Summary
- OnePlus will roll out the Watch 2’s Wear OS 5 update in Q3 this year.
- This would be almost a year after Google officially released Wear OS 5.
- The OnePlus Watch 3 will receive one fewer year of security patches than its predecessor.
The OnePlus Watch 2 was among our favorite Wear OS watches of last year, delivering long battery life and excellent hardware. While the OnePlus Watch 3’s release has been delayed due to an unfortunate typo, it builds on its predecessor in all key areas and delivers even longer battery life. Plus, it ships with Wear OS 5 out of the box, while the Watch 2 is still stuck on Wear OS 4. OnePlus has now provided an estimated timeframe for the Watch 2’s Wear OS 5 update, and the wait may not make you happy.
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OnePlus is typically among the first to update its Android phones to the newest OS build available. However, the company has been unusually quiet about the Watch 2’s Wear OS 5 update, never providing any timeframe for its release.
Now, in a statement to Android Central, a OnePlus rep revealed that the Watch 2 units will “receive their OS 5 updates in Q3 of this year.” That means you can expect Wear OS 5 to land on your OnePlus Watch 2 between July and September this year. By then, Google would have already released Wear OS 6 with the Pixel Watch 4.
It is unclear what is taking OnePlus so long to push Wear OS 5 to its 2024 smartwatches, especially since the Watch 3 — which uses the same Snapdragon chipset — is already on Wear OS 5.
The delay could stem from a contract between Google and OnePlus, preventing the company from updating the OnePlus Watch 2 to Wear OS 5 until Wear OS 6 is released. If that’s the case, Google is hurting the Wear OS ecosystem rather than helping it.
OnePlus Watch 3 to get one less year of security updates
OnePlus has also confirmed that the OnePlus Watch 3 will receive two Wear OS updates and two years of bi-monthly security updates. For a $330 watch, this is on the shorter side, especially since Google will provide the Pixel Watch 3 with three years of updates.
To make matters worse, OnePlus promises three years of security updates for the OnePlus Watch 2 lineup, meaning the newer model will receive one fewer year of security patches.
