It’s safe to say OnePlus has been busy launching products like its flagship OnePlus 8 Pro, the budget-friendly OnePlus Nord, and OnePlus Buds over the past few months. But it looks like it’s not done yet. The company is also apparently adding a new smartwatch to the list.
First spotted by 91 Mobiles, the company received IMDA certification for a device called a OnePlus Watch, complete with a model number W301GB. Unfortunately, none of the specifications are listed but it’s described as a “wearable watch.” Of course, it’s also unclear whether this detail implies the device will launch in 2020 or if the company plans on waiting it out.
At this point, a smartwatch from OnePlus has been a long time coming. In 2015, company co-founder Carl Pei revealed to Tech Radar that there was a smartwatch in the works, but the company ultimately decided to nix the plan entirely to focus on smartphones instead.
Five years later, Tech Radar spoke with a former OnePlus employee who revealed the company has been “actively been looking into a smartwatch for the last year.” But given its track record with its last smartwatch plans, it remains to be seen if the company will actually follow through this time.
The report also notes the recently announced Oppo Watch — a smartwatch running Google’s WearOS that essentially looks like an Apple Watch clone — could be a sign that OnePlus is actually going through with this. The reason being that, while OnePlus and Oppo remain separate, both share a parent company in BBK Electronics.
Whether the “OnePlus Watch” will look similar to the Oppo Watch (and, well, the Apple Watch) is unclear. However, it’s worth noting that if OnePlus does follow through with a 2020 launch, it’ll have a lot of competition.
In addition to the anticipated Apple Watch Series 6, Fitbit recently announced its fall lineup of wearables — including the Fitbit Sense, which packs some complex sensors built specifically for stress management. There’s also the new Amazon Halo, which keeps track of extensive metrics like body fat percentage and even the tone of your voice.
If OnePlus does launch a smartwatch in 2020, we can’t help but wonder if it’ll have what it takes to keep from being overshadowed by all the other options currently out there. But we’ll need to know some specs before any kind of determination can be made.