A OnePlus smartwatch will arrive next year, according to the smartphone company’s co-founder and CEO. With OnePlus having already disrupted the smartphone market, it could also do the same with a smartwatch, providing it follows the company’s emphasis on delivering high-end design and specs at a more compelling price point than the competition.
OnePlus has been a force to be reckoned with over the last few years. Ever since the OnePlus One was announced in 2014, the company has looked to compete with the Apples and Samsungs of the industry, but with a focus on affordability. Although the gap in price between OnePlus and the rest has shrunk in recent years, the company still manages to find ways to appeal to its user base.
The suggestion that OnePlus is working on a smartwatch has routinely circulated every few months and typically, right before a new product launch with many wondering whether this time will be the time. However, with the OnePlus 9 due to arrive in the first half of 2021, there will be no such speculation on a smartwatch next year. The company’s CEO has now provided a firm confirmation that a OnePlus Watch will be available “early next year.”
Can A OnePlus Watch Rival Apple Watch?
Arguably, the Apple Watch is the most successful smartwatch around. In fact, it is the market leader, in spite of the sheer majority of competing options running on Google’s Wear OS. This is quite the opposite of the smartphone industry where, in spite of iPhone models selling in abundance, they don’t compare with the sheer volume of Android-powered phones that are shipped each year through Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, and the rest. One of the likely reasons for this, is that few smartwatches have managed to cement their place as a go-to option for Android users, like the Apple Watch has for iOS users.
In principle, OnePlus could be the type of company that is able to add something new and fresh to the Wear OS smartwatch scene. However, whether it can do that at the expense of the Apple Watch is far less clear. Firstly, OnePlus tends to not release first-generation products in significant quantities to match demand at the time. For example, the company has also since moved into the smart TV game, although availability currently remains limited to a handful of countries. Likewise, OnePlus is unlikely to be enough of a pull to separate iOS user wrists from their watchOS wearables. In other words, a OnePlus smartwatch will first need to first prove its worth against options from Samsung, Huawei, and so on, before it gets anywhere near taking on the Apple Watch.
Source: Peta Lau/Twitter