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OnePlus Watch 2
Budding upstartThe OnePlus Watch 2 brings the brand back to wearables. Its excellent battery life underpins a good-looking device and user experience that needs some improvement to truly hit its stride.
Pros- Superb battery life with fast charging
- Looks good with quality hardware
- Good general performance
Cons- Crown rotates for no reason
- Health tracking needs improvement
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Google Pixel Watch 2
Svelte and sharpThe Google Pixel Watch 2 sticks with its predecessor’s slick design and also delivers the same Fitbit feature integration. However, its lower battery life can’t hold up against the multi-day charge you get from OnePlus.
Pros- Great Fitbit integration
- Gorgeous and fashionable design
- Snappy performance
Cons- Battery life isn’t great
- Not as large in size
OnePlus previously tried its hand at making a good smartwatch, but it didn’t really resonate, which puts the Watch 2 in an interesting spot as a sequel. Sporting a new look with a broader feature set that includes adopting Wear OS, it’s a wearable that can compete with the best of all models running that platform. But how does it line up against an established player like the Pixel Watch 2, a device that delivers on aesthetics and comes straight from Google? Both of them are among the best smartwatches for Android, so let’s dig deeper to see which one is worth putting on your wrist.
Price, availability, and specs
There is a notable price difference between the smartwatches off the bat. The OnePlus Watch 2 is $300, making it cheaper than the $350 the Pixel Watch 2 starts at for the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth version (the LTE variant is $400). To sweeten the deal further, OnePlus offers trade-in deals to reduce the upfront cost further, even accepting devices from various other brands. OnePlus will even refund the difference if it drops the price of Watch 2 within 14 days of your purchase. Google also offers trade-in incentives to lessen the Pixel Watch 2’s cost, accepting smartwatches from Google, Samsung, Fitbit, and Apple.
Both watches come in only one size each. As far as colors go, the OnePlus Watch 2 comes in Radiant Steel and Black Steel shades, while the Pixel Watch 2 comes in Polished Silver/Bay, Matte Black/Obsidian, Champagne Gold/Hazel, and Polished Silver/Porcelain.
Those aren’t the only differences which you can see from the specs here:
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OnePlus Watch 2 Google Pixel Watch 2 Case size 47mm 41mm Case Material Stainless steel Aluminum Display 1.43″ 60Hz AMOLED 1.2″ AMOLED, 60Hz Display resolution 466 x 466 450 x 450 CPU Snapdragon W5, BES2700 Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 with Cortex M33 co-processor RAM 2GB 2GB Storage 32GB 32GB Battery 500mAh 306mAh Cellular connectivity No LTE (Optional) Wi-Fi connectivity Yes Wi-Fi 6 Software Wear OS 4 Wear OS 4 Health sensors Heart rate, SpO2 Optical heart rate, SpO2, ECG, continuous EDA, skin temperature Dimensions 47 x 46.6 x 12.1mm 41 x 41 x 12.3 mm Weight 80g (with strap) 31g IP Rating IP68 IP68 Strap size 22 mm 20mm Colors Black Steel, Radiant Steel Matte Black, Polished Silver, Champagne Gold Price $300 From $350
OnePlus Watch 2 review: Worth it for the battery alone
With two chipsets and two operating systems, the OnePlus Watch 2 offers revelatory battery life — but not much more
Google Pixel Watch 2 review: The watch we wanted last year
Reliable battery life and improved fitness tracking, wrapped up in a near-identical package
Design
It’s the details that count
For OnePlus, who launched its first smartwatch back in 2021, the Watch 2 represents an opportunity to reimagine the original design. Despite its larger size, it cuts a dashing figure and feels substantial on any wrist. It’s just odd that it comes with a digital crown that does nothing when you rotate it, a key functional purpose the Pixel Watch 2 has in spades. The larger size also means a larger display, and arguably a little extra protection on OnePlus’s side because of the sapphire crystal cover and thin bezel around it. The Pixel Watch 2, on the other hand, has a very exposed display that contributes to its sleeker appearance.
Materials also differ in that OnePlus opted for a stainless steel body, which will feel heavier than the Pixel Watch 2’s aluminum frame. Given the size disparity, it’s a shame the Watch 2 doesn’t have an LTE variant for constant connectivity like the Pixel Watch 2 does, as it would seem there’s enough room to squeeze one in.
In that respect, the Pixel Watch 2 looks more like a smartwatch compared to the OnePlus Watch 2’s resemblance to a more traditional timepiece. That also goes for the 22mm lugs; they are standard enough that you could swap out the straps for various third-party ones. Google’s watch uses a proprietary mechanism, yet one widely supported by both its own additional straps as well as those from third-party manufacturers.
Software
Two different approaches to Wear OS
Part of the software story for both these smartwatches lies in their hardware design underneath. The OnePlus Watch 2 runs Wear OS 4 on a Snapdragon W5 chipset, but also runs a concurrent real-time operating system (RTOS) on a secondary, lower-power BES2700 chipset. The reason why is to assign the Snapdragon chip more demanding tasks, while the RTOS handles background tasks like the connection with your phone and what the health sensors are doing.
The Pixel Watch 2 runs the same Snapdragon W5 chipset, along with a Cortex M33 co-processor that ostensibly handles the same minutiae, so the W5 can deal with the main tasks. That’s why it’s hardly surprising both watches are snappy performers, but they diverge when it comes to how they present everything visually. For example, OnePlus’s Planet view is an odd, Apple-esque take, presenting apps as bubbles to move around feels less intuitive than simply scrolling down a list on the Pixel Watch 2 — only made easier by the rotating digital crown.
Watch faces are more abundant on Google’s side, though there is something a little cleaner about how the OnePlus Watch 2 displays everything, from apps to settings, in part because of its larger display.
Health & fitness
Google exploits its Fitbit advantage
It never hurts to integrate Fitbit’s health and fitness features into a smartwatch, which is exactly what the Pixel Watch 2 does. That places it on strong footing as far as what kind of exercises it tracks, as well as how accurate and effective it can be in keeping tabs on activity and sleep, even if some numbers seem a little off. The scope only widens with a Fitbit Premium subscription. Google also prioritizes stress management through the continuous electrodermal activity (cEDA) sensor to help determine a daily Stress Management score.
The OnePlus Watch 2 doesn’t come with a host of bells and whistles in how it tracks health and fitness, sticking to a more traditional feature set. It’s not without its challenges, and the OHealth app presents an appreciable level of data points, leaving OnePlus with an onus to improve overall tracking through software updates. Its watch doesn’t have extra sensors, like a cEDA or the ability to conduct electrocardiogram (ECG) tests, so the focus lies more on general activity, workouts, and sleep.
Battery life
OnePlus comes out hours ahead
Frankly, any other Wear OS smartwatch will struggle to match the kind of battery life the OnePlus Watch 2 routinely delivers. The company promises up to 100 hours on a single charge based on mixed usage and truly delivers. This is despite the fact it has a battery roughly the same size as the Pixel Watch 2. It’s a testament to the dual Wear OS-RTOS approach that definitively works, making the Watch 2 the one to beat when it comes to longevity. Like the Pixel Watch 2, it uses a pin charger that magnetically attaches to the bottom of the watch.
Going that route with the Pixel Watch 2 was divisive on Google’s part, especially given the previous Pixel Watch worked on any Qi-enabled wireless charger. While the Pixel Watch 2 charger is faster than its predecessor, it doesn’t beat out OnePlus’s charging speed, nor can it match life per charge. You could stretch Google’s watch past a full day, but more often than not, you’ll need to charge it at bedtime.
Which should you buy?
The choice largely comes down to size and duration. The Pixel Watch 2 clearly fits smaller wrists better and arguably appeals equally to all genders. The OnePlus Watch 2 is bigger, yet more closely resembles an old-school timepiece and lasts for a few days before you need to charge it up again. Both run Wear OS, though they don’t look the same doing it, particularly based on how Fitbit integrates into the Pixel Watch 2 compared to how OnePlus’ watch tries hard just to stay on track.
You will pay less to get the OnePlus Watch 2 — possibly much less with good value from a trade-in. Google offers the extra carrot of an LTE variant, though battery life only gets worse with that one, so keep that in mind. You won’t go wrong with either of these watches on your wrist, but whatever you choose should be based on what you feel is the most comfortable combination of features and functions.
OnePlus Watch 2
Traditional and timeless presentation
The OnePlus Watch 2 reintroduces the brand to the wearable space, producing a smartwatch capable of competing against the best Wear OS models available, especially when it comes to its unmatched battery life.
The Pixel Watch 2 is easy to like because it feels so easy to wear and use. Pixel lovers will naturally gravitate to the form and function, even if they have to reach for the charger more often. As an alternative, this is a smartwatch worth considering for anyone interested in Wear OS.
Google Pixel Watch 2
Easy to wear, easy to appreciate
The Google Pixel Watch 2 corrected so much of what felt off about its predecessor, and with certain adjustments plus Wear OS 4 running smoothly, it’s easy to like wearing one despite the short battery life.
