REVIEW: Oppo Watch X is geared for action

Oppo’s smart wearable, the Watch X, is aesthetically pleasing with a simple yet elegant design.

Entering, a very competitive market with the likes of Apple, Huawei and Samsung among others, at R5 999 the Oppo Watch X is affordable and has great features. But there is a downside, albeit a big one.

I had the opportunity to review the Watch X and was impressed with the classic smartwatch design lines, offering users a 1.43-inch AMOLED sapphire crystal display.

The Watch X is powered by a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 processor and a 500mAh battery wrapped in a stainless steel casing that conforms to the MIL-STD-810H US military specification.

Sleeping and snoring

On the health side, I used the Watch X for sleep tracking since my news shift starts at 5 am and I wanted to make sure I get sufficient zzzz’s before tackling the next big story.  

The Watch X technology also took care of my breathing rate, sleep blood oxygen level, baseline heart rate, and snoring, which would be very useful to some people who are loud snorers.

It tracked body movement and other sleep behaviour, even when I was just taking a nap after a long busy day.

For sports fans, there is automatic sports recognition onboard, with the ability to identify when the wearer is walking, running, cycling, swimming or using a rowing machine.

Sports: Watch X adds running posture recognition

Runners are also not left out with Watch X adding running posture recognition, detecting a runner’s ground contact time (GCT), the balance between the left and right foot GCT, step frequency, and stride length, in real-time and in both indoor and outdoor environments.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Oppo unveils Reno 12 Pro with advanced AI capabilities

Average battery life

Charging the Oppo Watch X was a breeze. The VOOC Flash Charging was able to fully charge the device in just over an hour an additional 24 hours of use. However, this will differ depending on the active features in use.

I’ve managed a five-day average battery life, a feature only possible in other watches running in battery saver mode, except for the Huawei wearables.

But wait…

Coming onto the downside… While I was excited to review the Oppo Watch X and unboxed it immediately to sync with my Apple iPhone 15 Pro…guess what?

It does not work with any iOS device as the OHealth app does not want to play with Apple, which is very strange, considering that all Huawei watches support the Cupertino company’s smartphones despite being sanctioned by the US.

I tried a few other apps including the Google Watch OS app, but no cigar. The HeyTap Health app supposedly works with the Oppo Watch X, but it’s not available in South Africa on the App Store.

Android devices also don’t want to marry the Watch X which left me with the only option of using the wearable with the Oppo Find N2 Flip which I use on occasion.

Verdict

Overall, the Oppo Watch X has all the bells and whistles, albeit missing one whistle, the lack of support for iOS which is a shlep if you ownand iPhone. But if you have an Oppo phone, this is the watch to go for.

ALSO READ: REVIEW | Huawei Watch Fit 3 gets new look, better sensors