Wear OS may finally have its own Apple Watch-beater, thanks to Oppo

Oppo will reportedly release the Oppo Watch 5 and Oppo Watch 5 Pro later this year, a pair of Wear OS watches that, like their predecessors, look set to bear a strong resemblance to the Apple Watch with a curved square display. The Oppo Watch 5 and 5 Pro series, according to leaks, will have almost double the Apple Watch Series 8’s battery capacity, enhancing its ability to use features like sleep tracking.

The best Apple Watch models do suffer from a short battery life, although not as drastically as Apple would have you believe. Apple Watch Series 8, for example, taxes its 308 mAh battery pretty heavily, only getting around 18 hours of juice from a full charge judging by Apple’s estimations. However, in our Watch 8 review, we said “In our initial testing, the Watch 8 battery can hold on for 38 hours on a single full charge – far in excess of Apple’s 18-hours prediction.” The Google Pixel Watch can’t match that, with only 24-26 hours of real use.

According to leaker Digital Chat Station via Gizmochina, the Oppo Watch 5, codenamed “Comet”, will have a 570mAh battery. Even the previous model, the Oppo Watch 3 (it’s reported Oppo will be skipping the “4” moniker as the number is considered unlucky in Asian countries) got more than a day and a half even on heavy use and up to 14 days on battery-saver mode, with a 400 mAh battery. 

The Oppo Watch 3 Pro featured a 550 mAh battery, which means the 5 Pro could end up with double the battery capacity of the Apple Watch Series 8. Together with the similar-looking curved display, Wear OS users (who also have the new, improved Wear OS 4 coming later this year) might have an Apple Watch clone that can not just contend with, but far exceed its Apple rival. 

The Apple Watch 8 could be outmatched when it comes to battery life, but it’s not just about longevity. (Image credit: Apple)

 Analysis: It’ll take more than battery 

It’ll certainly be nice to have a Wear OS 4-capable watch with more than a day or two’s battery life with heavy use, but it’s not just the design of the screen or how long the watch lasts that captures a watch user’s imaginations. 

The Google Pixel Watch and Apple Watch seamlessly integrate into their respective networks, look cool, and are crafted with care. The algorithms for their fitness and wellness data are especially impressive, with Pixel Watch using the last decade’s worth of learnings from Fitbit, and Apple harnessing all the might of Apple Health and Apple Fitness+. 

We’re not sure if Oppo can offer a comprehensive and aesthetically pleasing user experience quite like Apple and Google can, but its Android phones are excellent (I personally have been using an Oppo Find X2 Pro for years) and the new Oppo Watch 5 series will surely run the latest version of Wear OS when it lands. 

It might be a real contender over some of the best smartwatches for a) users who want a true Wear OS experience, and b) for people who love the look of the Apple Watch, but don’t want to switch from Android. Watch this space for further official announcements.