OnePlus Watch 2R Review: Great Watch, But Software Leaves Much to Be Desired

Back in the month of July, OnePlus launched its Watch 2R in India, offering a slightly more affordable version of the flagship OnePlus Watch 2. It’s priced at an attractive ₹14,999, which positions it as an affordable option for a Wear OS watch. For this price, you get an AMOLED display, the powerful Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chipset, and the versatility of Wear OS.

All of these specs and Wear OS for that price make the OnePlus Watch 2R a very interesting watch. So, is it all good with no compromises? Should you consider it over competing brands or other non-Wear OS options? Let’s dive into the details and find out.

OnePlus Watch 2R Review: Design & Build

The OnePlus Watch 2R features a circular design with an aluminum alloy body. The watch face includes markings for a classic timepiece aesthetic. There are two customizable side buttons, for which you can assign single, double, and long press actions. 

While the sides are aluminum, the bottom case is plastic, and it comes with a silicone strap secured by a stainless steel buckle. OnePlus says that the watch fits wrist sizes from 140 mm to 210 mm, although the dial still appears quite large on smaller wrists. 

It weighs in at 37 grams without the strap and 59 grams with it; the watch feels balanced—not overly heavy but not particularly lightweight either. The watch supports standard 22 mm bands, making strap replacement easy. 

The Watch 2R is rated IP68 water and dust resistant, which means it can withstand being submerged up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. It’s also waterproof up to 5 ATM, making it suitable for swimming and everyday water exposure. 

OnePlus Watch 2R Review: Display and Haptics

The display is a 1.43” (3.63 cm) AMOLED panel with a brightness of 600 Nits under normal conditions and up to 1000 Nits in high-brightness mode. I had no issues using this outdoors. The auto brightness also works great.

The resolution is 466 × 466 pixels, resulting in 366 PPI, which provides decent clarity but isn’t exceptional. Screenshots taken through the OHealth app appear low in resolution. There’s Always-On Display support, but only in Smart Mode.

The OnePlus Watch 2R does include haptics support, but the quality and integration aren’t particularly impressive compared to other models. I’ve also encountered a few touch response issues here and there. 

OnePlus Watch 2R Review: Performance and Software

The OnePlus Watch 2R is equipped with a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chipset (a 4 nm quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 processor, paired with an Adreno 702 GPU) for Wear OS 4 based on OxygenOS Watch 6.0 (Smart Mode) and a BES2700BP chipset for RTOS (Power Saver mode), allowing it to switch between two operating systems. 

Wear OS 4 provides a full smartwatch experience with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, while RTOS offers a more basic interface with 4 GB of eMMC storage, without additional apps. 

In Smart Mode, apps like Google Assistant, Maps, Gmail, Calendar, Phone, and Messages are included, and you can install more apps from the Play Store. The experience is smooth overall, thanks to the powerful W5 Gen 1 chipset.

The problems

However, there are some—or, should I say, a lot of—limitations. Coming from a Galaxy Watch, the lack of customization options in the control center is a pain—plus, you can’t mute your phone from the watch or sync Do Not Disturb. You cannot switch the call to your phone once accepted. The watch also doesn’t sync any newly added contacts—only the ones that initially were synced.

There’s no Gallery or Photos app, and transferring photos to the watch isn’t supported, which is frustrating. You can’t take screenshots directly on the watch; you need to use the OHealth app to take screenshots. There’s also a bug with WhatsApp calls, where the watch simply can’t accept the call.

There are 100 customizable watch faces and you can also install your own third-party ones. Notifications work well, with support for quick replies and Bluetooth calls using the built-in speaker. For those who are more tech-savvy, sideloading apps via wireless debugging is an option.

However, despite having a speaker and on-board storage, you cannot transfer music to this watch. Sure, there are apps like YouTube and Spotify, but competitors do allow local music on the watch, and many users also prefer it.

As you can probably tell, all of this can be fixed with a software update. I hope OnePlus takes the feedback seriously and works on it to provide the software experience this watch truly deserves.

But is the software smooth? Yes.

The watch comes with a commitment to software support, including two years of OS upgrades and three years of security updates. Currently, it’s running Wear OS 4 based on Android 13, so you can expect updates till Wear OS 6. This is a bit lower than the four years of updates that the Galaxy Watches get.

All in all, the software on the OnePlus Watch 2R is smooth, but it lacks a ton of features when compared to the Galaxy Watches. If you are coming from a Galaxy Watch, you won’t like this. But if you are new to Wear OS watches, this can be a good start for you.

OnePlus Watch 2R Review: Connectivity

The OnePlus Watch 2R supports Bluetooth 5.0, which is quite disappointing if you ask me. The Bluetooth connection has been inconsistent at times. The watch would automatically disconnect even if the phone was close enough. Thankfully, this issue wasn’t that frequent. 

The Watch 2R also supports dual-band Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi performance has been reliable. OnePlus also offers remote connectivity which means you can connect the watch to your phone via Wi-Fi even when they aren’t in the same location.

You can connect Bluetooth headphones for listening to music, although the watch itself does not support storing music files. NFC is also there, but there’s currently no support for contactless payment apps in India. Oh, and the watch is only compatible with Android devices.

OnePlus Watch 2R Review: OHealth App

The OHealth app is what you’ll use to pair your watch to your phone. It gives you all the basic controls and features—manage watch faces, rearrange tiles, set up parental controls, open the Play Store to install apps directly from the phone, and more. 

You can also customize how and which of your notifications are displayed on the watch. Additionally, the app lets users adjust workout goals, track health metrics, and manage calendar events. Plus, you can create your own custom workouts.

Fitness enthusiasts can sync data with the Google Fit/Strava app, covering various metrics such as steps, calories, heart rate, sleep, stress, and SpO2. You can also view all your health and fitness data here.

OnePlus Watch 2R Review: Health and Fitness

In terms of sensors, the watch is fully equipped, featuring an accelerometer, gyroscope, optical heartbeat scanner, pulse oximeter, geomagnetic sensor, ambient light sensor, and even a barometer. These sensors cover a wide range of health and activity tracking needs.

Health tracking is a strong point for the OnePlus Watch 2R. For starters, it supports over 100 sports modes (you can create custom workouts too) and can automatically detect six activities, including running, walking, cycling, swimming, rowing, and elliptical workouts. 

Automatic workout detection is reliable, typically initiating tracking for walks after about 7 to 8 minutes and logging the entire session. The watch also has various professional sports modes, such as outdoor skiing, running, and tennis, and it can record detailed parameters for each activity.

Sleep tracking gives you insights into your sleep, including details on deep, light, and REM sleep, along with a sleep score, breathing rate, and snoring risk assessment. Together, the OHealth app and the OnePlus Watch 2R are good for fitness tracking.

There’s also a built-in GPS with dual-frequency support (L1 + L5) that ensures accurate location tracking. The watch also features stress monitoring and blood oxygen measurement, which work as intended on the watch. 

OnePlus Watch 2R Review: Battery Life and Charging

The OnePlus Watch 2R offers impressive battery performance with its 500 mAh capacity. In Smart Mode, you can expect around 100 hours of usage with regular settings. However, when you enable features like the Always-on Display, several app notifications, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, the battery life drops to about 48 hours—still pretty solid.

In Power Saver mode, it can get you through about 10 days of usage—it drains roughly 10% per day. Unfortunately, the Always-on Display isn’t available in this mode. Even in Power Saver mode, you can still access workouts, calls, messages, and health tracking features.

The charging speed is another highlight. OnePlus claims a full charge takes 60 minutes, and the watch lives up to that promise. It supports 7.5W charging through a magnetic pogo-pin charger, reaching about 50% in just 18 minutes, which is excellent for quick top-ups. 

Although the charger isn’t wireless, the magnetic connection is secure and convenient. Overall, the OnePlus Watch 2R’s battery life and rapid charging are some of its strongest points.

Review Verdict: Should You Buy the OnePlus Watch 2R?

Smartprix Rating: 7.5/10

Design and Build: 8/10

Display and Haptics: 8/10

Performance & Software: 6/10

Connectivity: 7/10

OHealth App: 7/10

Health and Fitness: 8/10

Battery and Charging: 10/10

The OnePlus Watch 2R is a solid entry-point to Wear OS at an affordable price of ₹14,999, making it a compelling choice for first-time smartwatch users. It has excellent battery life, fast charging, and reliable health tracking with comprehensive sports modes and auto workout detection. The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 delivers a smooth experience, although software quirks hold it back from being top-tier.

The software lacks some features compared to more established Wear OS watches like the Galaxy Watch series. However, for the price, the OnePlus Watch 2R delivers a good balance of functionality and value, especially with discounts bringing the price down further. If you’re new to Wear OS or looking for a budget-friendly smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch 2R is a worthwhile choice.

First reviewed in October 2024.

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