An important smartwatch, held again by Google’s shortcomings

Competitors breeds innovation, however saying that the Android smartwatch market has stagnated can be an understatement. Between Fossil exiting the sport and restricted choices from the likes of Mobvoi, the Android smartwatch market is, by and huge, a two-horse race between Samsung and Google. So I used to be significantly excited for the arrival of the OnePlus Watch 2 as a possible contender for the finest Put on OS watch crown.

Regardless of its limitations, the watch is setting a brand new benchmark relating to battery life, revolutionary dual-OS tech, and, arguably, design. Extra importantly, the broader availability of this watch may be very interesting.

Nevertheless, regardless of all its positives, the OnePlus Watch 2 shouldn’t be good. I switched from an Apple Watch Extremely a couple of month in the past and, whereas my expertise has been largely constructive, I imagine the OnePlus Watch 2 is an exceptional piece of {hardware} that’s being held again by Google’s noncommittal method to Put on OS. Right here’s why.

I’m not about to summarise all the things I like about this smartwatch; you may confer with my colleague Kaitlyn’s wonderful OnePlus Watch 2 evaluation for that. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that OnePlus has made a whole turnabout with this new watch. Whereas the corporate’s first outing nailed the design, it lacked by way of precise smarts. The Watch 2 manages to excel with its distinctive construct high quality — regardless of the non-functional, albeit aesthetic, crown. It additionally has an infinite battery that genuinely lasts me nicely over two days of energetic use, together with an hour or two of exercise monitoring day by day and GPS-enabled out of doors runs. Elsewhere, the health metrics aren’t good however adequate for informal use, and the sleep monitoring is on level.

Most significantly, the OnePlus Watch 2 launches with Put on OS 4 out of the field. And that’s an enormous win for OnePlus at a time when choices operating Google’s newest wearable working system are astonishingly skinny. It brings compatibility with a variety of apps and companies, higher watch faces, integration with Google’s calendar and mail apps, and extra. When you favor voice-based interactions, that’s represented too.

Nevertheless, probably the most vital benefit of the OnePlus Watch 2 can also be its crutch. I’ll be sincere: I’ve by no means been the largest Put on OS fan. My final long-term expertise with the working system was on the OPPO Watch again in 2020. Quite a bit has modified since then. What hasn’t, although, is the solely disjointed expertise of utilizing a Put on OS watch.

Well being and health are important to me, however years down the road, Put on OS nonetheless has no standardized manner of dealing with health monitoring. On the OnePlus Watch 2, the OHealth app is the first technique of monitoring health. Sadly, as we explored in our evaluation, the app is just too simplistic and lacks the granular metrics that I’ve come to anticipate from my Apple Watch Extremely or Garmin.

Including insult to damage is the truth that well being monitoring isn’t good both. Step counts are usually inconsistent and I’ve no religion within the calorie burn info. Google might clear up this by providing a standardized well being API that different apps can use to customise the interface expertise, however that isn’t the case right here. The Apple Watch does it; why can’t Google?

On the purpose of well being monitoring, getting information out of the watch isn’t simple. Sure, I’m conscious of Well being Join however your complete course of is extremely hit and miss, and barely does all the information switch to Google Match. I additionally use Strava as my operating information aggregator of selection. Since neither Well being Join nor OHealth have hooks into Strava, I depend upon Strava’s integration with Google Match to tug information. The issue right here is that, as soon as once more, not all metrics are transferred throughout the board. Examine that with my Apple Watch Extremely, the place each time I end a exercise, the information is seamlessly transferred to Strava. I actually shouldn’t want three completely different well being apps on my cellphone to entry my exercise information.

In reality, I’d have anticipated Google to leverage Fitbit’s wonderful information algorithms to create a standardized health API that any app might faucet into and get seamlessly dependable information. Not solely would this enhance the health capabilities of smartwatches throughout the board, however it might additionally create a uniform baseline throughout smartwatch manufacturers. Because it stands, if I change from a Galaxy Watch to a OnePlus Watch or, maybe, a Pixel Watch, the health information algorithms haven’t any correlation in any respect.

The opposite huge concern I’ve noticed is the standard of apps. Coming again to Put on OS after a few years, it’s fairly disheartening to see that the standard of apps and companies on the Play Retailer hasn’t improved all that a lot. For instance, my favourite intermittent fasting app, Zero, nonetheless isn’t out there on Put on OS regardless of having a completely functioning model for the Apple Watch. Equally, I’m keen on Shelly’s good house units. The corporate has launched an Apple Watch app however has no such different for Put on OS. Certain, Put on OS’ restricted person base leaves little incentive for manufacturers to spend money on apps for the platform. However that rooster and egg downside, too, is wholly of Google’s doing.

Be it Google’s perpetual rebranding cycle, the snail-like tempo of releasing updates, or software program exclusivity with Samsung that limits choices — the very factor that makes Android merchandise so thrilling — Google has clearly handled Put on OS as a second-class citizen. The truth that fundamentals like public transit navigation are solely now coming to Put on OS, and necessities like offline maps stay lacking boggles the thoughts.

There’s little doubt in my thoughts that OnePlus has constructed probably the greatest examples of Put on OS smartwatches. Sure, it’s massive, however I can study to stay with the gargantuan measurement merely due to the super battery life it presents. However all these {hardware} efforts are being let down by the lackluster software program powering the present. Whereas there are indicators that Google is lastly beginning to flip the ship round with its latest Put on OS announcement, just like the hybrid interface that debuted on the OnePlus Watch 2, it’s clear that much more wants to alter to make Put on OS a formidable Apple Watch different.