OnePlus smartwatch is officially confirmed by CEO

By JC Torres/

If there was ever one product that OnePlus may have flip-flopped on, it would be on its own wearable. Although it is still missing a smart speaker and, almost ironically, a tablet, it hasn't exactly been rumored to be working on those devices anyway. Since its early days, however, OnePlus already hinted at a smartwatch of its own, only to have it canceled before it could even see the light of day. Those rumors resurfaced a few months ago only to be shot down once more. This time, however, OnePlus' own CEO finally and officially sets the record straight.

OnePlus was rumored to be considering making a smartwatch way back in 2014, back in the heyday of smartwatches. Two years later, however, the company officially confirmed those rumors but also came with some disappointing news. It decided to scrap that idea and focus on smartphones instead, which was a pretty smart move for such a young company.

That was then, however, and OnePlus has grown by leaps and bounds and has been making more than just smartphones. It is also making accessories, mostly earphones and earbuds, as well as its own Android TV. It's almost the perfect time to revisit the smartwatch idea, which was again rumored to be in the works last October.

In a recent interview, CEO Pete Lau dropped not-so-subtle hints about the company's smartwatch plans. Naturally, that has sparked renewed interest and discussion, as well as speculation. Curiously, Lau pretty much gives in to all the interest and requests and promises that a OnePlus Watch will indeed arrive in early 2021.

The question now is what form that smartwatch will take and, more importantly, what software will be used on it. Lau has expressed interest in working with Google on improving Wear OS and that will hopefully be the direction it will take for its product.

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