Oppo challenges Garmin and Fitbit with its latest super-cheap smartwatch
Snore detection and a dedicated e-sports mode
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Oppo has unveiled a new cheap fitness tracker that seems to be taking the big playersGarminandFitbithead-on, at a much lower price point. The watch’s design leaked a few days ago (as reported byWareable) but now we know its full specifications – and they look impressive.
TheOppo Watch Free, unveiled on September 26, has the usual array of workout tracking modes, but its sleep tracking is what really stands out. The watch will monitor SpO2 levels and heart rate variability overnight, which it will use to sleep stages. In the morning, you can check your sleep stats right on your wrist, without opening the smartphone app.
That’s not all, though.Fitbit has just begun rolling out snore detectionfor theFitbit SenseandVersa 3, but the Oppo Watch Free will offer the same feature at launch, albeit implemented slightly differently.
Whereas the Sense and Versa 3 listen out for snoring with their built-in microphone, the Oppo Watch Free bases its judgments on variations in SpO2, plus heart rate variability and sound levels detected by your smartphone. We’ve yet to compare the two, but it will be interesting to see which proves more accurate.
If you wake feeling groggy in the morning and snoring isn’t the culprit, the Oppo Watch Free may be able to offer more insight. Like a watchful parent, it will track how long you spend messing about on your phone after settling down for the night, and encourage you to cut down the amount of time you spend scrolling through Twitter in bed.
This feature will only work withAndroid phonesthough;iPhoneusers will need to exercise self-restraint by themselves.
E-sports mode
The Oppo Watch Free boasts over 100 sports tracking modes, though we suspect that most of these will be very similar, simply tracking heart rate and time under different names. However, it also has an e-sports mode – an areaGarminventured into with theGarmin Instinct Esports Editionin September 2020, but which has received little attention since.
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Like the special edition Garmin Instinct, the Oppo Watch Free will monitor your heart rate during intense gaming sessions. However, while the Garmin can stream this data to your Twitch followers, the Oppo Free will only let you see the stats yourself.
Oppo’s gaming mode does have a few extra tricks up its sleeve though, including the ability to push all notifications from your phone to your wrist so you don’t miss anything, and give regular reminders when it’s time to take a break from the screen.
The Oppo Watch Free looks the part too, with a 1.63in AMOLED display and a pixel density of 326PPI (only slightly less than theApple Watch7). It can even generate a custom watch face based on the colors of your outfit,
There’s even the option of NFC for contactless payments, rivaling Garmin Pay andFitbitPay. The watch will cost 599 Yuan (about $90 / £70 / AU$130) for the version with NFC, or 549 Yuan (about $85 / £60 / AU$120) for the model without.
That makes it cheaper than any Fitbit or Garmin device currently on sale, though Oppo has yet to announce any details of an international release. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we know more.
Cat is TechRadar’s Homes Editor specializing in kitchen appliances and smart home technology. She’s been a tech journalist for 15 years, and is here to help you choose the right devices for your home and do more with them. When not working she’s a keen home baker, and makes a pretty mean macaron.
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