OnePlus Watch 2 goes official for $299 with Wear OS 4 and 100-hour battery

Ben Schoon | Feb 26 2024 - 7:00 am PT

The OnePlus Watch 2 has just officially launched as the brand’s first Wear OS smartwatch, and it’s got an interesting twist in the form of a secondary operating system that boosts battery life.

As announced previously, the OnePlus Watch 2 touts itself as a battery-focused smartwatch that offers 100 hours of battery life. And, as crazy as it sounds, that does indeed run atop Google’s Wear OS. Despite smartwatches like the Pixel Watch 2 barely hitting a full 24 hours on a charge for some users, the OnePlus Watch 2 is claimed to hit 100 hours, or just over four full days of use.

To achieve that goal, the OnePlus Watch 2 actually runs two separate operating systems. Wear OS handles things like apps and watchfaces, while a RTOS powered by a secondary chipset handles more lightweight tasks. A “smart mode” on the watch allows the watch swap back and forth between its two operating systems and two chipsets. Wear OS is powered by the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and it is Wear OS 4. The RTOS is powered by a BES 2700 MCU Efficiency chipset.

Switching between the two OS’s is something you’re likely to not even notice, OnePlus claims.

The BES2700 Efficiency Chipset runs RTOS and handles background activity and simple tasks, while the Snapdragon W5 handles more demanding tasks, like running your favorite Google apps. This optimized approach, enabled by the Wear OS hybrid interface seamlessly managing the transition between chips, means users will experience a smartwatch that effortlessly does it all while extending the time between charges.

Powering the Watch 2 is a 500 mAh battery which features 7.5W charging with a special charger that connects to a typical USB-C cable. The charger is magnetic, of course, and OnePlus claims a full charge in 60 minutes or less.

The 1.43-inch AMOLED display of the OnePlus Watch 2 is covered in a slightly curved sapphire glass, while the watch chassis is built from stainless steel. You’ll have the choice of black or silver colors with either black or green bands, respectively. The whole package is also 5ATM water resistant.

Rounding out the main specs you’ll find 32GB of storage and 2GB of RAM.

For pairing, the OnePlus Watch 2 uses the “OHealth” app used by some Oppo wearables. The app not only contains management tools for the watch but also captures health-tracking data. There are tracking modes for over 100 different sports and the app can connect to Android’s Health Connect to sync data to other health apps.

Pricing for the OnePlus Watch 2 lands at $299, with orders opening today. The Watch 2 will be available from OnePlus.com and Amazon, and buyers will be able to trade in any watch – even a non-smartwatch – to get $50 off through OnePlus.com.