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Smartwatches today have gone from a basic tracker that can count how many steps you’ve taken to an advanced device that reads irregular heart rates or even performing complex tasks. But one thing that manufacturers haven’t improved much over the years is the battery life on these wearables. OnePlus and Google have been working on that solution through the new “hybrid” Wear OS interface that is debuting on the OnePlus Watch 2.
Launched at MWC is the OnePlus Watch 2 (review), which is a major step up in many areas compared to the first smartwatch of the Chinese brand. Among the big upgrades is the more robust battery life of the smartwatch that is touted by the company to last 100 hours in smart mode.
While our colleague Camila is yet to publish the full review of the Watch 2, the promised endurance is already noticeable in her early testing, with the device surviving 2 days with a spare juice to spare. The battery life is notably longer than most alternatives from competitors, even with Google’s Pixel Watch 2 (review).
What is hybrid Wear OS interface?
Much of the battery life gain on the OnePlus Watch 2 is given credit to the new hybrid Wear OS interface the device boots on. The hybrid part means that the Watch 2 runs on two operating systems and equipped with two chipsets.
Basically, the Watch 2 relies on Wear OS 4 paired with the main Snapdragon W5 SoC labeled as AP or application processor to manage more intensive tasks. Meanwhile, other tasks are handled by RTOS, OnePlus’ proprietary operating system, which is in tandem with a BES 2700 low-power coprocessor.
A look at OnePlus Watch 2’s hybrid operation with two OSes and two processors. The notifications are handled by RTOS and microcontroller unit or coprocessor. / © OnePlus
As OnePlus noted, most of the time that the OnePlus Watch 2 is in standby mode or with light tasks, including heart rate and sleep detection and displaying first-party watch faces, RTOS and the coprocessor are kicking the gears. On the other hand, Snapdragon W5 is only utilized in instances such as launching apps, managing third-party watch faces and complications, and Bluetooth calling.
OnePlus Watch 2’s operations: Most light tasks are managed by the coprocessor and with intensive ones by the Snapdragon W5 SoC. / © OnePlus
The method is not actually new as Google and other OEMs like Samsung have employed a dual-chipset approach in recent years. But with the hybrid Wear OS interface, the transition between the two processors and during OS-switching is more seamless and more optimized. Likewise, it has also widened the scope of the secondary OS and processor, covering more functions that subsequently help conserve more power eventually.
Will other smartwatch makers adopt hybrid Wear OS interface?
For what we know, the hybrid interface is set to be employed by other brands as well. This means more smartwatches would also get a comparable promising battery life as the OnePlus Watch 2. Perhaps, we will see this arriving on the Google Pixel Watch 3 or Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch 7, too.
Do you think we will see more manufacturers introducing smartwatches powered by hybrid Wear OS interface this year? What are your thoughts on this new development from Google? We like to hear your opinion.
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