The OnePlus Watch 3 is finally available in the United States following a delayed rollout caused by an unexpected error. The first batch of devices were discovered to have a “Meda in China” typo on the back of the hardware. As a result of this, the company decided to halt all shipments back in February.
After nearly six weeks off the market, the Watch 3 is now back in the official OnePlus US store. But it’s not without controversy. The watch which was priced at $329.99 at launch is now listed at $499.99 on the official site.
That’s a whopping 50 percent increase from the initial retail price, and so far, OnePlus has not offered any formal explanation for the sharp hike.
It’s not hard to guess, though, the reason for the hike. The US government has imposed a steep 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports. And since the watch clearly states that it is manufactured in China, it’s likely these new trade penalties are being passed down to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.
The specs remain the same
The Watch 3 itself remains unchanged from the original announcement. It features a 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 2,200 nits, housed in a titanium alloy bezel and stainless steel body. The sapphire glass display, rotating crown, and fluoro rubber strap aim to balance durability and usability.
On the health side, the Watch 3 includes a wrist temperature sensor, an eight-channel heart rate sensor, a 16-channel blood oxygen sensor, and a vascular health test. It supports over 100 workout modes, including GPS-powered tracking, and runs a hybrid WearOS 5 and RTOS system on the Snapdragon W5 chip.
The watch can give up to five days of run time in smart mode and supports fast charging which gives a day’s worth of juice in just 10 minutes. However, whether these features justify the new price tag will likely be up for debate among buyers.
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(Via)
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