreme heat and extreme cold resistance…and get this. It's even Solar radiation resistant. So even if Ai's judgement day arrives. At least this watch will be alright. There are two colours. Obsidian Titanium with black casing and black straps, and this one Emerald titanium with a natural metal look & green straps.
Button Upgrades
Like the Watch 2, the lower button placement is blended into the right side of this nice angular shape. And here's the second button, and the second design upgrade is to the crown, which has a new pyramid pattern for better grip, and you might like ( I don't care ), and I get that, but you'll like this. The crown is clickable like before, but now it can be used to scroll the UI, and you get some nice haptic feedback that feels almost mechanical. And yes, on the Watch 3, It could twist, but it didn't do anything. And there is one more thing. That is pretty interesting.
That hidden lower button has a new all-in-one scan feature. That analyses ECG readings to detect any health issues in just 30 seconds. We got the same charging points for the provided charging cradle. And here you'll find some more upgrades. There's a new glass and LED materials used to enhance measurement accuracy.
Display & Sensor Upgrades
Beneath the glass, there's a new wrist temperature sensor, and then you've got the 8-channel heart rate sensor and 16-channel optical pulse oximeter sensor. Which are the same as before. Now, this is the significant and most visible upgrade. It is the Watch 3's 0.1" larger ( 1.5") & 1200 nits brighter ( 2200 nits ) LTPO display. Previously it was 1000 nits. Now it's 2200 nits, so that's a big jump.
The size difference doesn't sound like much, but the reduction in bezel thickness is noticeable. Another less visible upgrade is the GPS. The watch 3 uses a polarised antenna. This allows for more stable satellite connections, even when the watch is off-axis. This upgraded accuracy allows the watch to auto-detect and auto-start workouts based on how quickly you move along with other data points. And there's another upgrade here, The watch 3 uses an all-new GPS chip that reduces power consumption by 50%.
Battery Life & Performance Upgrades
And this brings me nicely to power because, besides the more prominent display, the extra power could make you want to spend more. Last year, OnePlus boasted a 100hr battery on the Watch 2. This year, it's increased to 120 hrs on Watch 3. Here's the catch. That's 120 hrs with Smart Mode enabled. So that's always on display, switched off and display brightness intelligently adjusting, and the watch will hibernate certain software systems when not in use. With smart mode off, watch 3 is still impressive, with up to 72 hours and 5 days battery life. And in endurance mode for 16 days. And a 10-minute quick charge can get you up to 24hrs. These are all marked improvements in comparison to the Watch 2. And the way OnePlus has achieved this is interesting. Firstly, they're using a new type of Battery. It's a silicon nano stack cell. The same type is used in the OnePlus 13.
It's now 613mAh compared to 500mAh used on watch 2. And secondly, one of the two chips used has been upgraded. So, just like before, we got the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip that does all the heavy lifting on the Google Wear OS 5 platform. But it is the second chip that's brand new. This high-efficiency chip is called the BES2800, which takes the less demanding tasks off of the Snapdragon's hands and runs on its own OS, and in doing so, it allows the Snapdragon CPU to be 200% more efficient and, at the same time, gives the NPU a 400% boost. You know, for all the neural processing AI stuff. Seriously, though, those are some impressive performance upgrades. So you get more speed, better accuracy and more processing power and performance when you need it, and on the flip side, it uses less energy when you're just chilling & using less energy.
Software
On the software side, you might be wondering if there are any differences here. Well, you get all the Wear OS features like Google Pay with NFC, you can take and make calls with the built-in speakers and mics, and you can store music and podcasts locally on the watch with 32 GB storage. It has BT 5.2 for connecting earbuds. That's all standard stuff. But you do get some exclusive first-party OnePlus watch faces, which is nice, and of course, with the Google Play Store and apps like 'Facer', the options are never-ending. There will always be new Wear OS features available to both Watch 2 and 3 things like SOS and 'Find me' & the ability to snap photos using your watch, which is also nice.
Also, like before, there are over 100 sports tracking modes and 11 pro workout modes. The O health app provides you with all the health insights you'll probably ever need…or not want to see in some cases. So, the reality is that many of the software features on the Watch 3 will be identical to those on the Watch 2. But there is that new 60-second health check feature. Which could be very useful and, dare I say, potentially life-saving in some cases. So, let me know based on the upgrades you've seen in this video. So is it worth spending the extra money on the Oneplus Watch 3? If so, what was it that won you over? Or, on the other hand, is now the best time to get a deal on the Watch 2 or Watch 2R? Let me know…oh and I should probably mention that the Oneplus Watch is incompatible with the iPhone… I guess if you're considering this watch, you are an Android person.
