Flaunting a look very close look like Apple Watch, the Oppo Smartwatch makes an impressive debut this year.
Oppo Smartwatch Overview
The Good
- Ergonomic and stylish design
- Great display with sunlight eligibility
- Good battery life and wireless charging
- Smooth performance
- Functional & convenient interface
The Bad
- Unoriginal design
- Limited capability of Wear OS
However, it isn’t all about good looks. It has a commendable hardware-software combination and impressive display that will win your heart.
With a slick design and smooth performance, it is one of the finest Wear OS smartwatches available on the market today.
Oppo bets high on the battery life and it isn’t untrue. The battery provides decent backup but nothing extraordinary.
Let’s get on with a comprehensive Oppo Watch review to help you make a smart decision.
Oppo Smartwatch Review India
A review of Oppo’s first-ever smartwatch cannot possibly begin without mentioning the fact – yes, it apes the design of Apple Watch…and to an extent that it can be addressed as a “copycat” or “clone.”
However, if you want to flaunt an Apple watch look at a price that does not burn a hole in your pocket, then this smartwatch can be a wise choice.
That is because it has much more than Apple Watch’s impressive looks – as the features & performance gradually unveil, you will experience an excellent Wear OS smartwatch that might be the Best Android Smartwatch around.
The Oppo Watch is available in two sizes – the 46mm smartwatch is priced at around Rs.20000 while the 41mm has a starting price of around Rs.15000.
At a budget-friendly price tag, you are getting a unique experience in terms of good looks, great display and commendable battery life!
Design & Usability
Despite its unoriginal design, the Oppo Watch is one of the most beautiful Android smartwatches you can buy on a budget.
It is available in two screen sizes – 41mm and 46mm. The latter model isn’t just bigger than Apple Watch 5, but perhaps better.
It has a vibrant OLED dual-curved panel (like a modern Smartphone screen), which makes it aesthetically pleasing with more comfortable swipe gestures.
The watch’s frame and back panel appears like a mini glass sandwich mobile phone. The back panel even has tapered edges.
The frame looks beautiful and robust in 6000-series aluminum while the backside is built of plastic.
In the 46mm model, the back dome where the heart-rate monitor is located is made of ceramic. This renders a smooth finish. The 41mm model is all plastic.
The right side of the case has two buttons – the home/app drawer button on the top, and a programmable shortcut key at the bottom.
Quite similar to Apple Watch, it has a speaker port on the left while the mic is located between the two physical keys on the right.
We didn’t like the strap though. It is made of “fluororubber” but feels like a silicone.
The band is soft and comfortable on the wrist but the choice of customization is way limited than other Wear OS smartwatches.
Overall, the design is quite impressive and does look like a smartwatch.
Display
One aspect of the Oppo Watch we cannot stop appreciating is its display. The 1.91-inch AMOLED screen looks stunning on the watch.
It flaunts a 3D curved back design that makes the watch looking beautiful from all angles.
With a pixel density of 326ppi and 72.8% screen-to-body ratio, the watch renders bright colors and crisp image quality.
It has some watch faces to choose from, including one that lets you set any background photo you like.
Performance of Oppo Watch
Google Wear OS continues to be limited and slow. However, the latest TicWatch Pro update has helped optimize the smartwatch experience, making it quite enjoyable.
Even Oppo did a great job here because Wear OS performs smooth on this device – thanks to its 1GB RAM, an old yet powerful chipset and efficient optimization done by the manufacturer.
The vibrant and bubbly app icons, notifications and animations will remind you of Color OS. There are no significant performance glitches or lags.
Coming to the CPU, the watch is powered by two processors. For more complex tasks, there is the Qualcomm MSM8909W Snapdragon Wear 2500.
For simpler ones, there is Apollo 3. Together, they deliver good performance and maximum energy efficiency.
It has a 8GB internal memory supporting eMMC 4.5 format. That is enough to store all your favorite music and enjoy on the go.
The interface is good and is primarily compatible with Android devices. Connecting with iOS Smartphones can be complex.
Syncing the watch with your Android Smartphone is simple. Once it gets connected, you can receive and respond to notifications.
You can also access the entire suit of Google’s apps like Translate or Google Maps right on the screen.
You can respond to WhatsApp messages using a mini on-screen keyboard or voice dictation. It also lets you check the first paragraph of an email to understand whether or not to respond immediately.
However, there are limitations here too.
The watch tried to replicate Apple Watch in how you can respond to messages via typing or voice dictation.
For voice dictation, the Oppo Watch can pick up only 8 words max with only 80% accuracy as compared to Apple that can pick up almost 15 words with 90-95% accuracy.
Furthermore, typing on a miniature keyword on a smaller wearable screen is cumbersome.
Fitness Tracking
Let’s come back to the pros again – the Oppo Watch delivers nearly accurate fitness tracking. It can track heart rate, step and even sleep which Apple Watch cannot do yet.
It has a virtual fitness trainer mode which is actually a video playing on your watch with a personal trainer doing fitness exercises.
Battery Backup
Battery life is quite decent. Even when used to its full extent, it can last for 48 hours on a single charge.
And if you set the “battery saver mode,” it can last for up to 21 days and hey show time and track your steps or heart rate.
The Final Verdict
Keeping aside the fact that it replicates Apple Watch in design, the Oppo Watch is a well-rounded smartwatch with an affordable price.
The square-shaped, curved-edged screen is unique for a Wear OS device but delivers seamless performance, easy navigation, quick set up, and great display.
Not to forget its ability to track your health activities accurately, fast wireless charging and good battery backup.
So if you want a stylish, feature-rich and decent smartwatch at an budget-friendly price, the Oppo Smart Watch can be a good choice for you.