OnePlus’s expensive typo
Last week we talked about OnePlus and the imminent launch of the Watch 3. But there was apparently a typo on the initial batch of devices; the back of the phone says “Meda in China”, rather than “Made in China”. As a result, the company has pulled back from a full launch until April to give it time to fix the issue.
In more positive news, in a recent interview, Dr. Leo Zhang, the Head of R&D at the OnePlus Health Lab, acknowledged the lack of an LTE version and indicated that OnePlus plans to launch a cellular version. Although no fixed date was given, he suggested that it may be later this year but that the key stumbling block was not integrating the technology, but rather partnering with carriers – with a heavy emphasis on Europe – to make the LTE addition worthwhile.
The Circana Take:
- We believe that the addition of an LTE version is key if OnePlus is going to be successful in the smartwatch space. Success will depend on the cost and impact on the battery life (should not be an issue since the Watch 3 will run for 120 hours) and, of course, on carrier partnerships.
- As we noted last week, OnePlus has had a challenging time in the US market to date. However, if the company does launch a cellular smartwatch variant, US carriers may want to take a second look at partnering with the OEM.