OPPO Watch series is now official. And yes, it takes liberal inspiration from the Apple Watch when it comes to aesthetics. But is the OPPO Watch just another Apple Watch-wannabe, or does it have some tricks of its own to qualify as a genuine Apple Watch alternative for Android users? We pit the OPPO Watch against the Apple Watch Series 5 to find out how they differ in terms of internal hardware, features, and of course, pricing. Let’s delve right into it:

Design

Design is one area where the OPPO Watch shines as well as sinks. The similarity to the Apple Watch is uncanny, and if it was not for the two side buttons replacing the crown, the OPPO Watch would easily pass off as an Apple Watch clone. But as they say, imitation is the best form of flattery. Even though OPPO appears to have taken that saying a bit too seriously, the OPPO Watch still has an identity of its own. The build quality is as premium – if not superior – as the Apple Watch.

OPPO Watch comes in two case options: Aluminium alloy and Stainless Steel, while colour options on the table for buyers are silver, black, gold, and pink. The strap can be removed with the push of a button for replacing it with another one. Talking about material choices, one can choose between flourorubber and calf leather. The case has a metallic lustre, while the two navigation buttons are located on the side.

As for the Apple Watch, buyers can choose between Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium, and Ceramic case options. The colour palette is also quite diverse and it includes Silver, Space Gray, Gold, Space Black, and White among others, with an equally varied choice of strap materials and styles to go with it. The Apple Watch Series 5 gives users a much wider portfolio when it comes to customization compared to the OPPO Watch.

Display

The OPPO Watch comes in two sizes – 41mm and 46mm. The 41mm variant has a smaller 1.6-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 320×360 pixels. As for the bigger 46mm variant of the OPPO Watch, it features a 1.9-inch flexible curved AMOLED display with a resolution of 402×476 pixels and it translates to a pixel density of 326ppi.

The Apple Watch Series 5 also comes in two variants: 40mm and 44mm. The former has a 1.57-inch Retina display with a resolution of 324×394 pixels, while the latter has a large 1.73-inch Retina display with a resolution of 368×448 pixels and Force Touch support.

Specifications

The OPPO Watch is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 2500 SoC. Interestingly, OPPO has fitted its first smartwatch with an Apollo co-processor as well. The watch switches from the Qualcomm chip to the more efficient Apollo co-processor when it needs to save power. Ticking alongside the Qualcomm chip is 1GB of RAM and 8GB on onboard storage.

Apple Watch Series 5, on the other hand, is powered by the in-house 64-bit dual-core S5 processor that is claimed to be 2X faster than the S3 processor. Navigation on the Apple Watch is handled by touch inputs and the digital crown that offers haptic feedback. Apple has not specified the amount of RAM inside the Apple Watch Series 5, but it offers 32GB of native storage, which is double that of the OPPO Watch.

The OPPO Watch comes with eSIM functionality, giving users the flexibility to use the same number as the SIM card installed on their phone, or use it independently with a new number for the eSIM. Apple Watch Series 5 also offers cellular connectivity support, but it comes in a cheaper GPS-only variant as well.

Both the Apple Watch and OPPO Watch are rated 5ATM and come with the standard suite of sensors such as barometric altimeter, optical heart rate sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, and ambient light sensor.

Software

The OPPO Watch runs on a custom build of Color OS tailored for smartwatches, but it is still based on Google’s Wear OS. It is currently compatible only with devices running Android 6 or higher. However, OPPO says that work on adding compatibility for iOS platform is in progress. Coming to the Apple Watch, it runs watchOS and is locked to Apple’s ecosystem of devices.

Battery and connectivity

Connectivity on the Apple Watch is handed by Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n. The OPPO Watch also supports Bluetooth 4.2 (BLE standard). Apple has not specified the battery capacity, but claims that the Apple Watch Series 5 can last up to 18 hours on a single charge.

The OPPO Watch touts a much higher battery life figure of 40 hours on a single charge. Notably, the OPPO Watch supports Watch VOOC charging technology, which is claimed to fully charge the smartwatch in just 75 minutes, while 15 minutes of charge will provide enough juice for it to last around 8 hours.

Pricing

OPPO Watch’s 41mm variant is priced at CNY 1,499 (approximately $220), while the 46mm Aluminium alloy variant will set buyers back by CNY 1,999 (roughly $290). The more premium stainless steel variant carries a price tag of CNY 2,499 (approximately $360). As for the Apple Watch Series 5, it starts significantly higher at $399 for the base variant with an Aluminium case – almost twice that of the OPPO Watch – and goes well over $1200 for the Apple Watch Hermes edition.