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.
OnePlus
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.
John McCann / Digital Trends
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.
