The very first thing that stands apart about my 46mm Oppo Watch evaluation system is its atypically large screen: It has a 1.91-inch AMOLED screen, visibly larger than the newest 44mm Apple Watchs 1.78-inch screen, and with a higher resolution– 476 by 402 pixels versus 448 by 368. Those distinctions might sound unimportant, but when you see them in person, you realize Oppos extra pixels imply more space for text and graphics. Action by step, watches will become more like smart devices, and Oppo Watch feels a little bit more detailed in that regard than the Apple Watch Series 5.
As an iPhone user, I wouldnt choose the Oppo Watch over my existing Apple Watch. But Im going to covet that larger screen, larger battery, and Oppos watch face alternatives until Apple overtakes them. The race to see whos very first and best just became a bit more congested, and whether you consider its design derivative or evolutionary, its good to see Oppo in the running.
Blame Oppo if you desire, however Qualcomm and Google are the business that quietly made Oppo Watch (and a big collection of less excellent wearables) possible. Thats excellent news for the Android platform, which is still searching for a champ watch, and for wearables usually, as theres an upward pattern in combined quality, efficiency, and performance at the consumer-friendly $300 cost point.
The core apps are largely familiar from previous Wear OS releases, and have the basic caution: Theyre not polished to Apple levels of efficiency. Oppos sleep app is great– nicer than Apples Sleep app in beta variations of watchOS 7. Its similarly restricted, assuring only to track total variety of hours of sleep with light and deep sleep differences, and then with the caveat that it does not track naps: For now, it only works from 8pm to 10am the next day. It appropriately pegged the number of hours I slept, and its light/deep characterizations tracked with my own recollections. Sleep information is synced to Google Fit, which is a couple of steps behind Apples Health app, but okay.
Above: The Oppo Watch is revealing the method towards more smartphone-like wearables.
Image Credit: Jeremy Horwitz/VentureBeat
Oppo leaves a lot of boxes uncontrolled by contrast with Apples newest Watch. For example, Oppo Watch has several rear heartbeat sensing units but no EKG functionality. The screen is rather brilliant and supports 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, however doesnt have an always-on mode. You get a magnetic charging cradle– with pins– thats not rather as sophisticated as Apples inductive charging puck. And when I went hunting for replacement watch bands to swap out for the consisted of silicone strap, I largely found “coming quickly” instead of “delivering tomorrow” indications online. If youre residing in China, where Oppo Watch was offered (with some differences) ahead of the current abroad launch, you might have better options.
Despite using the exact same os as Fossils circular Gen 5 watches, Oppo Watch has a rectangle-shaped screen that makes menus feel less cramped, and here, that difference feels somewhat significant. Because you can see more of them, functions that should work the exact same in between the 2 Snapdragon Wear 3100 gadgets feel more complete on Oppos style. A screen with text is readable without scrolling, theres more area for icons, and so on.
That stated, “clone” is a crammed word, meant to instantly bias people versus something as inappropriately derivative. Thats no easy feat for any hardware maker, let alone Oppo, a much smaller sized rival to the worlds biggest company.
The total bundle Oppo Watch provides is compelling. At press time, the 46mm variation retails for around $350, but can be had for in between $299 and $399 depending on your color and metal preference, while a smaller 41mm version with the typical compromises– screen size, battery capacity, and resolution– costs $299 or less. Those costs occupy the sweet spot between the $199 Apple Watch Series 3 and $399 Apple Watch Series 5, following Fossils $295 Gen 5 strategy of offering better elements and/or products where possible, while not surpassing Apples alternatives in overall performance.
Rather than forming a best little dome atop the watch, Oppos front display glass extends past its left and right edges in a waterfall style, though the versatile OLED screen inside doesnt curve so deeply around the sides as to effect use or presence. Well have to see how it holds up over time.
Oppos rear real estate mirrors the front, causing the main metal frame to taper in such a way Apple die-hards might belittle till Apple itself follows suit. I personally discover the style to be attractive, and even though there are small problems of proportion and beauty that might be tweaked, the Apple Watch has some, too.
I strongly think that smartwatches need to be wrist watches, initially and foremost, and dislike that so numerous watches make telling the time a task. Oppo sets its display with some watch deals with that are legible and at the same time elegant from a range, like Sports, as well as a magnificently animated flower face called Blossom.
Its easy to see why people have actually pegged the Oppo Watch as an Apple Watch clone. The first thing that stands out about my 46mm Oppo Watch review system is its atypically big screen: It has a 1.91-inch AMOLED display, visibly bigger than the newest 44mm Apple Watchs 1.78-inch screen, and with a higher resolution– 476 by 402 pixels versus 448 by 368. Step by step, watches are about to become more like smartphones, and Oppo Watch feels a little bit better in that regard than the Apple Watch Series 5.
Im not going to tell you that the Oppo Watch is a remarkable or ideal Android option to the Apple Watch, or that it has actually definitively resolved some of the issues that continue to munch at Apple fans five years after the very first Watch debuted. For circumstances, Apples choice of Watch deals with isnt large, and Oppos is even smaller. Apples icon grid and Home screen are badly small, and Oppos arent fantastic, either. Best of luck getting all the robust third-party apps you may desire on either platform; theyre both compromises.
One substantial surprise is that Oppos user-replaceable bands use Apple-style easy thumbnail release buttons, yet at the same time manage to attach and detach more effectively from the metal frame. Each band is held in place by 2 locking pins that are launched when you depress the inner button. Considering that there are no huge lugs in the top and bottom of the frame, this really strikes me as a better use of critical internal watch space than Apples design, making it possible for Oppo to fit a 416mAh battery within– much bigger than Apples 296mAh Series 5 cell, with up to 36 hours of promised run time and a 21-day timepiece/step tracking only mode. I wouldnt be stunned if Apple was “motivated” by this design in the future.
Above: Oppos sleep tracker.
Image Credit: Jeremy Horwitz
Something I at first couldnt get to work quite best: an “AI attire” watch face thats supposed to utilize your phone to take a photo of your clothes, then generate watch face colors and patterns to match what youre using. Its a cute idea, if gimmicky, but the photo synchronization didnt work when I checked it with the Wear OS app: Five pre-generated AI faces looked ugly, similar to the covers of 1980s junior high school binders. It turns out you require another Android app, HeyTap Health, to generate similarly ugly however new options based on pictures.
Im not going to tell you that the Oppo Watch is a best or superior Android option to the Apple Watch, or that it has actually definitively resolved some of the problems that continue to munch at Apple fans 5 years after the first Watch debuted. Those prices inhabit the sweet spot in between the $199 Apple Watch Series 3 and $399 Apple Watch Series 5, following Fossils $295 Gen 5 method of offering better elements and/or materials where possible, while not surpassing Apples alternatives in overall efficiency.
Above: Oppos charging dock and the Oppo Watch with its “AI Outfit” watch face. The wall battery charger shown here isnt consisted of.
Image Credit: Jeremy Horwitz/VentureBeat
Above: The “Sports” face.
Image Credit: Jeremy Horwitz
This isnt a complete recommendation of either the concept of a rectangular watch screen shape or just growing watch screen sizes until they end up being ridiculously big. If the Apple Watch seemed possibly in risk of getting stuck at its current measurements, the Oppo Watch reveals both that theres still room and factor for the screen to grow.
While there are a handful of elements that might have been implemented by Apple in an alternate universe, the majority of the UI seems like the most recent version of Wear OS, for bad and great. Swipe up, down, left, or right from the watch face and youll pull up among four panes; alerts for an appropriate pane (say, right) are intuitively indicated by a bar of color on the edge that needs swiping. Press the top of 2 right-side buttons and youll open a scrolling 9-icon app grid; hold it and you bring up Google Assistant. Press the lower button to call a list of one-tap workouts, or hold it to raise power off, reboot, and power saver buttons that look a lot like Apples.
Its easy to see why individuals have actually pegged the Oppo Watch as an Apple Watch clone. Squint your eyes and it looks like an Apple Watch. State the name quick enough and it sounds like Apple Watch. Aspects of the UI and product packaging were plainly inspired by the Apple Watch, too.
