Buy the OnePlus Watch 3 if, without compromising on fitness capabilities or app compatibility, you want a watch that can go for the majority of the week between charges. You need a gorgeous watch with an OLED screen that is easy to see.
You need a watch that can accurately track all of the different exercises and physical activities you do with it.
The OnePlus Watch 3, Competition
Depending on when and where you purchase it, the OnePlus Watch 3 costs between $300 and $330, which is about the same as its most competitive rivals. However, it comes with at least one less OS update. Despite coming out more than six months before the OnePlus Watch 3, the Google Pixel Watch 3 will stop being supported around the same time. According to your calculations, security updates for these watches will continue until the end of 2027.
OnePlus Watch 3, Updates
I believe that this is enough support time for a $300 smartwatch, given my experience with them. You should receive four updates annually, including four security patches and (presumably) one OS update, since OnePlus promises quarterly updates for its watch. Although Samsung provides two more years of watch updates, it hasn’t always been very good at staying up to date with these changes. In summary, you will simply need to upgrade if you are concerned about owning a secure smartwatch in three years.
Beyond that, the absence of an ECG in North America is not only a disappointment but also a significant loss for OnePlus in the biggest smartwatch market in the world.
OnePlus did not include the ECG feature here because the FDA requires OnePlus to pass a number of (expensive) tests before it can be approved. You will have no trouble accessing this feature elsewhere in the world. This is a serious blow to OnePlus’ fitness efforts because the most recent models of the Pixel and Galaxy watches both support ECG.
Competing the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
As Samsung and Google have tightened their grip on the market, there is less competition in the Wear OS space. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is the only genuine Wear OS 5 substitute if multi-day battery life is essential. Even so, you can only use the Watch Ultra for a maximum of three days between charges.
Both Google and Samsung perform admirably in this area if you’re interested in specific health metrics or AI insights, but Google’s Pixel Watch 3 stands out thanks to Fitbit-powered insights. In contrast to the OnePlus Watch 3, it also supports ECG in North America. The drawback is that you will have to pay Google $80 a year for this type of data (or $10 a month if you choose not to commit). To be honest, I don’t think most people will find this kind of information helpful, but the ECG might save a life. With three years of security and OS updates, the Pixel Watch 3 will receive Wear OS 8 before Google discontinues support, and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 family will receive an extra year of updates, making it the ideal option for anyone hoping to keep their watch for a long time.
You shouldn’t buy it if
LTE connectivity is required.
You want a watch that supports ECG, and you live in North America.
You enjoy wearing tiny smartwatches.
For those who enjoy large timepieces, the OnePlus Watch 3 is the best Wear OS smartwatch available right now. It has the longest battery life of any Wear OS watch, and if you don’t mind less app support, the secondary mode will triple the already great battery life. The fitness tracker is flawless, matching and surpassing my old favorite, the Pixel Watch 3.
READ ALSO: Comparing the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to the Samsung S25 Ultra
Buy The OnePlus Watch 3, Watch With the Best OHealth features
The OHealth app from OnePlus has advanced to the point where I like its features and user interface better than those of competitors. When you upgrade phones, all of your valuable data moves with you because data is stored and processed locally, and moving the watch between phones functions exactly as you would expect. It even has some intriguing and distinctive features, such as an animated map following outdoor workouts and a scrolling remote control for short-form videos when used with a OnePlus phone, such as the OnePlus 13.
This is as good as Wear OS 5 gets, though OnePlus could make it even better by giving customers more size and configuration options and adding a few more customization features to the OHealth app.