The upcoming OnePlus Watch was supposed to mark the company’s entry into the wearable segment. A new development suggests that we will see a budget fitness tracker launch before the smartwatch, in the form of the OnePlus Band.
In 2020, OnePlus expanded to many new product categories such as mid-range smartphones, affordable smart TVs, true wireless earphones and more. Reports from Android Central state that the connected device ecosystem will continue to grow in 2021. Budget fitness trackers have seen a lot of interest in recent months, and it looks like OnePlus wants a piece of the pie.
Some other OnePlus Band specs and features were leaked by Mukul Sharma in a video, which once again suggests that OnePlus is going after the segment that the Xiaomi Mi Band series pioneered in India. It remains to be seen if it will be a region-exclusive product or not.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? OnePlus’s first fitness tracker
- When is it out? Early 2021
- How much will it cost? Likely under Rs 3,000/$40
OnePlus Band price in India
According to the source, the OnePlus Band will be available only in India at launch, but could be available in other countries later. This is similar to the strategy it adopted for its affordable TVs and TWS as well, so it isn’t particularly surprising.
With a suggested price of around $40, it is likely to cost under Rs 3,000 in India. For context, the Mi Band 5 is priced at Rs 2,499. Other notable competitors include the Redmi Smart Band, the Realme Band as well as some offerings from Honor and Samsung. OnePlus must be betting on the segment to explode in 2021.
OnePlus Band launch date
Based on the multiple reports, we know that OnePlus has quite a few product launches lined up for the first quarter of 2021, with the flagship OnePlus 9 series, an upgraded OnePlus Nord and most interestingly, the OnePlus smartwatch that will run full-fledged Wear OS. However, all of these are slated for a March unveiling.
The OnePlus Band, on the other hand, looks more likely to have its separate smaller event much earlier. Perhaps we will hear more about it at CES 2021, which is scheduled to kick off on January 11 in an online format.
Specs and features
Information is a little scarce around this point, but just like other affordable fitness trackers, the OnePlus Band is tipped to sport a small rectangular AMOLED touchscreen, proper water resistance with IP rating and multiple days of battery life.
The design is likely to be pretty minimalistic with a user-replaceable strap without being too bulky. Along with the heart-rate sensor, there are also rumours of the OnePlus Band sporting an SpO2 sensor for measuring blood oxygen saturation levels, making it one of the cheapest wearables to do so.
As for features, there should be quite a few fitness tracking modes, along with the usual slew of notification mirroring, call alerts and music playback control. A companion app will help in the initial setup process and also act as a hub for all the tracked data. Like its other IoT products, we could also see some Oxygen OS-specific features on the wearable.
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