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 enormous, a two-horse race between Samsung and Google. So I used to be notably excited for the arrival of the OnePlus Watch 2 as a possible contender for the greatest Put on OS watch crown.

Regardless of its limitations, the watch is setting a brand new benchmark relating to battery life, modern dual-OS tech, and, arguably, design. Extra importantly, the broader availability of this watch could 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 optimistic, 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 discuss with my colleague Kaitlyn’s glorious OnePlus Watch 2 overview 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 when it comes to 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 properly over two days of energetic use, together with an hour or two of exercise monitoring each day and GPS-enabled outside 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 a giant 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 providers, higher watch faces, integration with Google’s calendar and mail apps, and extra. In the event you desire 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 trustworthy: I’ve by no means been the most important Put on OS fan. My final long-term expertise with the working system was on the OPPO Watch again in 2020. Rather a lot 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 method 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 overview, the app is simply too simplistic and lacks the granular metrics that I’ve come to count on from my Apple Watch Extremely or Garmin.

Including insult to harm is the truth that well being monitoring isn’t good both. Step counts are typically inconsistent and I’ve no religion within the calorie burn info. Google may remedy 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 straightforward. Sure, I’m conscious of Well being Join however your entire course of is extremely hit and miss, and infrequently does all the info switch to Google Match. I additionally use Strava as my operating information aggregator of alternative. Since neither Well being Join nor OHealth have hooks into Strava, I rely on Strava’s integration with Google Match to drag information. The issue right here is that, as soon as once more, not all metrics are transferred throughout the board. Evaluate that with my Apple Watch Extremely, the place each time I end a exercise, the info is seamlessly transferred to Strava. I actually shouldn’t want three totally different well being apps on my telephone to entry my exercise information.

In truth, I’d have anticipated Google to leverage Fitbit’s glorious information algorithms to create a standardized health API that any app may faucet into and get seamlessly dependable information. Not solely would this enhance the health capabilities of smartwatches throughout the board, however it could 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 don’t have 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 providers 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 totally functioning model for the Apple Watch. Equally, I’m a fan of Shelly’s sensible dwelling units. The corporate has launched an Apple Watch app however has no such different for Put on OS. Positive, Put on OS’ restricted person base leaves little incentive for manufacturers to spend money on apps for the platform. However that hen and egg drawback, 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 among the best examples of Put on OS smartwatches. Sure, it’s massive, however I can be taught to reside with the gargantuan dimension merely due to the great battery life it provides. 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 current Put on OS announcement, just like the hybrid interface that debuted on the OnePlus Watch 2, it’s clear that much more wants to vary to make Put on OS a formidable Apple Watch different.