- OnePlus released its new Wear OS Watch 3 in February
- It’s big and heavy, and there’s no LTE option in most markets
- The company has confirmed it’s looking to add a new size and LTE model this year
Just days after the OnePlus Watch 3 was released, OnePlus has confirmed that its new battery-life beast will get an upgrade later this year to fix three of its biggest flaws.
As we noted in our OnePlus Watch 3 review, the new wearable boasts the best Wear OS battery life of any of the best Android smartwatches on the market. It comes with OnePlus’ classic design language, new health features, and all the Google third-party apps you’d expect from a Wear OS smartwatch. However, it’s also quite large and heavy, and there’s no LTE option for cellular connectivity outside of China.
Now, the company has confirmed that all three of those issues are on its radar, and says it has plans to introduce a new size and a cellular version later this year.
OnePlus Watch 3’s 2025 upgrade
In comments made to Wareable, OnePlus Health Lab’s Head of R&D confirmed that we could see the new models as early as this year.
“It’s true that the watch remains heavy for a small wrist and that this typically affects women, but we will fix that this year,” Dr Leo Zhang told the outlet. “We value our customer’s voice and we’re working on that.”
“LTE is also something we get asked about by many users,” he added, confirming there’s no technical barrier to adding the feature. “In China’s domestic market, we have an LTE version,” he said. “In an overseas market, we need to work with the carriers – and that’s a big hurdle. We need to work with carriers so users can put in an eSIM and have a data plan.”
LTE connectivity allows a smartwatch to connect to a carrier network and use data just like a smartphone. It enables features like navigation, calls and texts, and media streaming even without a smartphone present, a handy feature for runners and other people who want to leave their phone at home and exercise with a standalone smartwatch.
Zhang said that “as long as we work smoothly with the carriers,” the feature should also be on the upgrade list for the OnePlus Watch 3.
So stay tuned for new OnePlus Watch 3 models later this year, and our full review of the OnePlus Watch 3 in the meantime.
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stephen.warwick@futurenet.com (Stephen Warwick)
