I have been using the OPPO for quite sometime now and given that this is the company’s first smartwatch, I was curious to see what it has to offer. The watch is available in Kenya for around Ksh 24,000. This is not cheap but for OPPO this is a good start for its first smartwatch.
The OPPO Watch looks a lot like the Apple Watch not just from its design but some of the watch faces too. There is no originality in this regard but having used the watch for sometime, I have come to like it.
There are two variants of the OPPO watch, a 41mm one and a 46mm one. The 41mm variant is the one we get in Kenya and the one you can buy for Ksh 24,000. It does offer all the health and fitness features as well as smart connectivity features you expect from a smartwatch.
AMOLED Display
You will be looking at the watch’s display most of the times and for that OPPO has ensured that experience is good. The OPPO watch has an AMOLED DISPLAY. This display is sharp and has excellent contrast ratio.
Since this is an AMOLED display, the blacks are deep and this gives for a very good experience when viewing what is on the display. This being the first smartwatch for the company, OPPO has done a very good job. The sharpness of the display really appealed to me as someone who has been using the Huawei Watch GT for a very long time.
This display has different brightness levels and this makes it perfect for use in different environments. There is an auto brightness option that automatically adjusts the brightness based on the ambient light.
Navigating through the display is seamless with most options available with just one swipe. The touch responsiveness is fluid. This display is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.
In summary, this display is stunning. The use of an AMOLED panel has really cemented OPPO’s seriousness in the smartwatch market.
Powered by Wear OS
The OPPO Watch is powered by Wear OS which means that it is flexible and has a lot of customization options and features. The OS experience is good and OPPO has added little customizations to the OS so you are not getting plain Wear OS. The customizations give the watch features that differentiate it from other Wear OS watches.
There is the app drawer sort of style that gives access to some of the key apps and features you have on the watch. This helps with quick navigation to the said features with very few steps. These little touches really make the software experience good and this is definitely a win for OPPO.
Since it is powered by Wear OS, you get access to a ton of Watch faces that you can download using apps from the Play Store. You can also download apps to the watch itself if you want to. Paring it with your phone is easy and I was using it at the same time I was using the OPPO Reno 4.
The OPPO Watch comes with Google Assistant built in which you can use at any time you are connected to the internet. You can connect to the internet through the Wi-Fi of the watch even when it is not connected to the phone. There is a microphone and speaker on the watch and these are what you can use when interacting with the assistant. They can also be used on calls if you want to speak through your watch.
Build and Comfort
As for the build quality, OPPO has really done a good job. The OPPO watch is solidly built and is worth the money. The straps can be removed and replaced but you will have to go with OPPO’s own replacement straps once the company provides them.
The watch has two buttons on the right with the top one being the home button and the bottom one can be programmed to do what you want.
The OPPO Watch is comfortable to wear and use over an extended period of time. It does not feel uncomfortable at all. Putting on the strap takes some getting used to but once that is done, you are good to go.
Health, Fitness Tracking and More
Smartwatches and most fitness bands works towards health and fitness tracking. This is primarily what the OPPO watch does. The heart rate sensor at the back of the watch helps it track your heart rate every time you are wearing it. You can keep track of this and may notice some abnormalities if there are any.
Besides heart rate tracking, the watch can also track your exercises. You can do this manually or just start exercising and it will start tracking automatically. The watch can also track your steps and calories depending on how active you are. It also has sleep tracking feature for those interested. Sleep tracking only tracks your sleeping patterns at night, it cannot track your afternoon naps.
The OPPO watch will also alert you to stand up and exercise if you have been sitting for an hour. This is good for those who are always on their desks.
Not So Good Battery
The one disappointment I have with the OPPO Watch is the battery life. I have to charge it every single day as it does not stay charged for long. I am not sure why this is so but Wear OS may be the culprit here. Having used the Huawei Watch that gets me up to 2 weeks of battery on a single charge, I have to say that the battery on the OPPO Watch is just bad. I hope the company has plans to fix this with the next iteration as no matter how good everything else is, if the battery isn’t good, the product is hard to recommend. There is the power saving mode that you can activate to limit some of its smart features to get the battery to last longer.
The good thing is that the watch supports fast charging and 15 minutes of charge can get you from 0 to 50%. O to 100% takes about I hour 15 minutes of charging. You can put it on charge just a few minutes before leaving the house and end up with power that can take you through the day.