Oppo Watch X2 review: Now this is how you make an Android smartwatch

Note: This review was first published on 8 May 2025.

If there was an award for most improved wearable of the year, the Oppo Watch X2 would get it, and if I have any delusions of grandeur, I might even claim credit. In my previous review of its predecessor, I said the Watch X was a solid Wear OS smartwatch, but needed to have its own X-factor to compete with the big boys. Well, it seems Oppo took notice because the Watch X2 directly addresses every point of concern I had.

This includes improving the app experience and introducing advanced hardware features, putting the Watch X2, at the very least, on par with its competitors. The icing on the cake is that Oppo did all this without sacrificing battery life; it even comes in at the same price point. In this age of social media, if I was asked to sum up the Watch X2 in a single picture, it would be a Hold My Beer meme.

Before we get into the weed of things, let’s address something I didn’t really talk about before. For all intents and purposes, the Oppo Watch X2 is a rebadged OnePlus Watch 3 (or the other way around), just as the Oppo Watch X was identical to the OnePlus Watch 2. OnePlus is a subsidiary of Oppo after all. You can read more about specs and local pricing information here.

Upgrades. Upgrades Everywhere!

The overall build of the Watch X2 is very similar to the original Watch X, with differences in dimensions and weight coming under 1mm and 1g respectively. Trust me, you’re not going to notice. The bezel ring has been changed to a titanium alloy, but the rest of the watch remains stainless steel. While it sounds fancy on paper, it probably helped Oppo shave some weight from adding more components and a larger battery.

There are visible design improvements. The Watch X2 now looks more masculine with a marked bezel and a more prominent rotating crown. It leans even closer in looks to the Huawei Watch GT series than before and as someone who likes large watches, I personally love this change. Last year’s Watch X had a softer look with a clean bezel and rounded glass edges, which despite its larger 46mm case, was considered a unisex watch. This is a similar approach taken by the Google Pixel Watch 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.

The display is covered with sapphire crystal as before, but the Watch X2 now features an improved 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED screen with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, but Oppo has announced an OTA update that will boost this to 2,200 nits. It’s not as bright as the one on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, but it should match the Galaxy Watch 7’s 2,000 nits.

Underneath the hood, the Watch X2 is still powered the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chipset as before, but with an updated secondary processor to BES2800BP. Oppo calls this a dual-chip, dual-architecture design where the Watch X2 runs on both Wear OS 5.0 and RTOS. This turns out to be a clever way of saving power. Let’s face it, we rarely use a smartwatch like a smartwatch all the time. How often do you use all the apps on your smartwatch? Read and reply all emails on your wrist? Use turn-by-turn directions everywhere you walk? I’ll admit that almost 90% of the time outside of reviewing a product, I use a smartwatch no differently than an activity tracker. And its these times, the Watch X2 runs on RTOS to save power. When you want to access apps, it will then switch back into full Wear OS mode. I average 5 days of battery life with the Watch X2, and on a recent work trip to South Korea, I still had 15% battery remaining after 6 days with all health tracking sensors enabled because it was in RTOS mode the entire duration.

This is something every smartwatch maker should be doing. I’m looking at you, Apple, Google and Samsung. We should not be celebrating “all-day battery life” as if it’s an achievement anymore.

The Experience X2

Previously, I lamented how the Watch X was bare bones with no unique feature. Well, the Watch X2 now includes skin temperature and ECG sensors along with the usual advanced multi-path PPG sensor. It tracks sleep, breathing patterns, heart rate, Sp02, and stress. It also has fall detection support and there’s a new 60s Health Check-in feature that will give you an overview of all your stats. While this isn’t groundbreaking as other brands have incorporated similar functionality, I like Oppo’s implementation, especially the loophole in making use of the ECG sensor.

ECG use in wearables has always required local regulatory approval. This is true for the Oppo Watch X2 too and as of this review, I could not directly activate the ECG function in Singapore. However, the first time you use the 60s Health Check-in or Vascular Health options on the watch, you will be asked to agree to participate in a “research program”, where the ECG sensor works in the background to provide a summary of Arterial Stiffness and Vascular Age as a graphical health indicator instead of a full ECG readout. Very smart. I would even argue that this X-factor feature on the Watch X2 is more useful to the average user than the Samsung’s AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-products) Index on the Galaxy Watch 7, a fancy term that’s neither actionable nor tangibly practical.

The Watch X2 also features an improved low-power GPS chipset and dual-frequency GPS support, which is pretty much necessary for wearables in 2025. Oppo claims up to 50% improved power efficiency with this new chip, and while I’m unable to verify every individual component’s power savings, I’m inclined to believe them considering how long the Watch X2 lasts. I have no qualms about GPS performance; it locks-on as quick as 5 seconds outdoors and tracks my runs just as well as the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7. The Watch X2 provides an inordinate amount of running data, which also seems to be the norm for watches these days (Related read: I asked Singapore's top athletes about smartwatch pro running features). I would also like to point out that Oppo has finally corrected the way GPS workouts start, allowing me to manually start tracking instead of the auto-countdown mechanism. This means more accurate tracking logs unlike the Watch X.

The Oppo OHealth app has gotten a little better with improved UI/UX, session logging and data presentation in the Workout tab. It also has a new Health tab with that shows combined health stats and insights, though you’ll have to keep wearing your watch for this to work. I forgot to put it back on a few times after bathing at night and found my sleep insights counter reset. It’s still not in the same league as Samsung Health or Huawei Health though as there’s little to no interactivity or access to customised workouts, so there’s still much room for improvement.

What do I really think?

Oppo has outdone itself with the Watch X2. I am most impressed with how it overcomes some of the technical hurdles that plague most smartwatches such as dual-loading Wear OS and RTOS to extend battery life without sacrificing full smartwatch performance, and the clever interpretation of ECG data without giving users full access to actual ECG readings in regions yet unavailable.

The result is a full-featured smartwatch that easily rivals the likes of the Google Pixel Watch 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. And while it cannot match the 10-day plus battery life of the Amazfit Balance or Huawei Watch GT 5 Pro, a single charge every 5-6 days is exceptional for a Wear OS device.

The Oppo Watch X2 retails for S$499 on Oppo’s official online store, but can often be found on sale under S$450 from Oppo's flagship stores on Shopee and Lazada.

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