Known for its smartphones, the Oppo brand is also investing heavily in wearables and in particular connected watches. Halfway between an activity tracker and a smartwatch, its Watch Free is the perfect compromise between a refined design and sporty use.
It’s moving on the side of wearables. In recent months, manufacturers have been scrambling to offer new innovative models. While some rely on advanced features, others cut prices to reach a wider audience. This is the case of Oppo, which offers with its Watch Free one of the most affordable connected watch models on the market.
Fiche technique: Oppo Watch Free
Sold only €99 in stores, the Watch Free adopts a stretched design, and is thus positioned as a hybrid model, halfway between a connected watch and an activity tracker. If it has the dimensions of a tracker, it retains a more stylish design and highlights more general features, and not only focused on activity tracking.
On the design side, Oppo manages to marry the best of both worlds with an elongated screen that allows you to display a lot of information while being less apparent than a classic watch, and on the other a premium finish with an imitation leather that gives it a very neat style. Clearly, you won’t be ashamed to wear it, even on social occasions. The Watch Free has a stylish design, which allows it to adapt to all types of situation. It is of course not intended for hardcore athletes.
In use, the accessory is really very practical. We find all the features that we are entitled to find on a classic connected watch: monitoring of sleep, activities, a heart rate monitor, a multimedia player, the weather… In short, a great classic. Pairing is done via an app to be installed on their phone, in which the user can consult their sleep and activity stats, but also personalize their watch by downloading new watchfaces. It’s easy to use, well done, even if it’s still quite limited, especially in the choice of watchfaces.
So of course, here we are faced with a “simplified” model, which runs on its own OS. You will not be able to install Android apps on this watch. So no Spotify or Runtastic. But all the basic features are there, and that has one major advantage: battery life is good. Count 10 to 15 days depending on your use.
The user experience is generally very convincing, even if we are not impressed at any time. It is a basic model that is pleasant to use on a daily basis, elegant and very practical. And which ultimately has very few flaws. It will be criticized for its proprietary charger that is not practical at all, and the strap, which overall seems very cheap, unlike the metal case of the watch.
Comparateur: Huawei Watch Fit 2 / Oppo Watch Free
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Huawei Watch Fit 2 | Oppo Watch Free | |
|
Screen: |
46×33,5 mm 336×480 pixels AMOLED |
46mm 280×456 pixels AMOLED |
|
Processor: |
NC | NC |
|
Storage: |
NC | NC |
|
Battery: |
10 days | 230mAh 14 days |
|
Charge: |
Proprietary induction charger | Proprietary Magnetic Charger |
|
Operating system: |
HarmonyOS 2.0 | RTOS |
In the same segment, there are a few similar models, mainly from Honor and Huawei. Oppo has the advantage of offering the cheapest model that potentially offers the best value for money.
The +:
- An elegant design
- Comfortable to wear
- The very nice OLED screen
- A pleasant interface
- The price (99€)
The – :
- The proprietary charger
- The bracelet a little cheap
So, do we crack?
If you have a limited budget and are looking for a smartwatch model that is both elegant and sporty, the Watch Free is probably one of the best options on the market. At €99, Oppo’s watch offers excellent value for money. The design is elegant despite the elongated appearance. All the basic features are there. The Watch Free is an excellent compromise between an activity tracker and a connected watch. It retains the best of both worlds. Be careful however, if the autonomy is solid, the functionalities are limited to the preinstalled apps. Considering the price, it will also have to deal with a few small flaws – fortunately not too embarrassing.
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