What time is it? Oppo time!
Oppo-ut Time
The first thing you notice about the Oppo watch is that it’s, well, a watch. The second is probably that it looks pretty damn similar to any and all other smart watches on the market. Sleek and black, the main thing setting it aside from a FitBit is the choice to go for a rectangular face over a platonic square.
Next you’ll notice the body; while largely plastic and a bit slick to teh touch, like an artificial dolphin, there’s a fair amount of metal (I assume aluminium) present too, like an artificial dolphin that’s blown into a sheet metal recycling centre.
Bizarre similes aside, it does have a decent heft and isn’t small, although the plastics texture really isn’t my favourite. The strap is also strange, eschewing the traditional buckle in favour of a sort of pin push buttonhole contraption. Cool, yes. Secure, maybe. Convenient to put on, absolutely, if you don’t mind pressing your wrist to your stomach while strapping on your wristwatch.
What that watch do
Unfortunately my accessibility issues were far from over. I wear my watch on my non-dominant left hand, and so any buttons should be facing the left side for ease of right thumb access… That’s a confusing sentence. Anyway, it took me several days of frustrating fumbling before I learned that you could invert the watch in Settings, and flip it so buttosn would be optimally placed for your convenience.
Basically, southpaws, you’re in luck. Just make sure to read the manual.
Putting the fun in smartwatch functionality
Once you’ve mastered the art of fastening the Dark Souls of watch straps, you get to use the Oppo Watch. And let me tell you, it’s not bad at all.
The famous Oppower is here
Oh boy does this thing pack a wallop for a little device.
… but the battery life isn’t
Oddly for an Oppo, the battery needs something to be desired, There are various different power oprtions tro make it a liottle more accessubvle to those who don’t want to charge their watch as often as this, but yuou sacriufice power and speed, as well as features.
Luckily, it charges in about 25 minutes, so it’s not exactly restrictive. So long as you remember to plug it in, that is. Which, uh, I did not. A lot.
A fine boi
A sharp screen, curved glass, and a delightful interface powered by Google’s OS make the Oppo Watch a pleasant experience, let down by the crushingly disappointing battery.
Honestly, if you want a smartwatch that won’t die halfway through your second day, I can’t recommend it over a Fitbit Versa 2 or 3. If, however, you remember to charge the damn thing, you couldn’t do any better for the price.
Question is, how’s your memory?
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