The Oppo Watch 3 series is official as of yesterday. It was revealed at an event in China. The device comes in two distinct models – Oppo Watch 3 and Oppo Watch 3 Pro. These are the first watches to use the new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip. Mobvoi should follow soon with its own device.
Most of the details were leaked ahead of the big day so there were few real surprises. Oppo had also released a few teaser posters prior to the launch.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
The Chinese-based outfit has made a name for itself in the smartphone space, and in recent years it is trying to do the same with wearables. This will be no mean task as competition is stiffer than ever.
Oppo Watch 3 and 3 Pro are currently only available for purchase in its home country. No word yet on international availability but this will surely come in the months ahead. It remains to be seen whether both of the new models will be available across its local border.
The obvious questions are what has stayed the same, what’s new with the latest generation? Should you upgrade if you have the one of the predecessor devices? Oppo Watch 3 vs Watch 3 Pro vs Watch 2 – let’s delve right into all of this right now.
Whereas the predecessor generations came in size choices, Oppo has done away with all of this. Now you simply get a Pro and a regular variant, each offered with or without LTE. The Pro comes in a rather large 50mm square case, while the non-Pro model’s 43mm measurement is more suited for those with smaller wrists.
Oppo Watch 2, on the other hand, is available in three different models. This includes two size variants, 46mm and 42mm, along with various colour choices. The 42mm is available with WiFi-only or eSIM, the 46mm only with eSIM.
The look has not changed all that much. So you still get something that broadly resembles the Apple Watch. Which means a square-shaped dial with rounded corners once again.
What has changed are the physical buttons. Gen 2 has two elongated buttons on the right and one of these has an LED indicator in the middle. The non-Pro Gen 3 model has only one elongated button, while Oppo Watch 3 Pro has a more classic-looking crown and a discreet button underneath.
As far as the screen, there’s a 3D AMOLED on-board with a 60 Hz refresh rate, 326 PPI resolution and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. On Watch 3 its size comes in at 1.75 inches. Watch 3 Pro has a massive 1.91 inch display which also has an LTPO backplane to minimise power consumption. This is a first for the company. The same size-choices are available on the predecessor generation.
The build of the case is a combination of Aluminum alloy frame and fiberglass. This means the watch is very lightweight. All of this is attached to a skin-friendly fluoroelastomer band with a traditional watch buckle to hold it in place.
Water resistance has been standardised across the board. The watches are rated 5 ATM which means you can safely bathe and swim with them.
It’s clear that with Watch 3 and 3 Pro, Oppo has not really changed that much in terms of design. Only slight improvements and visual enhancements. But exciting developments can be found under the hood.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade is that the new timepieces feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 which was made official back in July. It works in combination with the Apollo 4 Plus co-processor. The presence of both means that the watch switches between the chipsets based on usage.
The original comes with the 3100 chip. Watches with the latest Qualcomm processor are few and far between. At least for now.
Mobvoi TicWatch 3 Pro is one of the handful that come with the latest tech. Having said that, we are expecting more devices to join this exclusive club in the near future. This includes the new Motorola watches which might land in the coming weeks.
The other important Oppo Watch 3 upgrade is a boost in native storage. This has now been doubled to 32GB.
Sattelite connectivity is there, as before, but with the additions of QZSS and Beidou. The sensors are largely the same. Upgraded, of course, with new tech. The one health sensor addition is ECG on Oppo Watch 3 Pro.
One of the benefits of the new chipset is longer battery life. Oppo Watch 3 Pro can keep going for about 5 days with full usage or a day less with the LTE option. In light mode you can expect about 15 day. Oppo Watch 3 keeps going about the same as Watch 2 – around 4 days with full usage. The watch charge from zero to full in just over an hour.
Here’s a run-down of the similarities and differences in design and hardware.
The Chinese version of Oppo Watch runs on a ColourOS based on a combination of Android and RTOS. As before, the international version of the new watch is expected to run on Wear OS.
As mentioned, the one important activity tracking addition is the inclusion of an ECG sensor on the Gen 3 Pro model. An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a process for measuring heart activity and checking for any abnormalities.
The Oppo Watch 3 series also has other sensor improvements which should reflect in more accurate health and activity tracking. The watches are quite capable and come with more than 100 workouts modes, an accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, optical heart rate monitor, blood oxygen sensor and air pressure sensor.
Of course, all the activity tracking features of the second generation have been ported over. And they are quite comprehensive. The predecessor watch has received high marks from various review sites, and there’s no reason for this not to be the case with the new watch.
The satellite connectivity should also be slightly better now as the watch has the ability to tap into QZSS and Beidou. This can help fill gaps when other modes are struggling.
Other non fitness features that can be found on Oppo Watch include cellular connectivity for making calls when you are away from your phone. Certain variants of the watch have eSim functionality which allow owners to use the same number as the SIM card on their phone. If you don’t need that, save a few bucks and go for the WiFi-only model.
Outside of that the watches offer local storage for music, an NFC chip for contactless payments, text and calendar alerts and more. The storage memory has been doubled for Oppo Watch 3 which means more space for your tunes.
Oppo Watch 3 is an evolutionary upgrade on the second generation. If you’re in the market for a new watch it is clearly the one to go for. If you already have one of the predecessor generations, the boost in performance might be enough to prompt you to upgrade.
This main additions come in the form of the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip, double the storage memory and longer battery life. Other improvements come with upgraded sensors, better sattelite connectivity and the ECG sensor on the Watch 3 Pro model.
For now Gen 3 is only available for purchase in China. We will update this article when it is released to the global audience.
In that country Oppo Watch 3 starts at CNY 1,499 (around $220) in a choice between Platinum Black and Feather Gold. Watch 3 Pro starts at CNY 1,899 (around $280) in a choice between Platinum Black and Desert Brown. They are available to pre-order and will go on sale in China on August 19.
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