Oppo is now starting to support its market share with with accessories. Oppo Watch is also a leading product among these accessories. If you want a different option than what companies like Apple, Samsung, Huawei offer, but also care about design, you may be interested in the Oppo smartwatch, which has an unusual appearance for a watch with its curved screen. The Oppo Watch review includes the impressions and comments we got after a few days with this Wear OS smartwatch.

Design and Screen

The Oppo Watch doesn’t sound too foreign in appearance. There are some design lines inspired by Apple’s smartwatch. However, it differs from it with one particularly important point, which is the curved screen. The curved screen covering the front of the Oppo Watch curves towards both sides and carries a design we often see on smartphones to the smart watch. This curved structure makes things a little easier, especially in left-to-right or right-to-left drag. However, whether it have a negative effect on the durability of the watch is difficult to say after a few days of experience.

Oppo Watch has two different case options, 41mm and 46mm. We have a 46mm model in black color. It doesn’t take up too much space on the wrist, we can’t say it looks too big. However, it is not inferior to other high-end smart watches in terms of aesthetics. In fact, the day we wore this watch for the first time and went out, someone thought it was the new model of Apple Watch, which has not even been introduced yet.

As mentioned above, the model we have is 46mm. This has some differences compared to the other model with a 41mm body. Both of them have a manganese and silicon-added 6000 series aluminum alloy frame. Indeed, although the bezel of the watch feels a bit plastic, it looks just as solid and stylish. There is a material structure that we have not seen in smart watches before. The back is completed by a surface covered with ceramic. With a weight of 40 grams, the 46mm version of the Oppo Watch has a reasonable weight.

Design

There are two buttons on the right side of the clock. One of them is the menu button, the other can be set for quick access to any function or application. The bottom button is smaller than the other and it is easier to find manually with the help of the thin line on it. While there is a microphone between these two keys, there is a speaker on the opposite side. The sound output of the speaker is fine for a smartwatch. Using the Google Assistant or phone calls are handled well thanks to the microphone and speaker system.

The black colored Oppo Watch we have comes with a black colored rubber strap to complement it. The band has a slightly different buckle mechanism. At least until you get used to it, you should be careful while wearing the watch. Oppo has its own strap mechanism, which means that you cannot use commercially available straps or bands that can be used with different smart watches. The beauty of the mechanism is that the band can be easily removed and securely reinstalled.

More about design

The 41mm version of the Oppo Watch has a durability of up to 3 atmospheres and the 46mm version we have, up to 5 atmospheres. Apart from swimming in the pool, there is no option for swimming in open water. This situation brought us the question of whether the smart watch is suitable for sea use. However, we saw that there was no problem in this regard when we entered the sea at the last weekend. However, when you get out of the sea, it would be good to keep the watch in the water and remove the salt water without wasting much time. It would also be appropriate to open the swimming training while swimming. In this way, you can both measure the time you spend at sea and be sure that the water lock of the watch is active.

Screen

The curved screen we mentioned above is 1.91 inches from corner to corner. With a resolution of 402 x 476 pixels, it offers a pixel density of 326 ppi, and the AMOLED display provides extremely high sharpness and clarity for a smartwatch. Thanks to its high brightness, it is possible to see the screen comfortably under bright sunlight. Black color depth is high. Colors look vibrant and eye-catching. This further increases the visual quality and enjoyment of the device.

Thanks to the physical control mechanisms, navigating the user interface becomes easier and more practical. Honestly, we don’t prefer to drag on the touchscreen while navigating the smartwatch’s menu. The only method that can be used in the Oppo Watch is touchscreen. Fortunately, the screen is big enough. At the same time, the surface is smooth, your fingertip flows easily on the watch’s screen, and navigation is smooth.

The top of the screen is covered with a special glass called Schott Glass on the 46mm model. It is not known what happens during long-term use, but be careful not to carry this watch with other objects in the bag. Otherwise, you may see minor scratches when you keep the watch in bright light. On the plastic and ceramic-coated back, the watch has connection points for the heart rate sensor and charging adapter.

Performance and Battery

Oppo’s smartwatch features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset exclusive to smartwatches. It also has the Ambiq Apollo 3 chipset that helps save battery. The use of the watch is mostly based on the Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform. This platform is two years old; the Snapdragon Wear 4100 was released in the first half of this year. However, since the latest platform was the 3100 at the time the watch was introduced, Oppo seems to have had to make its choice since.

Wear OS has a structure that cares more about the amount of RAM than the chipset in terms of design. At this point, 1 GB of RAM seems important and valuable. Combined with Qualcomm’s high-performance chipset, the Oppo Watch offers a highly fluid and fast experience. As we mentioned above, fast navigation is provided by touching and dragging on the touch screen, responses to touches are quick. The screen wakes up the moment you lift your wrist, offering an experience equivalent to that of a normal watch here. The Oppo Watch has 8 GB of RAM. This provides the users with enough environment for applications and music files that you will upload to the watch.

One price for the high performance in the Oppo Watch is battery life. The battery with a capacity of 430 mAh can take up about a day in normal intensity use. If you rarely use the watch, just open the screen to see what time it is or notifications, you can increase this time to the 36 hours Oppo claims. So, in general, you have to charge the smartwatch at bedtime every night.

Oppo Watch: Battery

If battery life is important to you, you can turn on Power Saving mode. If you turn it on, you will reach a battery life of up to 20 days, Oppo claims. We did not have enough time to validate this claim. However, after the battery level of the watch goes below a certain point, the power saving mode automatically turns on. In this way, we can say that the use of the watch is a little longer than normal. In this mode, only information such as time display, number of steps taken and heart rate and simple notifications are displayed on the screen.

Oppo’s fast charging technology called VOOC Flash makes charging a little faster. If you have an Oppo branded smartwatch, you can fully charge it in under an hour with its VOOC-powered charging adapter. Of course, you have to connect the charging adapter to the special charging accessory that comes out of the Oppo Watch’s box.

Of course, the battery comments we mentioned above apply to the 46mm version. The 41mm version comes with a smaller capacity battery such as 300 mAh. Its battery life may be slightly lower, but a small screen will also reduce the power requirement to a certain extent.

Healthy Lifestyle and Exercise

Like most smartwatches, health and exercise are one of the focus points of Oppo Watch. First, the watch has a continuously working heart rate meter. Your heart rate is constantly monitored and recorded. A warning is sent to you when an unusual or high value is recorded. Thanks to the built-in GPS, you can keep track of your jogs and walks outside, even without a connected smartphone.

You can take advantage of both Google’s offerings with Wear OS and Oppo’s own solutions for exercise options. Google Fit brings many workout tracking options, it can also record sports activities. Different types of training, from horseback riding to frisbee, are offered in the Google Fit exercise app.

If these are not enough for you, you can use Oppo’s 5-minute exercises app. There are 5 exercises in this application: Morning Energy Exercise, Get Active, Full Body Exercise, Fat Burner, Before Sleep. If you feel reluctant to do sports and do not know what movements to do, this application is very useful. Thanks to these, the Oppo Watch turns into a useful exercise trainer. With the videos shown on the screen, you are shown directions during the exercise, you feel as if there is a real fitness trainer with you.

Exercise

Let’s not forget that the accuracy of the Oppo Watch’s heart rate meter and pedometer is also high. Of course, there is a difference compared to devices that focus on doing these things, but the idea of ​​the watch won’t be far from the truth.

Another feature of Oppo’s smartwatch is that it offers sleep tracking functionality. If you wear the watch at night, you can see the light and deep sleep intervals. We see that the watch also performs well in measuring these. Interestingly, sleep tracking only works between 8 pm and 10 am.

One of the features you will benefit from while doing sports is to answer incoming calls directly from the watch. The loudness of the speaker helps you hear the other side sufficiently. The microphone will also ensure that your voice goes to the other party clearly. Sure, it’s not useful for hours-long phone calls, but for short calls there won’t be any problems.

Oppo Watch: Software

Oppo offers the same Color OS customization on the watch as it offers on smartphones. Thanks to these clever customizations, the user interface becomes even richer.

The notification panel you access when you drag it from the bottom to the middle of the screen on the watch face contains the color scheme and fonts on Oppo’s smartphones. A similar comment can be made for the appearance of the application menu, which you will access when you press the upper button on the right of the clock. Instead of displaying the applications as a list, we see a menu design in which the icons are arranged in a 3 x 3 matrix. It is very unlikely that you will have trouble understanding what they are because they do not have names underneath, because the shapes allow you to easily understand which application they belong to.

Since it is a Wear OS watch, you can install smartwatch apps that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store on the Oppo Watch. The built-in Google Play application allows direct application to the watch. You can also download various watch faces from this store. There are a variety of watch faces that Oppo also offers. You can also add them to your watch via the HeyTap Health app or make changes from there.

The Oppo Watch is also useful in checking the media playing on the connected phone. Whether it’s a YouTube video or a track on Spotify, without touching your phone, you can pause, resume, switch and even adjust the volume on your smartwatch.

Oppo Watch: In Brief

Although Oppo Watch does not look very unusual with its design, it manages to create its own unique feature by successfully applying the curved screen we know from smartphones. It is clear that the selected materials have been worked on and their application has been successfully implemented. The Oppo Watch is definitely not a simple watch, in terms of quality and design, it is at the level of its competitors such as Apple, Samsung, Huawei.

Its AMOLED screen excels in brightness, vibrant colors and the visual quality expected of an hour. It does not contain physical controls that we find especially useful in smart watches. Despite this, it is well managed with its touch screen. We can say that its speaker and microphone are more than enough for a smart watch. Although the Snapdragon Wear 3100 is no longer the last generation, it allows the smartwatch to function smoothly without being stuck.

Conclusion

Being loaded with Wear OS makes the Oppo Watch even more meaningful. Oppo has successfully applied its customizations to Google’s wearable product platform. It makes a difference with its custom watch faces, application menu layout and applications. Especially the 5-minute exercise application is useful and will be very useful for those who have trouble doing sports and who are not motivated. Sensors such as the heart rate meter and pedometer also work well. As a result, Oppo Watch will be a good friend for those who want to live a healthy life or want to lose weight.

Battery life seems to be the weakest link of the Oppo Watch. If you use the watch extensively, the probability of removing a day from morning to evening will be very low. At this point, Oppo closes the gap in two ways. With the VOOC Flash Charge supported charging accessory and the appropriate adapter, you can charge the watch in under an hour. Second, if you want to take advantage of more clock functions and step count, you can use the watch in Power Save mode. Regardless, we can say that the watch will take off from morning to night for most users. Of course, if you are going to use the sleep feature continuously, it is a good idea to charge the watch for an hour before going to bed and start using it that way.