Here’s why OnePlus didn’t use Wear OS on its watch
- OnePlus announced that it has skipped Wear OS on the watch for battery life reasons.
- The company found that many people didn’t like many of its competitors’ one-day batteries.
- However, it was open to adding a permanently active display feature.
OnePlus quickly realized that the watch wouldn’t be running a Wear operating system, but didn’t say much about why. Fortunately, there is now an explanation – albeit a brief one. According to Droid lifeThe company’s Watch product manager announced in a question and answer that OnePlus has mainly opted for the more limited RTOS than the Google platform in order to offer “longer battery life”.
While OnePlus didn’t elaborate on the decision to skip Wear OS, an opening statement said that one day of battery life was the most common reason people stopped wearing their smartwatches. The watch’s two-week battery life clearly addresses this claim, even if it means losing an app ecosystem and more complex features like the Google Assistant.
Continue reading: The best Wear OS watches
This approach has also influenced OnePlus’ decisions about features outside of Wear OS. The company acknowledged that many people would wish the watch had an always-on display, but said it was only “evaluating” the ability to add this feature through a wireless update. They wanted feedback on whether AOD is worthwhile if it can increase power consumption by “almost 50%”.
By choosing RTOS over Wear OS, OnePlus may also have more control over performance. The product manager added that OnePlus has adopted the visual accelerations used on phones since the OnePlus 7 Pro by increasing the frame rate from 30 to over 50 frames per second and improving the fluidity of over 50 scenes. You won’t be waiting for the UI to catch up when you start exercising.
The news could prove frustrating if you were hoping the OnePlus watch would act as a full competitor to Wear OS mainstays like Fossil’s timepieces. If you don’t care about a wider range of apps and use your smartwatch primarily for workouts or calls, you might not mind. Many people are already concerned about the fate of Wear OS – this bypasses these concerns completely.
