The cheaper OnePlus Watch 2 may be identical on the inside

Summary

• The OnePlus Watch 2R is rumored to have similar specs as the Watch 2, including dual chipsets, a 1.43-inch AMOLED display, and 2GB RAM.
• The Watch 2R may have an aluminum chassis instead of stainless steel but could retain an IP68 rating and 5ATM water resistance.
• It should provide up to 100 hours of battery life and support VOOC charging.

Despite packing slick hardware and decent battery life, the first OnePlus Watch was a disaster. Its proprietary OS was no good, with other aspects of the watch also being equally underwhelming. The company made a solid comeback for the segment with the OnePlus Watch 2 earlier this year, delivering multi-day battery life with all bells and whistles enabled and running Wear OS 4. Rumors suggest that OnePlus could announce a cheaper OnePlus Watch 2R at its July 16 event. Spoiling the company’s surprise, a leak has detailed the watch’s full specs.

Leaked renders have already showcased the OnePlus Watch 2R’s design, indicating that the smartwatch could sacrifice its more premium design for a lower price tag. Thankfully, it appears OnePlus won’t be making any compromises with the smartwatch’s internals.

Leaker Ishan Agarwal has shared the alleged specs of the OnePlus Watch 2R, confirming it will pack almost the same specs as its more expensive sibling. This includes dual chipsets comprising the Snapdragon W5 and the BES2700, a 1.43-inch circular AMOLED display with 1,000 nits of peak brightness, and 2GB RAM with 32GB storage. Purportedly, the watch will sport a “lighter chassis,” which could mean that OnePlus will swap the stainless steel body with an aluminum one.

Despite the aluminum casing, the Watch 2R will seemingly retain an IP68 rating with 5ATM water resistance.

While the leak does not mention the battery capacity, it should not differ from the OnePlus Watch 2. Plus, Ishan claims the OnePlus Watch 2R will provide up to 100 hours of battery life and support VOOC charging, like OnePlus’ current flagship smartwatch.

The leaked specs should not be surprising since the OnePlus Watch 2R is already available in China. But it again reaffirms that OnePlus won’t make any internal compromises with its next smartwatch to achieve a lower price point.

OnePlus’ third smartwatch could be another winner

From everything we have seen about the OnePlus Watch 2R so far, it appears to be a cheaper variant of the $300 OnePlus Watch 2. If priced right, OnePlus should have another winner on its hand, especially since the Watch 2 is already so good to begin with.

Given the smartwatch’s China pricing, a $250 price tag sounds probable. But OnePlus could surprise with a lower price for the Watch 2R. This would help the company compete with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and other popular Android smartwatches.