The OnePlus Watch 2R is an affordable version of the Watch 2 (review) and was launched alongside the Nord 4 in July. While the OnePlus Watch 2 was launched around Rs 25,000, the Watch 2R is priced at Rs 17,999, making it a more accessible wearable companion for your Android phone. The Watch 2R is similar to the Watch 2 in terms of hardware and health-tracking features. The biggest difference lies in the design: the Watch 2R is lighter than the Watch 2 as it goes with an aluminium alloy body over stainless steel.
The lowdown
OnePlus has made certain changes to the design of the new smartwatch, both in terms of material and look. Firstly, OnePlus’ decision to replace the stainless steel body with an aluminium one makes the OnePlus Watch 2R a little over 20 grams lighter than the Watch 2. This might not sound like much but it does wonders for how long you can wear the watch through the day. The lightness of it makes it easy to keep on even while sleeping, allowing its sleep tracker to do its work.
Second, the Watch 2R’s display is visibly different from the Watch 2. While it’s still a circular dial and has similar dimensions to the Watch 2, a portion of the thick black bezel around the screen is now covered with a chronometer dial and the glass is flat instead of curved. I find this look to be a little less premium than the Watch 2 and I’m not particularly a fan of the chronometer, but this is a very subjective thing.
If you can look beyond the bezels, the 1.43-inch AMOLED display looks nice. Colours are deep and punchy and brightness levels are good with up to 600 nits peak brightness. Viewing angles aren’t the best though, so it’s not always easy to view the display clearly if you’re say driving and twist your wrist at an angle for a quick look at notifications. OnePlus is using a less durable Panda Glass instead of the Sapphire Glass seen on the Watch 2. This means the glass could get scratched more easily, but I was careful enough to not test that out.
The OnePlus Watch 2R is IP68 rated for dust and water resistance as well as 5ATM certified so it can withstand water pressure up to 50 meters. So the watch should survive walks in the rain, swimming, and outdoor workouts. Unfortunately, the Watch 2R misses out on the MIL-STD-810H certification that the Watch 2 comes with.
The biggest problem with the OnePlus Watch 2R, however, is that it comes in a single 47mm size, which is large for a slim wrist. In fact, I found it slightly big for my own wrist, which isn’t exactly slim. A smaller 44mm size would have helped OnePlus capture a wider market.
| OnePlus Watch 2R | OnePlus Watch 2 | |
| Chassis | Aluminium alloy | Stainless steel |
| Weight | 59g (with strap) | 80g (with strap) |
| Protection | IP68, 5ATM | IP68, 5ATM, MIL-STD-810H |
The brushed metal body feels smooth to the touch and you get two buttons on the right side that have nice clickability. There’s no rotating crown feature that you see on an Apple Watch. The top button brings up the app carousel while the bottom button opens the workout menu by default. The smartwatch is available in Forest Green and Gunmetal Gray. The former has a silver body with a green strap while the latter offers a dark grey body with a black strap. The strap is light and breathable. While it is rubber and soft to the touch, there is a plastic-like feel that makes it feel less premium.
Much like the OnePlus Watch 2, the Watch 2R runs on a combination of Google Wear OS 4 powered by Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and RTOS (real-time operating system) with BES 2700 ultra-low power Bluetooth platform. The latter works to improve battery life by running a bunch of tasks like sleep and heart tracking, connectivity, and fitness tracking in the background. This essentially allows the watch to use the W5 chipset only when running active tasks like Wear OS apps, third-party watch faces, Google Assistant, and so on.
I paired it with my Vivo X Fold3 Pro and the pairing process was quite easy using the OHealth app. It is worth mentioning that the Watch 2R only works with Android phones, so iPhone users are out of luck. There is also no LTE variant available much like the Watch 2. You will still be able to take calls over Bluetooth and use apps like WhatsApp provided you have your phone close to you or you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
When power saver mode is enabled, the Watch 2R runs on RTOS only, disabling WearOS functions and ensuring only fitness and tracking features are running in the background. This allows the smartwatch to last significantly longer if you enable Power Saver once the battery touches 20 percent.
Overall performance of the OnePlus Watch 2R is respectable. Scrolling through the UI is largely a smooth experience with some minor lags and stutters that might be noticeable every now and then. That said, it did take several seconds for the watch to start normal functions when unlocking after charging or keeping it away for a while.
The Watch 2R has around 100 free watch faces to choose from via the OHealth app. Not all of them are attractive or worth checking out, some are cheap-looking. But you’ll find some good ones if you go through the catalogue. And you can also download more from the Google Play Store, but you must pay for many of those. You can apply the watch face from the OHealth app, but I found some of them take surprisingly long to apply, often over 50 to 60 seconds.
When it comes to steps, sleep and heart-rate tracking, the OnePlus Watch 2R is one of the more reliable smartwatches out there. I found the Watch 2R’s steps tracking slightly more believable than my Apple Watch Series 9 during a few 15-minute runs around my park as the latter would throw up different numbers all the time. I also appreciated that the watch records short afternoon naps as well.
You can view your stats clearer on the OHealth app, which offers a rather simplified look at your daily, weekly, and monthly steps, heart rate, sleep, SpO2, and stress monitoring. The app doesn’t feel as comprehensive as Apple Health or Samsung Health, but it might not bother most people who just want a basic overview of their progress.
Talking about the battery life, the OnePlus Watch 2R will last anywhere between 3 to 4 days on a single charge with the always-on display disabled, depending on your usage. With always-on display enabled, expect less than 2 full days on a single charge. The magnetic square-shaped charging puck firmly attaches to the pins at the back and can fully charge the smartwatch in less than an hour. The VOOC charging tech can give several hours of battery with just a quick 10-minute charge.
Verdict
The OnePlus Watch 2R is easy to recommend to anyone looking for a good Wear OS smartwatch under Rs 20,000 for their Android phone. It gets a few things right, especially its lightweight design that makes it easy to wear through the day, reliable steps and sleep tracking, a large and bright display, and a great battery life backed by quick charging.
However, the fact that it comes in a single 47mm size makes it big for people with smaller wrists. It also isn’t the most premium-looking smartwatch out there. The Galaxy Watch6 solves both these problems as you can find the 44mm variant under Rs 20,000 right now. It becomes a little harder to sell the Watch 2R when you realise that the more premium and durable Watch 2 is available for just Rs 2,000 more on platforms like Amazon and Croma.
Editor’s rating: 8 / 10
Pros:
- Lightweight design
- Excellent battery life
- Smooth performance
- Reliable sleep and step-tracking
Cons:
- Only comes in one size
- Watch faces could be better
- Lacks a premium finish
