Marketing for the new OnePlus Watch 2R styles it as a long-lasting Wear OS sports watch for “active lifestyle inspiration” with a lighter design for “those who value all-day fitness tracking.” I love watches that are just for me, but my colleagues who tested the OnePlus Watch 2 hacked its health data as an Achilles heel. So I decided to test the accuracy of the Watch 2R for myself.
With the original OnePlus Watch 2, our reviewer Harish complained that it was “simply not reliable for daily step counts or activity tracking,” that it miscalculated calories burned after a workout, and that its stress readings were artificially inflated.
Meanwhile, my colleague Nick did a weekly test of the OnePlus Watch 2 and had similar complaints of underestimating steps and significantly lower HR values ​​during anaerobic workouts. Both Nick and Harish suspected that the watch was using its low-power RTOS coprocessor to handle the health and fitness sampling, and that it wasn’t fast or consistent enough to get the right data.
This made me apprehensive about testing the OnePlus Watch 2R, a fitness watch that theoretically doesn’t handle fitness that well. So, just like my Galaxy Watch Ultra fitness test last week, I put on two smartwatches to see how the Watch 2R could measure up to my Garmin Forerunner 965 in terms of heart rate and dual-band GPS accuracy.
My OnePlus Watch 2R fitness test
The OnePlus OHealth companion app doesn’t let you export TCX/GPX files like Samsung Health, and I had some trouble getting Health Connect to send my data correctly, so I couldn’t create my usual HR or GPS charts for direct comparison; I’ll use tables as an alternative for now.
| Run #1 | OnePlus Watch 2R | Garmin Forerunner 965 |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 3.05 million | 3.09 million |
| Avg. / Max HR | 146 beats per minute / 159 beats per minute | 147 bpm / 158 bpm |
| Cadence | 161 steps per minute | 162 steps per minute |
| Step length | 3.28 feet | 3.35 feet |
| Avg. Vertical ratio | 8.8% | 8.7% |
| Avg. ground contact time | 301 ms | 283 ms |
| Calories burned | 318 calories | 421 kcal |
On my first run, the OnePlus Watch 2R mostly stayed on track with the Garmin Forerunner 965. I checked random heart rate at ten different timestamps, and the 2R matched the 965 four times and was 1bpm short of matching 1bpm six times. – lower average.
GPS accuracy mostly stayed put. It’s hard to say if the OnePlus’s dual-band accuracy is more or less reliable than the Garmin’s, as I did go off the pavement at the odd moment on both maps, but I appreciated that they both fell into the same general field for running with some signal blocking. leaves.
In terms of running dynamics, the OnePlus Watch 2R synced pretty well for stride length and average vertical ratio, but measured my vertical oscillation as 1cm shorter and my average ground contact time 18ms longer.
| Run #2 | OnePlus Watch 2R | Garmin Forerunner 965 |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 3,315 meters | 3,220 meters |
| Avg. / Max HR | 174 bpm / 191 bpm | 176 beats per minute / 191 beats per minute |
| Cadence | 180 steps per minute | 174 steps per minute |
| Step length | 4.42 feet | 4.43 feet |
| Avg. Vertical ratio | 6.0% | 6.6% |
| Avg. ground contact time | 241 ms | 223 ms |
| Calories burned | 194 calories | 229 calories |
I ran eight 400m laps on my second run on the course, and predictably the Garmin stayed put because it uses stored course maps to judge your likely position. OnePlus had more problems: the Watch 2R kept buzzing on my wrist with lap times or miles at about 350m. It seemed like the starting point was completely wrong, but then the GPS was completely accurate when I hit the wrong place. Still, it threw off my calculated pace by a decent margin.
I figured heart rate during track workouts would be the most difficult point, but its average HR was more accurate than the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s during my track workout last week. It definitely didn’t match the Garmin results – usually 1-3 beats per minute at any given moment – but it usually settled to the right number when given enough time. The Watch 2R certainly did much better than the Watch 2 in this area.
Again, OnePlus’ running dynamics data differed slightly from Garmin’s. I don’t understand how OnePlus said I took more steps per minute and kept my feet on the ground longer. However, I realized after the run that OHealth listed my height as 5’7 (I’m 6’1), so that may have skewed the results for things like vertical oscillation. Regardless, triggering form data isn’t worth the bother in my opinion.
Overall fitness impressions of the OnePlus Watch 2R
This may simply be a case of low expectations skewing my impressions, but the OnePlus Watch 2R feels like a strong budget fitness watch. It has a comfortable weight for the size of the display, three-day battery life with Wear OS 4, Google Assistant, and the $229 price tag I’d expect from an Amazfit watch — not something with proper app support.
OHealth provides in-depth and surprisingly accessible running data, offering detailed context for certain stats such as training effect, running dynamics, VO2 Max and recovery time – although Garmin wants me to rest an extra day and has VO2 Max slightly lower.
That said, it’s still pretty basic compared to other fitness apps. OHealth provides a lot of data on individual runs, but its long-term training load and aggregate training data are on the simplistic side. If I were to use the Watch 2R long-term, I would most likely automatically sync the data to Strava and rely on it.
Going back to my colleagues’ complaints about the original OnePlus Watch 2, my final step count in both runs was 11,670 for the Forerunner 965 and 11,560 for the Watch 2R.
The Garmin watch beat all other brands in my first and second step counting tests, so I’ll consider the first number an accurate control group. Around 100 steps per 11,000 steps is almost a rounding error and significantly better than the OnePlus Watch 2 vs. Pixel Watch 2 at the same distance (1,860 short). The same goes for my recent test of the Galaxy Watch Ultra against the Forerunner 965 after 10,000 steps (348 steps shorter).
The OnePlus didn’t report my calories burned compared to the Garmin, but to be honest, it did never saw any two watch brands that agreed on how many calories you burned. I don’t know what’s in that algorithm and how to tell which one is flattering you or selling you short. So I’m not too concerned that it looks like OnePlus is on the low end because it’s just a guess.
Really, my biggest complaint about the OnePlus Watch 2R is the same as the Galaxy Watch Ultra: the lack of a crown. OnePlus gave the Watch 2 an inactive crown that spins and does nothing, while the Watch 2 has two simple buttons, one of which downloads workouts by default unless you change the shortcut. I appreciate that, but the sweaty displays in the pictures above should show why I don’t like to rely on pulls during exercise. Give me the up/down buttons or a crown any day.
I need more time for a full review of the OnePlus Watch 2R that will delve deeper into the health and sleep side of things. But I’m much more optimistic about its chances of paying off for the casual athlete than I was a week ago — and it’s on par with the best budget Android watches out there.
An affordable Wear OS fitness watch
The OnePlus Watch 2R features a Snapdragon W5 processor, a 500mAh battery, a 1.43-inch display, dual-band GPS, NFC tap-to-pay, Google Assistant, and detailed launch metrics. They’re not as stylish or durable as the original Watch 2, but they’re much lighter, more affordable, and seemingly without the same HR issues.