The OnePlus Watch launched in March 2021 and it looks like it’s time for a sequel to the wearable: a reliable source says a more affordable OnePlus Nord Watch will be revealed very soon.
This is in accordance with Mukul Sharma (opens in new tab), which says the launch of the OnePlus Nord Watch is “imminent” – although we don’t have much more details. Apparently, series production has already started in various regions of Europe and Eurasia.
If Sharma is right, the OnePlus Nord Watch will be more of a “budget-oriented” product than the OnePlus smartwatch that came before it, and it won’t come running Google-developed Wear OS software – that’s no surprise as neither will the OnePlus Watch.
Cheaper and cheaper
So far, we haven’t heard much about rumors or leaks surrounding the OnePlus Nord Watch. Last week, there were rumors that OnePlus had a number of new devices in the works, including a smartwatch, but there was nothing specific.
The adoption of the Nord brand would, of course, follow what OnePlus has been doing with its phones in recent years: there are the flagship OnePlus handsets and the cheaper OnePlus Nord phones as alternatives.
The question is, how much cheaper than the OnePlus Watch will the OnePlus Nord Watch be? The original smartwatch retails for $159 / £149 (about AU$235), which is pretty affordable to start with and already undercuts many other smartwatches.
Analysis: building the portfolio
If OnePlus is indeed about to launch the OnePlus Nord Watch, it’s another example of how smartwatches have become staple products for manufacturers to launch alongside their smartphones – led by Apple with its iPhones and Apple Watch.
Samsung is fully committed to the smartwatch scene, with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic two of the best devices in this category you can buy. A new pair of Samsung smartwatches is also expected in August.
Even Google is bowing to the inevitable: The Google Pixel Watch is now official, even if it takes a while before anyone can buy it. Expect it to go on sale around October, alongside the Google Pixel 7.
While the OnePlus Nord Watch isn’t the first foray into the smartwatch business that OnePlus has taken on, it does show that it’s serious about building an entire ecosystem of products – and nowadays a smartwatch is an important part of that.
