What’s happened? The upcoming OnePlus smartwatch, dubbed Watch Lite, will work with both Android and iOS smartphones.
- This puts the OnePlus Watch Lite in a small group of non-Apple smartwatches that work with iPhones.
- Other specifications of the smartwatch include a lightweight 34-gram design, a 1.78-inch AMOLED display, and 24-hour continuous heart rate monitoring.
- The affordable smartwatch will also offer a 5ATM/IP68 water resistance rating.
Why is this important? Although the OnePlus Watch Lite is shaping up to be a great smartwatch in terms of specifications, the cross-platform compatibility is the biggest surprise of them all.
- This is the company’s first smartwatch compatible with Apple iPhones.
- Until now, the OnePlus smartwatches were locked to the company’s smartphones and other Android phones, limiting their reach against other manufacturers.
- Further, this also indicates that Android-based brands are starting to acknowledge and act upon the demand for affordable non-Apple smartwatches for iPhones.
Why should I care? If you’re an iPhone user who doesn’t want to spend between $250 and $300 on the most affordable Apple smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch Lite is a genuinely capable, lower-cost alternative.
- For Android users, it means broader ecosystem compatibility.
- Cross-platform devices also tend to get better companion apps.
- The OnePlus Watch Lite could also appeal to users who own both an Android and an iOS smartphone.
OK, what’s next? OnePlus will unveil the Watch Lite on December 17, 2025.
- However, it remains to be seen whether all iOS features, such as incoming call alerts, notifications, and replies, will work with the smartwatch, or whether Apple’s platform restrictions will limit certain capabilities.
- If OnePlus achieves even 70-80% parity on iOS, it could encourage other Android OEMs to start providing cross-platform support on their affordable smartwatches.
- For now, the OnePlus Watch Lite remains a Europe-only product, suggesting U.S. buyers might have to wait to get their hands on it.
