OPPO Watch Review

Manufacturer firsts can be a mixed bag and its difficult to know what to expect from a first generation device. Brands can be amazing at one thing and trash at another, there's just no real way of predicting which way the pendulum will swing.

This first round of watches to come out of OPPO are swinging high, partly because the hardware and functionality of the device is great, but more so because it's a representation of things to come.

We need more contenders in the game apart from Apple and Samsung, and the evolution of OPPO devices, alongside the calibre of the ecosystem they create is positioning OPPO to step up. It will need to sort out a couple of things first though.

Functionality

Smartwatches started very much as fitness trackers and evolved to the more polished devices you see today. Most of the time – even when marketed as a lifestyle device – the fitness aspects of the watch tend to be the base, with the other features being a treat. The OPPO Watch has flipped this on it’s head, leading with lifestyle and all but disregarding the exercise functions.

The choice of exercise modes included on the device is strange bordering on inept. You’ll get "fitness run", "fat burn run", "outdoor walk", "outdoor cycling", and "swimming", which is just an eclectic assortment of modes. The vast majority of the time, none of these are an accurate representation of the exercise that I actually do, so I had to settle for using "fitness run" to track my workouts.

As the device runs Wear OS you do have the added option of using Google Workouts instead, which gives you a wider range of tracking options. The tracking itself is roughly on par between the two apps, so it really is a matter of deciding what works for you. Although it is somewhat odd to have to make that decision on a wearable.

Most of your data will be available directly on the watch as opposed to the tertiary overview on the wrist and a more in depth analysis on the supporting app. This is the opposite of what we see from the likes of the Apple Watch and Fitbit. If you’re a fan of assessing your life as a series of goals achieved, and numbers balanced then this on-wrist functionality might leave you wanting a bit more.

There are all the basic tracking aspects; steps, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and activity sessions which is OPPO’s version of moving every hour. These all work well enough, although by default you’ll get a notification with the run down of your sleep when you wake up which is very much, “thanks, I hate it” vibes.

Along with Wear OS come a bunch of fun Google features, like Google Assistant and Google Translate directly on your wrist. These will be connected to your Google account however - not to your OPPO - so any reminders or events are housed on your Google Calendar.

You’ll also get Google Pay supported by the NFC in the watch. Annoyingly this has been more touch and go than tap and pay, and it does tend to act up – conveniently when you’re in a high pressure situation like cramming yourself through a turnstile during peak hour.

OPPO has heavily customised Wear OS, mimicking the style of its take on Android. While this creates consistency between its devices, you end up in a situation where you have two apps on your watch for the same purpose. The redundancy is confusing, and creates a somewhat more complicated user experience. 

Design

Apart from a couple of personal preferences, it’s difficult to fault the OPPO Watch design but it also isn’t breaking any molds.

The screen is quite similar to the OPPO Find X2 Pro, with cascading edges on the peripheral sides. Lined with rose gold on the pink strapped version, or silver on the black it’s a sleek looking device. These edges are only available on the larger 46mm device, otherwise the 41mm has a flat AMOLED screen.

Although it does look pretty similar to other premium devices, these curved edges on the larger watch are a premium extra that doesn’t do much for the functionality. It does however hide the bezels to give the illusion of more screen space.

In saying that the display itself is lovely, which is what we’ve come to expect from OPPO devices. The AMOLED screen is crisp, bright, and genuinely beautiful. If anything the 46mm version is probably a touch too big for a wrist like mine, but would look perfectly at home on a regular sized human. The silicon strap is also a touch too long and there aren’t any extras included in the box, so if you have a smaller wrist you’re bound to get some overhang.

The battery life of the 46mm OPPO Watch is decent enough for such a comprehensive device too, you’ll get through a day-and-a-half before a charge. That's about on par with the latest Apple Watch. It charges up quickly with only about half an hour downtime, so you won't miss tracking all them precious steps while juicing. The battery capacity on smaller 41mm OPPO Watch is lower, and is likely to only last a day. 

All in all, the OPPO Watch is beautiful looking timepiece but is also looks like most other smartwatches on the market. Especially like an Apple Watch. I guess if it ain't broke.

Better together?

The introduction of the Enco W51 earbuds alongside the OPPO Watch makes for an interesting combination of products. I would have expected that using all OPPO products together would elevate the user experience, but realistically there isn't too much of a difference if you were to sub out one of the items.

Of course, the OPPO Watch will also work with any other Android smartphone. When testing it on the Vivo A75 and the Moto G9 Play the functionality was the same as you get with an OPPO device. You can even pair it with an iPhone, but you'll miss out on a lot of functionality, including texting, calling, and Google Pay. 

Of course there are plenty of options when it comes to smartwatches and wireless ear buds, but there is an elegance to hardware that just fits together. OPPO’s range of devices represents something exciting for Android enthusiasts who are looking for an alternative to Samsung, but unfortunately it is still in it's infancy. 

OPPO Watch - Final thoughts

All things considered, the OPPO Watch is a fantastic first wearable. It has it’s bugs, but it’s unlikely that the first generation of any device will be flawless. It's a promising start for OPPO, however. 

I'd love to see OPPO polish the software and put further emphasis on fitness tracking, but apart from that, other issues are minor. Yes a smaller strap would be nice, and I’d love to see it in the same orange vegan leather found on the Find X2 Pro – because the aesthetic. But that shouldn’t be something that deters you from buying this watch.

Anula Wiwatowska

Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram

Anula is the Off-Site Editorial Lead for WhistleOut Australia, and an award winning tech journalist. She has been writing about the Australian telco industry, and consumer technology for over five years, and has been known to tell her Uber driver which phone they should upgrade to next.

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