Why This Year-old Android Smartwatch Is Still A Prime Option For Most People (and It Looks Great)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The OnePlus Watch 2R usually retails for $230 and is disposable successful Forest Green and Gunmetal Gray.
• It has beautiful overmuch everything you look for successful a smartwatch: multi-day artillery life, fittingness search features, and a vivid display.
• However, it lacks important cardinal fittingness metrics, it isn't arsenic durable arsenic I'd like, and OnePlus doesn't connection an LTE option.

This budget-friendly wearable has go moreover cheaper. For a constricted time, nan OnePlus Watch 2R is connected waste for conscionable $230 connected nan company's integer store.

If there's 1 area of user tech that's ne'er boring, it's smartwatches. Everyone wants a portion of nan market, from Apple to Samsung, and they'll spell to awesome lengths to get it. Lately, however, OnePlus has asserted itself arsenic a marque tin of making a coagulated product, arsenic seen pinch nan awesome OnePlus Watch 3 that launched not excessively agelong ago.

Also: One of nan lightest sports watches I've tested doesn't sacrifice features for build

But don't hide astir nan 2nd wearable successful its lineup, nan OnePlus Watch 2R. It usually costs $229 and offers a astir identical acquisition to nan OnePlus flagship watch, pinch a fewer features near connected nan chopping artifact to little nan price.

Those features see EKG support and menstrual rhythm tracking, and if they're important to you, you'll want to opt for nan modular Watch 2. But if you only request a coagulated smartwatch to brace pinch your Android phone, you can't spell incorrect pinch nan Watch 2R.

From nan outside, nan OnePlus Watch 2R and nan older Watch 2 are almost identical, minus nan glossy decorativeness and "flat tire" connected nan correct broadside of nan 2R. The watch has a azygous lawsuit size: 46mm, nan aforesaid size arsenic nan Watch 2. It's besides made of lighter aluminum alloy alternatively than stainless steel.

Overall, it's a slim, good-looking watch, and its lightweight assemblage makes it easy to hide aft you strap it on. The only rumor immoderate mightiness person is nan lawsuit size since it's rather large for those pinch smaller wrists. You besides only get 2 colour choices: matte black/gray (with a achromatic band) aliases metallic (with a greenish band). There are nary golden aliases bluish options here, truthful you'll person to settee for subtlety.

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The 2R features a 1.43-inch AMOLED show that's not nan astir awesome smartwatch surface I've ever seen, but is perfectly capable fixed nan value point. Thanks to nan 466x466 resolution, it tin get up to 1,000 nits bright, and everything from colors to opposition is connected point. 

Also: Forget Samsung S25 Ultra: The OnePlus 15 mightiness beryllium nan Android telephone to hit successful 2025

Once you've paired nan Watch 2R pinch your Android telephone of prime (no iOS support here, by nan way), you'll beryllium successful nan world of Wear OS 4.0. OnePlus hasn't made a ton of changes to nan strategy arsenic Samsung did pinch its statement of Galaxy watches, but it did load nan wearable pinch a bunch of civilization watch faces, immoderate UI elements, and a fewer first-party apps.

Max Buondonno/ZDNET

Every clip I travel backmost to cheque retired Wear OS, I'm happy to study that it's successful a really bully state. It whitethorn not beryllium arsenic silky soft arsenic Apple's WatchOS, but functionally speaking, it's conscionable arsenic capable. You tin quickly glimpse astatine fittingness trends and almanac appointments pinch nan Tiles interface, and location are a ton of different apps disposable done nan Play Store. It's nan champion type of Wear OS yet.

It besides performs well. The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 spot wrong is accelerated and efficient, and I haven't knowledgeable immoderate important slowdowns while testing nan Watch 2R. It's been capable to grip everything from switching betwixt apps to managing notifications without a hiccup. 

Also: Own a Google Pixel Watch? 7 hidden features you should return advantage of (and wherever to find them)

We noted that nan OnePlus Watch 2 past year set a caller standard for Wear OS watches pinch its artillery life, which could easy past 2 to 3 days acknowledgment to its unsocial attack to processing powerfulness (and nan Watch 3 is moreover better), combining a accepted Snapdragon spot pinch a co-processor for handling smaller tasks that drew acold little power. The Watch 2R takes nan aforesaid attack and, together pinch a 500mAh cell, lasts up to 3 days connected a azygous charge. 

Max Buondonno/ZDNET

I'm impressed that OnePlus has pulled disconnected specified unthinkable artillery life connected a 2nd smartwatch. Plus, erstwhile it's clip to recharge, it only takes astir an hr to spell from zero to 100% pinch nan included charging puck. With immoderate smartwatch, you'll astir apt want to way your fittingness progress. Unfortunately, if you're a superior fittingness buff aliases personification who pays adjacent attraction to wellness metrics, you mightiness find nan Watch 2R lacking.

Also: My 30-second Samsung watch regular keeps nan strategy moving for illustration caller (and it useful connected astir models)

The Watch 2R doesn't person EKG support, menstrual rhythm tracking, a tegument somesthesia sensor, aliases a fleshed-out wellness search app. OHealth is bully for basal stats, but its charts and graphs are basal and don't proactively springiness you insights into whether you're progressing successful your semipermanent goals.

Max Buondonno/ZDNET

Granted, OnePlus has improved nan accuracy of different sensors for illustration nan bosom complaint sensor, GPS, and Sp02 sensor for humor oxygen monitoring, which is great. Still, nan acquisition feels underwhelming compared to nan Galaxy Watch 7 aliases Pixel Watch 3. Instead, nan Watch 2R is overmuch friendlier to those who are conscionable starting their fittingness journey.

While we're talking astir nan phone's downsides, I've noticed nan dip successful durability. The 2R doesn't travel pinch nan aforesaid military-grade driblet protection, and it lacks nan aforesaid sapphire solid atop nan display. Luckily, it still has 5ATM h2o resistance, which intends it'll beryllium good astatine depths of up to 50 meters. Just don't spell deep-sea diving pinch it.

Also: Samsung's newest Galaxy Watch 8 sewage maine moving again (and it's already connected sale)

Lastly, nan truth that you can't adhd an LTE scheme to nan watch is simply a small disappointing. I understand this mightiness not matter to a batch of folks, but I thin to do a batch of worldly without my phone, and I admit nan expertise to get notifications and calls correct connected my wrist.

ZDNET's buying advice

If you're looking for a accelerated smartwatch pinch awesome artillery life but don't request a agelong database of precocious fittingness metrics, nan OnePlus Watch 2R is 1 of your champion options.

Unless you require a classier design, thing smaller, aliases LTE, nan Watch 2R will apt screen each of your bases. Because of its clear group of usage cases, however, it's 1 of nan easiest Wear OS watches to recommend.

Looking for nan adjacent champion product? Get master reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.  

This article was primitively published connected August 1, 2024, and was updated connected June 8, 2025.