Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
- In an official forum post today, Pete Lau confirmed that the OnePlus Watch will not run on Wear OS.
- Instead, the smartwatch will run on an unspecified real-time operating system (RTOS).
- The watch is likely to have features (and limitations) similar to Amazfit / Zepp watches.
OnePlus has confirmed a few times now that we will see the company’s first smartwatch on March 23. It will be released alongside the brand’s highly anticipated 2021 flagship phones: the OnePlus 9 series.
Related: OnePlus 9 series: everything we know so far
Today, however, the company’s CEO, Pete Lau, has confirmed an aspect of the upcoming OnePlus Watch that we have been thinking about literally for years. In response to a question from a member of the OnePlus forum, Lau confirmed that the watch’s operating system will be an unnamed RTOS, or “real-time operating system”. This is tacit confirmation that it will not run on Google’s Wear OS, which has been common speculation.
Here are Lau’s own words:
We opted for a smart wear operating system based on RTOS because we believe it provides a smooth and reliable experience, while offering great battery life, covering some of the biggest concerns we hear from people looking to buy a smartwatch.
Lau’s statement means that the OnePlus Watch software is likely to be quite similar to what we see on watches from companies like Amazfit and its sister brand Zepp. The software for these watches features a very limited selection of applications, literally without support for third-party applications. However, they tend to have great battery life and fast performance, things that Wear OS does not do well.
Wear OS haters are likely to be happy with this news, while Wear OS fans will obviously be offended. We’ll find out more about the next OnePlus Watch in less than a week. In the meantime, check out our rumors hub.