OPPO Watch X3 - As Tough As it Is Classy

If you're new to the smartwatch game, you may not realise that just as with more conventional watches, some are built for extreme conditions while others are designed for fashion.

Many people have been put off in the past because they'd rather not wear a small computer on their wrist that screams, "Tech nerd!"

Over recent years there's been a move to more aesthetically pleasing designs, including different shapes and a wider selection of bands but even now, if you want a smartwatch with all the best features built in, it's probably still going to be pretty bulky.

High-end performance like that also chews through battery life, so you can expect to have to charge your watch every day - not something analogue watch-wearers ever have to contend with.

Well, get ready for a breakthrough.

The OPPO Watch X3 represents a significant leap forward - especially for Android connected devices.

Just from an aesthetic standpoint, OPPO was already onto something with the general look of the first two generations of the Watch X; the large round face and metal casing offering a more classic style than many other smartwatches around at the time.

For the X3, OPPO took that template and really accentuated the positives, upgrading the casing dramatically with a high-quality titanium alloy, featuring twelve precisely engineered, eye-catching bevels surrounding the face. The Obsidian Black version still comes with a light, comfortable and durable fluororubber strap but the Misty Titanium option features an all-new, segmented hybrid design, introducing stainless steel highlights to match the buckle.

This new band is so light and so comfortable I'm happy to claim it's the comfiest watch strap I've ever worn. And thanks to that titanium casing and the introduction of fibreglass into the bottom panel, this is the lightest Watch X yet - which all adds up to a device that is a genuine pleasure to wear.

That's important because I use the Watch X3 for sleep tracking - something I've been hesitant to do with larger smartwatches like these in the past because I simply found them too bulky and uncomfortable to wear to bed.

In stark contrast, the elegance and lightness of the X3 totally mitigates the size of the watch itself and I happily drift off to sleep each night, barely aware I even have it on.

The other factor that prevents many smartwatch users from using their sleep monitoring functionality is battery life. Many watches barely make it through a whole day without having to be charged, so a lot of people forgo collecting useful sleep data and keep their watches on their chargers overnight instead.

The Watch X3 is extremely power efficient - due partly to spreading its operation over its double-chip configuration. Using it at full capacity, including tracking an hour's exercise every day via dual band GPS, I've found I can coast through at least three days on a single charge, if not four. There's also a power-saving mode that'll stretch battery life out as long as 16 days if you're really going off-grid.

However, I still choose to charge mine every day. That's because OPPO's Watch VOOC Flash Charge tops things up so fast, I can put the X3 on its cradle while I get ready for bed and it's usually back to 100% by the time I hit the sheets, just a few minutes later.

The operating system is ColorOS Watch 8.0 over the top of WearOS 6.0 - that last part is important because it means you have access to a much wider selection of apps than many other watches that are locked into their own ecosystems. For instance, I'm not really interested in wearing a watch I can't make contactless payments with using Google Wallet. WearOS makes that easy.

There are also many tiles (or widgets) you can add and scroll through, depending on what apps you have installed. One I now can't live without is Google Home Favourites, which enables me to control my smart bedside light directly from my watch.

I feel like operation of the Watch X3 is smoother and more responsive than ever. Both the digital crown and quick access button are customisable - so you can assign your own shortcuts to double and long presses. What's more, the rotating digital crown is now more prominent and offers excellent haptic feed back when you use it to scroll through various options on screen.

The ample 1.5-inch, LTPO AMOLED display is also brighter than ever - it'll ramp up to an impressive 3,000nits in strong sunlight, which is more than enough nits for you to be able to clearly keep an eye on your metrics while you're out walking, running, cycling, ski-ing, surfing, mountain-climbing... whatever. 

And the thing I love about the fitness tracking on the Watch X3 is the way you can customise those metrics for every kind of workout. If duration is the thing you care about most when you walk, you can position that timer front and centre. But if you're concentrating more on cadence during your runs, you can swap that into top place on screen instead.

It goes without saying you'll receive all your calls, notifications and messages pretty much instantly and you can answer back via voice, preset quick replies or onscreen keyboard.

So what we have here is a watch that looks and feels absolutely fabulous, works like a charm and - it turns out - is very nearly indestructible.

Name a durability rating and the Watch X3 probably has it. IP68 and IP69? Of course. 

Waterproof to 5ATM? You bet.

Tested to MIL-STD-810 military standard for altitude and extreme temperatures? What do you think?

 ...so effectively the Watch X3 has about every water, dust, heat and pressure proofing there is to have. All of which is great, but I've always found it frustrating you can have a watch that works underwater but you can't actually work it underwater because touch screens don't work underwater.

Except...

Thanks to technology OPPO calls "Splash Touch" the Watch X3 allows wet finger tracking. Now, that's not quite operating the screen while fully submerged but it does mean I can deactivate the alarm I snoozed when it goes off again in the shower. 

It also has the welcome spin-off effect that the screen controls won't be activated accidentally by contact with water. Why is that important? Well, if I can take you back into the shower with me for a moment, there have been the odd times in the past when I've started playing my podcasts from my phone at full volume, just because I had my watch under the falling water. Not ideal for the rest of the house at 3AM.

I've also had weird things happen while exercising out in the weather - media controls activated, even workouts paused or ended, just because of a bit of rain. The Watch X3 seems to be immune to all this.

You better believe this is the complete package and because you can install its O-Health app on any Android device, you're not locked into an OPPO phone just because you want to own this very cool OPPO watch. Not that there's anything wrong with owning an OPPO phone as well - as my previous reviews clearly demonstrate.

The Watch X3 combines timeless style with comfort, usability and durability that'll also last a very long time. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the OPPO Watch X3.