Oneplus Watch 2R

I am a watch nut. I've loved mechanical wristwatches since the age of 15 (800 years ago, almost) and over the last 17 years have built up a watch collection that is one of the most valuable things I own. And I love them all. My IWC, my Panerai, my Omega watches. I always wear one of them and I have a metre-long wish list of watches that I must own before I die. None of them is a smartwatch. Not a single one. I have owned three Apple Watch models. I've owned a Samsung Galaxy Watch and a Google Pixel Watch 2. None of these felt like something that, beyond the mandatory trial period, I would ever want to wear for a single extra day and that's mostly to do with the design.

My main problem with Apple's, Samsung's, Google's and many other manufacturers' smartwatches is that they look like little futuristic, pimply minky glass jewellery rather than traditional wristwatches and I just don't like the feel they give, on the wrist. Here, Oneplus, like Xiaomi and Tag Heuer, has proven to be better, in my humble opinion. The combination or perhaps rather the fusion between traditional wristwatch and display-based smartwatch is in the case of Oneplus 2R really, really successful and here the Chinese team behind Oppo proves that they understand both camps. Mechanical pushers, a good sized aluminium case, a proper bezel and straps that work like classic watch bands rather than Apple and Google's gimmicky junk straps, are really appreciated by me. I love the way this watch looks. I love the way it feels on my arm.

The 2R measures 47 millimetres in width and 12.1 millimetres in height and with the band it weighs 60 grams. Weight is something Oneplus has talked a lot about and while it's impressive that the 2R weighs 59 grams including the rubber band, I'd probably rather it weighed maybe 50 grams more to give the feel of a "real" watch, again. I want some weight on my arm although of course we're not talking about an all-gold Deep Sea here, an anchor that gives you tennis elbow in a morning is not a requirement I have.

In addition to the extremely successful design and the superb rubber band, I think the Oneplus Watch 2R is also a real hit in terms of functionality. The watch comes with an IP68 rating, which means that it can keep up with the swimming pool, for starters. It's also rated for MIL-STD-810H which is a military standard and makes this smartwatch ready for sand, particles and everything in between that rhymes with tough use. The two push buttons lead to the home menu and the power function out of the box but, as with its predecessor, you can customise them to your liking. The chip inside the watch is a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear W5 and it performs well just like its predecessor. Qualcomm has developed newer watch processors but that doesn't stop this model from running smoothly and flawlessly in terms of performance during my weeks of testing.

What about more? Well... 2GB working memory. 32GB storage capacity. Bluetooth 5 or/and wifi. The screen measures 1.43" and is AMOLED type with a maximum resolution of 466x466 pixels and a maximum brightness of 900 nits. The screen is one of the strongest and best aspects of this watch and in addition to being bright, having good pixel density (326 PPI) and awesome blacks, it is lightning fast and super sharp. A big part of any smartwatch is of course the training features and the sensors and systems that keep track of your general health and although it lacks some features here that, for example, Apple Watch offers, there is nothing that I personally miss in daily use. For those who are active, it's easy to keep track of your workouts down to the smallest detail and there is information about your well-being to get which I guess attracts some (though not me). The same goes for this watch's ability to track your sleep and sleeping habits, which works brilliantly and gives an extremely detailed picture of what you're up to at night after John Blund has visited.

In the end, I really don't have much that I can or want to complain about regarding this watch. The design is brilliant. So is the form factor and battery life and Google Wear OS 4 along with the screen here, works very well - plain and simple. The fact that it also costs about half as much as an equivalent Apple Watch makes it a real bargain, of course.