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Design & Comfort8
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Display9
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Features10
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Battery8
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Power9
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Value for money9
I haven’t worn an Apple Watch for ages. This isn’t because I’ve fallen out of love with Apple’s wearable, or because I’m making some kind of point about wanting to break free of the ecosystem – it’s because I’ve genuinely enjoyed trying different watches.
Most of 2024 has been dedicated to the Garmin MARQ Commander. No, I haven’t reviewed it yet (it’s been a busy year) but I can confirm that I’m still a big fan of Garmin’s take on smartwatches – even if this one is ludicrously expensive and susceptible to the odd software glitch.
Today, I’m writing these words while wearing the brand-new OnePlus Watch 2R. It sits just below the Watch 2 in terms of specs and pricing, and it’s a mightily interesting timepiece.
Let’s get into it.
Specs and pricing
The Watch 2R is made from aluminium alloy and features a silicone strap with a stainless steel buckle. It’s an incredibly light watch, at just 59g and, as you can see – circular. Which immediately gets my vote.
That circular frame houses a 1.43-inch AMOLED display that’s capable of 600 nits sustained brightness and can hit 1,000 nits of peak brightness. Powering everything is the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, that’s bolstered by another chip – the BES 2700 (which is there to aid power management and battery saving). If you’re wondering, Google’s Wear OS 4 is the operating system of choice.
The battery itself is a 500mAh unit that’s capable of delivering up to 100 hours of use in Smart Mode (which is turned on by default). OnePlus claims that it drops to around 48 hours during ‘heavy use’, but that one can obtain up to 12 days of battery life when the power-saving mode is turned on. Fast charging ensures the Watch 2R can leap from dead to 100% in 60 minutes and gain 24 hours of use from a ten-minute charge.
There’s 2GB of RAM on tap and 32GB of storage for anyone who wants to load up the Watch 2R with music for those phone-free runs.
Water resistance is rated at IP68 and 5ATM, and all of the expected sensors are onboard, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, optical heart rate sensor, barometer, and NFC. Dual-frequency GPS completes an impressive spec list.
The Watch 2R comes in Gunmetal Gray and Forest Green and is available now for £249.
Design
The Watch 2R is an attractive device. People regularly comment on what I’m wearing on my wrist during my YouTube videos, and OnePlus’ latest wearable has already been spotted on several occasions.
”Please tell me which watch that is!” they’ll say. It catches the eye.
OnePlus has smartly combined a classic timepiece design with a modern smartwatch aesthetic, and it works. The shiny aluminium casing adds a touch of class, and it sits perfectly across your wrist, forming a neat circle. The only obvious cost saving that’s visible (if you go looking for it) is the plastic rear casing.
I do worry about how well the aluminium will hold up over time, but I guess any scratches and dings will simply add character. Regardless, I’ve inadvertently bashed my review unit a few times and it’s still spotless. The 2D glass covering the display seems pretty robust, too, although I haven’t used this watch for long enough to provide a thorough report on durability.
You can pair the Watch 2R with any 22mm strap, but I’m a big fan of the Forest Green shade of my review unit, and the silicone material is comfy and non-irritable.
While I do miss the presence of a rotating, central button, I’m conscious that’s a hangover from being a long-term Apple Watch user, and we get two buttons to play with, regardless.
The only thing I’m not a fan of is the detachable charging puck. It feels like it could be lost more easily than one that’s permanently attached to a USB cable. I guess OnePlus wants to give users the option of attaching it to any length of USB-C cable (the included cable in classic OnePlus red is on the short side, after all), which is admirable.
Performance and features
One of my main complaints about some of the Apple Watch alternatives is that they struggle to match the slick performance of watchOS. I’m happy to report that this isn’t the case with the OnePlus Watch 2R. This is a snappy performer that’s a joy to use.
Flicking between tiles, notifications, and apps is responsive and smooth – as is instigating new workouts and firing up Google Maps navigation. The Watch 2R never lags or does anything weird, which I think must be down to that peppy Snapdragon chip under the hood.
In terms of features, the Watch 2R has pretty much everything covered. There are over 100 sports modes to choose from, a relax app, and obligatory sleep tracking.
Everything syncs back to the OnePlus OHealth app, which has been one of my favourite aspects of the Watch 2R experience. It’s my kind of fitness app – all of the data presented is incredibly accessible, and it’s organised in the most obvious, convenient way.
There are three tabs in OHealth – ‘Health’, which provides an overview of your key metrics (heart rate, steps, stress, etc), ‘Fitness’, which stores all of your past workouts, and ‘Device’, from which you can access all of the controls and configuration for the watch itself. Unless you’re after Garmin-levels of performance feedback, OHealth nails it.
Watch 2R battery
I still think that this is one of, if not the, most important aspects of a smartwatch. No matter how much you get used to it, regular charging is a pain in the backside – particularly if you travel a fair bit. Therefore, the more the manufacturer can squeeze out of a smartwatch battery, the more likely it is to provide a pleasurable user experience.
To test the OnePlus Watch 2R, I’ve brought it with me this week in London. It left the charger yesterday reading 100% at 8:30am and with Smart Mode turned on. It travelled immediately with me to the gym where it recorded an hour’s worth of workouts, before joining me on the journey south to the capital.
While here, I’ve used the Watch 2R for regular navigation guidance (it works brilliantly in that regard, by the way – thanks to native Google Maps integration), and for keeping on top of notifications. This isn’t exactly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with a smartwatch, but it represents a very common use case while travelling and working away from home.
The Watch 2R hasn’t touched a charger since I left home yesterday. When I woke this morning (after a full night of sleep tracking), there was 62% remaining. As I type, it’s 11:54 and I have 48% remaining on day two.
I’d be hugely surprised if the Watch 2R fails to make it to bedtime with a decent amount of battery remaining. It’s worth keeping in mind that OnePlus suggests you can get up to 100 hours out of Smart Mode, which I guess I might experience if I stop using it for workout tracking and navigation (both are fairly intensive procedures for any smartwatch). As it stands, this is, clearly, a two-day watch, minimum. That’s enough for me – particularly with the knowledge that I can slip it into the 12-day promise of power-saving mode if the worst happens.
OnePlus Watch 2R vs OnePlus Watch 2
This is a fascinating comparison because the OnePlus Watch 2 and Watch 2R are virtually identical on paper. The Watch 2R even beats its £110 more expensive big brother in the display stakes, with a much higher peak brightness.
However, the key difference lies in the materials used. The OnePlus Watch 2 gains its more premium status and price point because it uses stainless steel, as opposed to the aluminium alloy construction of the Watch 2R. This does make the latter nearly 25% lighter, but if you want the most premium materials available, you need to go for the Watch 2.
This extends to the display cover, which is made from sapphire crystal on the Watch 2 – something that’s far more likely to resist scratches and damage as you go about your daily life.
The OnePlus Watch 2 features a slightly different design, too. I’m not a watch expert, so I can’t tell you why, but it does look more premium which, again, might be important to certain buyers.
OnePlus Watch 2R vs Apple Watch SE
This is the comparison a lot of people will be making – what should you buy: the OnePlus Watch 2R or the Apple Watch SE?
On paper, they’re remarkably similar (right down to price), yet in person, they look vastly different. This is because Apple has remained steadfast with its square watch design, whereas OnePlus has adopted the traditional round watch face. The one you prefer is, of course, a personal preference and may be all you need to decide between the two.
Beyond the shape, the displays are very comparable in terms of sharpness and brightness, although it’s worth noting that you have the option of two sizes with the Apple Watch SE (44mm and 40mm). The operating systems are also practically identical in terms of what you can do with each watch (although the Watch 2R doesn’t have fall detection) and the smoothness with which they operate.
Battery life is a tricky one because I haven’t tested the Apple Watch SE. On paper, however, the Watch 2R appears to win, thanks to a far more impressive power-saving mode (by a factor of days) and the fact you can charge it faster, and potentially push it further during intensive use.
The Apple Watch SE does have a cellular version, which is something that OnePlus doesn’t offer on the Watch 2R. However, to counter that, the Watch 2R does at least have native Google Assistant support – at the time of writing, the Apple Watch SE only has access to the non-Apple Intelligence version of Siri. Which isn’t very good. At all.
This particular decision will, therefore, boil down to the age-old ecosystem situation. Are you an Apple person? Get the Apple Watch SE. Not an Apple person? Add the OnePlus Watch 2R to your list and take everything above into account before making your decision.
Conclusion
The OnePlus Watch 2R is for anyone who wants a great-looking smartwatch that doesn’t cost the earth. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about degraded performance or I-wish-this-was-an-Apple-Watch syndrome because the Watch 2R feels just like Apple’s wearable.
It just looks different, has a better assistant built into it, and will probably outperform most Apple Watch variants in terms of battery life (bar, possibly, the Apple Watch Ultra 2).
This year is the first time in a long time that I’ve been exposed to OnePlus gear, and the Watch 2R – just like the Nord 4 and Pad 2 – is very hard to fault. The combination of performance, design, originality, and price should make it a no-brainer for lots of people.
Before you go
