OnePlus Watch 3 unveiled with 5-day battery and a rotating crown
The watch's fitness features have also been improved, as well as the GPS anetenna
⌚️ OnePlus has announced the OnePlus Watch 3, its latest Wear OS device
👑 The watch comes with an improved design and a rotating crown
🔋 OnePlus is leaning further into battery life with 5-day endurance
🏃 It’s also equipped with Wear OS 5, improved fitness tracking, and a better GPS
💵 The watch costs $329 and goes on sale February 25
OnePlus is taking another stab at the smartwatch market. After releasing the OnePlus 13 and 13R earlier this year, the company has unveiled its new OnePlus Watch 3, a successor to last year's surprisingly excellent OnePlus Watch 2. The new model boasts a handful of upgrades like 5-day battery life, improved fitness tracking, a better GPS, and a crown that actually rotates. It seems like quite the competition for watches like the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7.
📅 OnePlus Watch 3 release date and price
The OnePlus Watch 3 is priced at $329, a $30 price increase compared to the OnePlus Watch 2. It’s up for preorder beginning today and goes on sale February 25.
For a limited time, if you use code TIME1010, you can save $30 on your preorder, bringing the price down to $299. You can also save $50 if you trade in an eligible smartwatch.
👑 On the OnePlus Watch 3, the crown finally rotates
The OnePlus Watch 3 looks a lot like the Watch 2 with its “flat tire” footprint. It’s still made of stainless steel and comes with a titanium bezel, this time with slimmer bezels around the OLED screen. Speaking of which, the 1.5-inch display is a bit brighter this generation at 2,200 nits which will help improve readability in direct sunlight.
The biggest design change is the rotating crown. There was a crown on the Watch 2 as well, but no matter how many times you spun it, nothing would happen. Now, you can use the rotating crown to navigate the interface, similar to the Pixel Watch 3 and Apple Watch Series 10.
OnePlus is offering two colors with the new watch: Emerald Titanium (with a green band and silver hardware) and Obsidian Titanium (with a black band and dark gray hardware). Both look pretty snazzy, although I’m partial to the Emerald Titanium myself.
The only downside to the design is the size. OnePlus is only offering a single 47mm model, so if you have a smaller wrist or prefer a more low-key watch, the Watch 3 might not be for you.
🔋 Five days of battery life, improved fitness tracking, and a better GPS
OnePlus managed to stretch the Watch 3’s battery life by a couple of days compared to the Watch 2. The new model can last up to five days on a full charge, all thanks to new chips and battery technologies.
The OnePlus Watch 3 uses a Snapdragon W5 for performance, as well as a BES2800 MCU Efficiency processor which is used for smaller tasks on the watch while sipping as little power as possible. Combined with OnePlus’ Silicon NanoStack Battery technology, which we saw in the OnePlus 13, the watch is said to last far longer than any traditional smartwatch I’ve tested. Granted, you’ll need to turn off the always-on display and use the “Smart” battery mode to get five days of power; otherwise, you’ll be stuck with three. Still, that’s better than most other wearables.
If you want the most battery life possible, you can keep the battery saver turned on and use your watch for a whopping 16 days on a full charge. That could come in handy on a weekend trip without bringing your charger.
The watch also boasts a few upgrades in the fitness department. There’s a new sensor for tracking your wrist temperature, an improved optical heart rate sensor for continuous heart rate tracking, a blood oxygen sensor, and the ability to record EKGs. (It’s worth noting that EKG recording won’t be available in the United States because OnePlus won’t be pursuing clearance from the FDA for the feature to operate.)
You can track over 100 different workouts with the watch, which should be more accurate now thanks to the extra work OnePlus’ newly-formed Health Lab has been doing to optimize the features.
One feature that’s coming later this year is the company’s new 60-Second Health Check-In. It can capture your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, mental health, wrist temperature, sleep data, and more with the press of a button so you can get a bird’s eye view of how you’re doing. You also get improved sleep tracking with snoring patterns, new health trends in the OHealth companion app, and stress tracking and breathing coaching via “360 Mind and Body.”
In addition, the OnePlus Watch 3 is powered by Wear OS 5 and can be paired to any Android phone. It’ll technically work best with OnePlus phones, but the OHealth app is widely available on the Play Store so you shouldn’t have any issues pairing it with, say, a Galaxy S25 Ultra or Pixel 9 Pro.
⌚️ Our OnePlus Watch 3 review is coming soon
Overall, there are a solid amount of upgrades in tow with the OnePlus Watch 3, and it seems like it could be a top contender for the best smartwatches of 2025. We have our unit at The Shortcut headquarters, so stay tuned for our full review coming soon.
Max Buondonno is Editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, Newsweek, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
