What you need to know
- The OnePlus Watch was spotted in new patent sketches.
- The watch features a traditional round watch design, unlike the watch from OPPO which OnePlus has a close relationship.
- The watch could launch alongside the OnePlus 9 smartphones in March.
OnePlus has been stepping up its hardware game, as noted by last year's OnePlus 8 smartphones as well as the current leaks of the upcoming OnePlus 9 trio. Last year the company teased that it was releasing a watch in early 2021, which has been technically true after the launch of the OnePlus Band. Fans are still expecting a more traditional OnePlus Watch which appears to also be in the works according to a new patent.
A German site spotted some patent sketches (via GSMArena) of a smartwatch device submitted by OnePlus to the German office for patents and registered brand names. The images show several different angles of what could be two different models, based on the different bands.
The "standard" watchband looks to have a unique clamping mechanism, while the "sport" band looks like more of a silicon strap. The watch sensors are shown on the back of the watch, with two buttons on the side of the watch case. It's unclear from the sketches if it's the same watch just with different bands outfitted to it, which could be the case.
OnePlus has previously teased that it was open to work with Google on improving Wear OS, although where those talks went, no one knows. Given OnePlus' relationship with the Android ecosystem, it could very well run Google's software to compete with the best Wear OS watches. That said, no details are known about the OnePlus Watch, including its release date. It's possible that an official launch will coincide with the OnePlus 9, which is slated for March.
