OnePlus is working on a mystery smartwatch that probably isn’t the Watch 3

Summary

• Certification sites have revealed a mystery OnePlus Watch variant with model number OPWWE234, suggesting it’s related to the OnePlus Watch 2.
• This smartwatch is also shown to be carrying a 500mAh battery, the same as the OnePlus Watch 2.
• It’s unlikely that this is the OnePlus Watch 3, given that the second-gen OnePlus Watch only made its debut some months ago.

The first OnePlus smartwatch broke cover in mid-2021 but failed to impress. The company made some amends with the OnePlus Watch 2 this February, thanks to a combination of its dual-OS system and decent hardware. It now looks like the manufacturer is readying yet another smartwatch, at least according to entries on two separate certification pages.

Screenshots from the databases of India’s BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) and TÜV Rheinland provide a couple of tidbits about this mystery OnePlus Watch variant. First things first, this smartwatch features the model number OPWWE234, according to 91Mobiles, who dug up screenshots from the aforementioned certification authorities. For comparison’s sake, the OnePlus Watch 2 carries the model number OPWWE231.

While the BIS certification revealed the model number of this unknown OnePlus Watch variant, the TÜV Rheinland page goes a step further and lists a battery capacity of 500mAh for the wearable — the same as the OnePlus Watch 2. Unfortunately, the rest of the smartwatch’s hardware attributes are shrouded in mystery.

This most likely isn’t the OnePlus Watch 3

Screenshots from the BIS and TÜV Rheinland pages

While this newly appeared model number is similar to the OnePlus Watch 2, it’s most likely not the OnePlus Watch 3, contrary to what the source suggests. It’s only been under four months since the OnePlus Watch 2 broke cover, and it arrived nearly three years after the launch of the first-gen OnePlus Watch. With this in mind, it’s not a stretch to say that OnePlus isn’t in a rush to release the third-gen model.

Furthermore, it also contradicts recent reporting that suggested OnePlus has delayed the launch of the OnePlus Watch 3 and the OnePlus Pad 2. However, the sources didn’t provide any specific reasons for the delay at the time, nor did they reveal an updated launch timeline. So it’s clear that there are a lot of unknowns about this newly surfaced smartwatch, leaving us with more questions than answers right now.

Since the model number revealed by this leak is somewhat similar to that of the OnePlus Watch 2, it’s possible that this is a cheaper alternative with some hardware compromises to keep the price low. The OnePlus Watch 2 came with a $300 price tag, so maybe OnePlus wants to release a cheaper version for roughly half the price. We know that Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Watch FE later this month, so there’s certainly a market for budget and midrange smartwatches.