This is TechStomper’s first OPPO smartwatch and we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. We expected a high level of build quality and an acute attention to detail but otherwise OPPO Watch Free was an unknown quantity.
Luckily, the more we got to know the diminutive smartwatch-lite (or fitness band-plus), the more we got to like it.
A Smartwatch of Smart Choices
OPPO Watch Free takes a very utilitarian approach to its form factor. The ultra-light weight and reduced overall size are perfect for a fitness-oriented watch.
The shape, a rounded oblong with rounded outer curves, allows for ease of movement while keeping the watch in place.
The choice of a narrow rectangular form factor gives a large surface area for the display without digging into the user’s wrist.
At just over 11mm thick at its very chunkiest and a sliver over 10mm for the rest, it’s unobtrusive. At 32 grams, including the strap, you may forget you are wearing it.
Elegant Athleticism
From the form factor, OPPO have carved an attractive, if somewhat safe-looking device. Our black review model wears the bright AMOLED display well while the pre-installed faces pop when the screen is active.
The lightly frosted aluminium chassis has the strap interfaces integrated to offer a smooth profile to match the rounded edges.
The lack of any physical buttons or keys only enhances the smooth rounded aesthetic of the OPPO Watch Free’s oblong slab design.
Elegant Operation
The gesture system and how the user navigates the array of functions is similarly elegant. A swipe down brings up the taskbar; settings, flashlight, underwater mode, Do Not Disturb, Find My Phone and a quick brightness setting cover the basics.
Swipe right to bring up the app menu; each icon is big and bold. The vibrant colours pop and the large font makes it easy to read.
Swiping up brings up your notifications. Swiping left bring up your ‘Daily Activity’ quick menu.
Data Carrier
The highly oblong screen allows for a surprising amount of text, icons or data to be displayed at once. A resolution of 280×456 allows enough detail to show it in a pleasant fashion while a 1.64″ diagonal avoids that image being too cramped.
The 2.5D glass-style used for the AMOLED display helps the image stand out while it’s bright enough to be wholly legible outdoors on sunny days. An ambient light sensor keep its appropriately lit.
Feature Watch
While OPPO Watch Free is supposed to be a pared-down and ‘light’ version of OPPO Watch, the hardware feature set is well-rounded.
Packed into Free is a six-axis acceleration and gyroscope sensor, optical heart rate sensor, optical blood oxygen sensor.
This gives the device an impressive suite of health and fitness tracking options. Blood oxygen level and snoring monitoring, sleep disturbance analysis, 24-hour heart rate, activity and calorie tracker, and ‘stand-up and move’ reminder are all here.
The device can boast over 100 exercise modes as standard with the day’s toil tallied by the four-pronged ‘Daily Activity’ banner. Daily Activity is an easy way examine your efforts with one easy-to-read graphic.
However, GPS tracking is missing, as are a speaker and microphone.
It’s a minor inconvenience that you have to rely on your phone to track yourself to a high degree of accuracy. Though it must be said that distance and speed tracking seem accurate without it.
While your average fitness tracker doesn’t need a mic or speaker, it would have made snore monitoring without relying on your phone’s mic.
Standalone OS
Another decision benefits the device overall is the use of a proprietary operating system. The OS is snappy and logically laid out while offering most of what a smartwatch user is after.
While you cannot add apps to the device, the on-board weather app and notification suites are excellent. The fitness suite complements the hardware perfectly.
The UI itself is easy to navigate even while moving or filled with adrenaline. This is commendable attention to detail on a device aimed at those on the move.
The notification suite allows one to read large portions of text in cahoots with the display size and resolution. While you can’t respond, that’s to be expected on a fitness-oriented watch at this price.
The weather app is one of the best I have used. It’s simplified in terms of user options but hosts a raft of weather and climate info in an easy-to-digest layout.
The music control app is much the same – it keeps to the basics and does them well. Volume and playback control is all you get but from a sub-€100 fitness-oriented device, nothing else is needed or expected.
A phone finder app and a call notification with reject button round off a fine suite.
Using a proprietary OS allows OPPO to run a lean operation on your wrist and Watch Free boasts a14-day theoretical battery life. Somehow, it made it to 14 days in practice also.
The maximum screen on time of 10 seconds is a bit stingy but probably worth it to deliver that all-too-real fortnight on on charge.
A Strip Too Far?
There is possibly too much potential functionality cut away in the search of an eminently light, streamlined design.
The lack of a side button is understandable but with so much functionality on board, it would have added much to the convenience of accessing it.
The use of the proprietary OS is a good choice overall I feel. That said, the hardware and display could handle third-party apps, offering even more than the admittedly ample on-board functionality.
Overall, OPPO Watch Free offers more than a fitness tracker in a similarly sized package. And, perhaps most importantly, at a similarly sized price tag.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said a good designer knows they have achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take way. What OPPO removed versus what they kept in Watch Free is certainly the mark of a good designer.
