We’ve been waiting for OnePlus’ first wearable for around six years, and like London buses, we might get two at once.
Ahead of the now-confirmed OnePlus smartwatch, a cheap fitness tracker is now rumoured to be launching.
This is according to a report at Android Central, which alleges that the OnePlus Band will launch in Q1 2020 and cost $40.
This would put it head-to-head with the Xiaomi Mi Band 5, and could launch in March alongside the OnePlus 9 Series.
In terms of specs, the rumors are a little vague but there’s mention of an AMOLED display and multi-day battery life. A heart rate monitor is a given these days, although it remains to be seen whether it could pack an SpO2 sensor.
However, according to the report, it will head to India first, and then launch globally later.
That means it will compete with the likes of the Realme Band. However, at $40 (₹3000), it’s a pricey entrant to the market, at double the price of the Realme.
OnePlus has been slow to enter the wearables fray, but it seems the company will have both fitness band and smartwatch options by the end of the year.
We recently reported comments from OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, who confirmed the company was prepping a smartwatch – and working with Google to improve Wear OS. So it seems likely the new wearable will be Google-powered.
But making an impact in a wearables landscape where the likes of Amazfit and Xiaomi are already making serious sub-$100 smartwatches will be tough from a standing start. And rivalling $20 activity bands in India won’t be much easier.
Let’s just say OnePlus has its work cut out.
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James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.