Oppo WATCH (46mm)

An Impressive Beginning, Needs Improvement

Smartphone companies have shifted their focus a bit towards IOT products and the two categories, TWS and wearables, are getting the most of attention. Every single mobile player has ventured into these two segments and OPPO is among one of them. OPPO has for the first time moved into wearables market and thus launched its first smartwatch called the OPPO Watch. OPPO has been one of the dominant players in the Indian mobile market having nearly 10 percent market share and this new move will help it further grow and expand its reach. We have got the OPPO Watch in 46mm form factor for review. Let’s ‘Watch’ it as how it shows its smartness.

Design

The OPPO Watch comes in a compact and neat packaging that looks good. The Watch has the oomph factor and you’ll definitely fall for it. Once on, the Watch looks even fantastic. The brilliance and brightness of the screen attracts instantly. I have got the Black colour variant. The Silicon Straps are comfortable and do not cause sweating. It feels good to wear and the minimalistic design adds appeal to the Watch. There are 10 point adjustments depending on your wrist size. The glass-metal combination looks majestic but a bit on the heavier side because of the dial size. Beneath the beautiful curved display, there are five sensors for monitoring and the pogo pin for charging. On the right there are power and home button whereas, on the left it holds two speaker openings for music and notifications. OPPO has meticulously designed the Watch which looks fabulous, premium and attractive.

Display

The best part of OPPO Watch! You will fall in love with its majestic display at once. No second opinion. There will never be any dull moment with its bright, crisp and ambient display. Whether, in shade or in sun, OPPO Watch does not miss a moment to impress.

The curved display creates an aura of infinity. The 1.91 inch flexible AMOLED display has 326 pixels per inch with a resolution of 402x476. The curved display also reminds of it being a mini smartphone. The text and icons are readable and does not cause strain to the eyes. There are chances that it might get scratches due to the curvature, so stay protected. Overall, OPPO Watch has a great display that you would probably find in this price range and in Android.

OPPO has used the Wear OS of Google under the Watch. The features remain compact and offer an ease of use. You can easily customise the Watch and connect it your Android or an IOS device. The Wear OS has been customised and now looks much more promising than ever. The loading and swapping of apps aren’t a problem either on the watch. It is quick and responsive. You just have to move your wrist slightly to wake it up. There’s an Always-on mode but, do not try it as it consumes battery even quicker. There are plenty of Watch Faces to choose from and you can even customise with your outfits. The Watch comes with Qualcomm

Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform supported by 1GB of RAM.

Performance

The OPPO Watch has a much better performance which wasn’t expected of Wear OS but, it’s much more refined and mature. The Android users will like it. Meanwhile, OPPO Watch offers the more than basic features of a smartwatch. You can track your running, sleeping pattern and can monitor your heart rate.

Swipe right once, you’ll get the daily activity stats, on the second right swipe you have heart rate, then running and finally your sleeping pattern. Swipe left, you will get Google Assistant and rest you know what it does. Swipe bottom, the notifications will appear and swipe top, it will show the notification bars. Tap the home button and the icons will appear as well as setting. You can check and reply the text via voice and typing both but needs accuracy. It can be used for receiving calls and playing music also. The Watch is water resistant so do not bother to go out in rain. Overall, it is a good fitness tracker with a sense of premium-ness. You need to install the Wear OS by Google to get set go and rest you can manage via Google sign in. I have used the Watch OS on an IOS device so there might be few functions which may differ.

Battery

OPPO Watch is powered by a 430mah cell.

The Watch is good enough for a day of use and not beyond that. It hardly goes upto 24 hours in a single charge which is really disappointing. The Wear OS is customized but still it consumes battery. The QS 3100 platform does not help either. The screen is bright and ambient but, it cannot be an excuse of the poor battery life it has. Not recommended for the outings and long trips where power is scarce. The good part is that it is supported by a VOOC Charger which is lightning fast and fills up the Watch is more than 30-40 minutes. OPPO seriously needs to rethink on the battery retaining capacity in the future. A smartwatch has to be supported by a good battery backup which is entirely missing in the OPPO Watch.

Conclusion

OPPO has done a remarkable job with Watch despite the fact that it is their first offering in the Indian market.

The OPPO Watch

46mm sells at Rs

19,990 whereas the 41mm is available at Rs 14,990.

OPPO Watch

46mm is a brilliantly designed smartwatch with an impressive display to fall in love with and a clean Wear

OS support. The fitness and tracking are well maintained. Features and functions are clearly defined. The battery has been a huge disappointment for me and on the contrary, charging capabilities are superb. You may go for Apple Watch but that’s only limited to IOS ecosystem, Huawei Watch GT for a much refined smartwatch experience and awesome battery but, OPPO Watch offers a combination of elegance, appeal and affordability. ■

haider@mymobile.co.in