OnePlus CEO confirms its first watch is coming in ‘early’ 2021
OnePlus is working on a smartwatch and plans to release it early next year, the company’s CEO has revealed on Twitter. Pete Lau has confirmed the reports going around a few months ago that the Chinese manufacturer revived its smartwatch ambitions years after its first attempt. Back in 2016, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei shared sketches of a circular smartwatch design after the company already scrapped its plans for the wearable. Apparently, the manufacturer decided to focus on smartphones at the time and killed its non-phone projects.
Many of you said you wanted a watch, and as you might have heard over the weekend—we’re making one, to be released early next year. Wishes do come true.?? https://t.co/H1Fqv9srXj
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) December 22, 2020
Seeing as the company has launched non-smartphone products since then — it released the OnePlus Buds a few months ago, for instance — it’s not that hard to imagine it setting its sights on entering the smartwatch market. Lau didn’t share any details about the upcoming wearable, though, so it’s unclear if it will keep the old circular design.
As 9to5Google notes, it also remains to be seen whether it will run Google’s Wear OS. Lau previously said that OnePlus is working with Google to fine—tune parts of the OS, but the company denied that it’s a confirmation of an upcoming smartwatch powered by the platform. All we know at this point is that the device will be released next year. The manufacturer is expected to launch the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro phones in March 2021, and it might unveil its first smartwatch at the same time.
What could have been but never will be. Sketches circa 2015. #throwback pic.twitter.com/5zKuSdDiv0
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) June 29, 2016
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