OnePlus is giving customers exactly what they’ve been asking for: a smaller version of its Watch 3 smartwatch. With a 43mm body, the smaller Watch 3 will be better for those with smaller wrists than the versatile 46mm model that launched last year to generally high reviews.
The OnePlus Watch 43mm will launch next month, on July 8, in the US and Canada, but the company has not yet announced the price. With a smaller 1.32-inch display, we expect the slimmer smartwatch to cost less than the $350 46mm model.
Otherwise, the OnePlus Watch 43mm is just a smaller version that is also thinner and lighter. OnePlus hasn’t shared the full specifications yet, but here’s what we know so far. It has a stainless steel case (available in black and silver), two buttons (including a crown that will hopefully do something other than serve as a fidget spinner), and a “real-time barometer” that OnePlus says can “assess your body’s fatigue levels every 30 minutes, and consequently how that is reflected in your mental state.” The smartwatch also has a stress tracking function with insights.
The best feature of the OnePlus Watch 3 46mm is definitely its long battery life, which can last up to three days or up to 16 days with the Power Save mode enabled. OnePlus has achieved this with a unique dual-chipset design that uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip for most WearOS operations and a less powerful BES 2800 chip to support long standby times and background activities. Fingers crossed that the 43mm model will also last a long time, although its physically smaller design may mean less room for a battery or no room for two chipsets. I guess we’ll find out next month.
In addition to the Watch 3 43mm, OnePlus also announced the new OnePlus Buds 4 wireless headphones. These active noise cancellation (ANC) headphones will be released on the same day next month and, according to the company, feature “flagship-level reference sound quality,” “class-leading high-definition audio and LHDC 5.0,” and “immersive 3D spatial audio.” Other improvements include better noise cancellation during voice calls and a new “adaptive mode” that automatically switches between ANC and transparency modes. I keep thinking that ANC wireless headphones can’t get any better, but these incremental improvements show that they still have room to grow, so it’s all good! The price should be similar to the OnePlus Buds 3, which cost $100.
