OnePlus Watch 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: a close call

If there’s one thing that stands out about the OnePlus Watch 2, it’s the design. OnePlus has hit the right notes in producing a smartwatch that looks “smart” in the fashion sense rather than merely the technological one.

The stainless steel body and sapphire crystal give the OnePlus wearable both flair and durability. The Radiant Steel version is polished and shiny, while the Black Steel is darker and slightly more matte without losing its reflectivity.

This adds up to a noticeably classier look compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6, which, although it features a very similar design, has a more utilitarian aesthetic with its matte aluminum finish. There’s also a rotating crown here to contribute to that look, but sadly, it’s almost entirely decorative. In an altogether baffling design decision, OnePlus chose to make it spin without actually having it do anything, making it little more than an ornamental button.

The OnePlus Watch 2 packs in a 1.43-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 466 x 466. That works out to a density of 326 pixels per inch (ppi), and even though that falls short of Samsung’s 453 ppi, OnePlus still manages to keep everything looking remarkably crisp and vibrant.

However, Samsung still edges it out not only in pixel density, but also in brightness: the Galaxy Watch 6 can now hit 2,000 nits compared to 600 on the OnePlus Watch 2. That’s a significant difference on paper, but it’s worth mentioning that we never had an issue seeing the OnePlus Watch 2 outdoors in bright sunlight. The Galaxy Watch 6 may do better when the sun is bearing right down on it, but the OnePlus Watch 2 is no slouch.

The Galaxy Watch 6 also offers a slightly larger screen in a smaller casing thanks to thinner bezels; the 44mm model features a 1.53-inch screen, while the screen on the 40mm model measures 1.3 inches, and both feature the same higher pixel density.

These are small differences, and we don’t think anybody will be disappointed with the display on the OnePlus Watch 2, but the Galaxy Watch 6 still edges it out with its brighter screen and better use of space on the frontage.

Winner: Galaxy Watch 6

The OnePlus Watch 2 has been a refreshing change from its predecessor, as it has mostly ditched the proprietary RTOS operating system and joining the brotherhood of Wear OS smartwatches.

Specifically, the OnePlus Watch 2 runs Wear OS 4, and it runs pretty much like any other smartwatch in that regard. Sadly, OnePlus’ implementation isn’t without its quirks, not the least of which is the awkwardly useless rotating crown we mentioned earlier. Navigating the OnePlus Watch 2 will require you to resort to swiping on the touchscreen to get around. You still need to press the crown button to view all your apps, but rotating it doesn’t do what you might expect, which is to say, anything at all.

OnePlus’ phones have always been leaders when it comes to battery life and charging performance, and as we’ve already touched on in previous sections, the company has brought some of those same qualities to its second-generation wearable.

The OnePlus Watch 2 packs in a 500mAh battery that boasts up to 100 hours of battery life in “Smart Mode.” The company describes this as using an officially supported watch face with the always-on display turned off, the default health monitoring configuration, a persistent Bluetooth mobile phone connection with less than one hour per day of standalone Wi-Fi usage, 6.5 hours of sleep monitoring per night, 30 minutes of outdoor running per day, 130 notifications, five minutes of Bluetooth calling, and 15 minutes of headset listening on Spotify per day.

Other than leaving the always-on display off, that’s a reasonably generous usage model. While 100 hours between charges seems unbelievable, it might not be far off. In practical terms, most folks should easily be able to get three full days of battery life without disabling the always-on display.

In our testing, the OnePlus Watch 2 still had 13% battery life after more than 61 hours of constant use, including overnight sleep tracking, outdoor walks, and a steady stream of notifications, all with the always-on display enabled the whole time.

For some context, OnePlus also lists a “heavy use” model that promises 48 hours of battery life. This includes leaving the always-on display enabled and operating with a third-party watch face that requires the more power-hungry Snapdragon W5 performance chipset to be engaged. This also factors in two hours per day of Wi-Fi usage, plus more notifications, increased screen time, 30 minutes per day of outdoor running with the GPS enabled, and 30 minutes of listening to Spotify over Bluetooth.

In either case, that’s incredible battery life by Wear OS standards. However, OnePlus has taken things one step further with a Power Saver mode that promises up to 12 days between charges. As we mentioned earlier, this mode switches off the Wear OS features, so you’ll only be able to use the built-in apps. However, you can still use it for 90 minutes of outdoor exercise per week and continue to receive alarms, calls, and notifications on your wrist.

Although Samsung improved the battery life of the Galaxy Watch 6 over its predecessor, it still can’t hold a candle to what OnePlus is offering here. Samsung promises 40 to 50 hours of use per charge, but in our experience, you’ll likely need to hit the charger after two full days if you use the sleep-tracking features. You can squeeze a bit more out of the Galaxy Watch 6 by turning off higher-power features like the always-on display, but there’s no equivalent to OnePlus’ Power Saver mode here.

Both watches are more on par when it comes to charging. The OnePlus Watch 2 features 7.5-watt fast charging that can deliver 24 hours of power after a 10-minute charge and top it up to 100% in 60 minutes. We found it could go from 13% to 75% in about 20 minutes. The charging puck also has a thoughtful design, with a detachable USB-C cable that makes it much nicer for travelers.

By comparison, the Galaxy Watch 6 uses a 10-watt charger that doesn’t noticeably charge the wearable faster. You’ll get up to 45% after about 30 minutes, but it takes a little over an hour to reach a full charge.

Basically, you’ll be able to charge up both watches in about the same amount of time, but the outstanding battery life on the OnePlus Watch 2 means you won’t need to it nearly as often.

Winner: OnePlus Watch 2

If there’s one area the OnePlus Watch 2 really falls behind against its competitors it’s in the health and fitness features. Although the wearable offers all the tools you’d expect — including heart rate and activity tracking, stress monitoring, sleep tracking, and even a blood oxygen sensor — we found that it suffers from some potentially serious inaccuracies and a few other odd quirks.

The health features work well enough at a basic level, with a Daily Activity app on the Watch 2 joined by OnePlus’ OHealth app on your smartphone. Checking data and starting workouts is intuitive, and some types of workouts even offer customized views to help you keep a close eye on the appropriate metrics.

The health apps don’t offer much in the way of frills. You won’t see awards, challenges, guided meditations, or social features, but they get the job done — or at least they should.

The OnePlus Watch 2 can be purchased for $300 from Amazon or directly from the OnePlus website. When ordering from OnePlus, you can get a discount of $50 or more by trading in any watch — not just a smartwatch — in any condition. The OnePlus Watch 2 comes in Radiant Steel with a green/blue watch band or Black Steel with a black watch band.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 starts at the same $300 price for the 40mm model or $330 for the 44mm model. Adding 4G/LTE connectivity will add $50 to each of those prices. Unlike the OnePlus Watch 2, you’ll be able to find the Galaxy Watch 6 at most major retailers, both online and offline, though you’re more likely to be able to pick up the 4G/LTE versions from your carrier (possibly on a promo).

Color options are a bit trickier with the Galaxy Watch 6, as graphite is the only color available in both sizes. Those who prefer gold will have to opt for the 40mm Watch 6, while silver is exclusive to the 44mm version. The Galaxy Watch 6 is packaged with a matching sport band at most retailers, although multiple band options are available when ordering directly from Samsung.

As we noted in our review, the OnePlus Watch 2 is a strange mixed bag of great successes and perplexing shortcomings. It was a tough smartwatch to review, and it’s an even harder one to recommend.

There’s a solid list of things that OnePlus got right here, including an excellent design with premium materials, insanely great battery life, and top-tier performance. That may be a short list, but it’s an impressive one.

On the other hand, it falls short in so many other areas, including weak and inaccurate health features, slightly quirky software, and a poor collection of watch faces. The non-functioning crown may not sound like a serious problem on its own, but it makes the entire user experience feel just a little off.

Like OnePlus’ smartphone lineup, perhaps the OnePlus Watch 2 should be seen as catering to a specific type of “enthusiast” customer. In this case, that would be someone who values style and long battery life over health and fitness features. If that’s you, the OnePlus Watch 2 isn’t a bad way to spend $300, as long as you’re going into it with your eyes open.

However, we think most folks will be far better served by the Galaxy Watch 6. Samsung’s One UI software platform has had time to get much more mature and polished, and while its designs may be more pedestrian, they’re still stylish, and you get two different sizes to choose from. Samsung’s Health features are miles ahead of what OnePlus is offering, and the battery life is more than adequate for most folks.

Editors’ Recommendations