OnePlus Watch officially won’t be running Google’s Wear OS

Ben Schoon | Mar 17 2021 - 8:19 am PT

There’s been a fair bit of back and forth for the past few months regarding whether or not the OnePlus Watch would be running Google’s flailing Wear OS platform. Now, CEO Pete Lau has officially confirmed the OnePlus Watch will have its own operating system.

In a forum post today, Lau dropped a teaser for the OnePlus Watch, which confirms what we already knew, that the brand’s first smartwatch will arrive on March 23 alongside the OnePlus 9 series. In the post, he explains that a smartwatch was the most-requested device from the company’s community, and OnePlus sees the device as “more than just instruments that indicate the time and heart rates.”

Although OnePlus began by focusing on flagship smartphones, we’ve also been looking at other devices that our users use most often in conjunction with their smartphones for an interconnected experience. Naturally, we turned our attention to smartwatches, as it aligns with our mission to create a burdenless experience. We see smartwatches as more than just instruments that indicate the time and heart rates, but powerful devices capable of elevating our personal digital experience to new heights. And we can’t forget that a smartwatch is the most-requested device from you, the OnePlus Community.

Lau further explains that the OnePlus Watch has a “stunning and burdenless design” as well as connectivity with OnePlus smartphones and TVs. A report from earlier today mentioned that the watch could be used as a remote for the Android-based TVs. Apparently, this will all come for an “affordable” price point too.

Powering the OnePlus Watch, though, won’t be Wear OS, or even Android for that matter. Rather, OnePlus is using an “RTOS” or “real-time operating system.” It’s a lightweight platform that should provide excellent battery life, but will likely be severely lacking for third-party apps and watchfaces, which is an area where Wear OS does excel. Many probably see this as a good thing, but we’ll have to see the final product to make any real judgment.

We chose to go with a smart wear operating system developed based on RTOS because we believe it provides you a smooth and reliable experience while offering a great battery life, covering some of the biggest concerns we’ve been hearing from people looking to buy a smartwatch.