After 3 weeks with the OnePlus Watch 3, I want the Google Pixel Watch 4 to copy this feature

I’ve been testing the latest OnePlus Watch 3 for the past few weeks, and in the process, I’ve spent the better part of a month lamenting the battery life of my other smartwatches. OnePlus proves that multi-day battery life isn’t a pipe dream. Considering how much the OnePlus Watch 3 outperforms the current Pixel Watch 3, I’m hoping Google takes a closer look at the competition’s hybrid interface before launching the Pixel Watch 4.

Official battery life estimates are a helpful starting point, but real-world performance can vary greatly. Factors like fitness tracking, GPS tracking, phone calls, and even how users customize health features will all impact how quickly battery drains. To compare Google’s flagship to the latest from OnePlus, I aimed to use both the OnePlus Watch 3 and Google Pixel Watch 3 as similarly as possible.

Both watches were paired to my Pixel 9, with the always-on displays and comparable health-tracking features enabled. I stuck to default watch faces and notification settings and mirrored my behavior from wrist to wrist, from simultaneously tracking workouts to using apps.

I also specifically tested the larger 45mm Pixel Watch 3 size for the closest possible comparison. Technically, both Pixel Watch 3 variants promise the same battery life. However, the 45mm model has a large battery cell powering a larger display. The OnePlus Watch 3 only comes in a similarly large 47mm case size.

After a few days of wearing both watches, the results were in. Under equally heavy use, I found the OnePlus Watch 3 far outlasted the Pixel Watch 3, creating a more convenient user experience with fewer charges per week. I also tested each device through a variety of workouts to see how much battery GPS tracking drained and wore both to bed to note how much battery a night of sleep tracking used. On both fronts, OnePlus outperformed Google.

Both the Pixel Watch 3 and OnePlus Watch 3 feature dual-chip architectures but implement them differently. OnePlus pairs a Snapdragon W5 performance chipset with a BES2800 MCU efficiency chipset. The W5 handles performance-heavy tasks like running Wear OS apps, while the BES2800 manages background activities (activity and health tracking, notifications, built-in watch faces) through a secondary Real-Time Operating System (RTOS). This combination, supported by custom battery management software, efficiently distributes tasks between the chips, ensuring that power is used only when necessary. This significantly reduces energy consumption on the OnePlus Watch 3 and is the reason why its battery can last so much longer.

The Pixel Watch 3 also utilizes a dual-chip system, but doesn’t adopt the same hybrid approach. While the OnePlus Watch 3 incorporates a dedicated RTOS for low-power tasks, the Pixel Watch 3 runs all operations through Wear OS. Wear OS is efficient, but it certainly doesn’t provide the same energy management as an RTOS-based system, meaning tasks like notifications, sensors, and background processes consume more power compared to a dual-chip setup with RTOS.

If it isn’t clear yet, I really hope Google introduces a better hybrid interface with the Pixel Watch 4 and starts offloading some tasks to a secondary OS like RTOS. The multi-day battery life of the OnePlus Watch 3 has spoiled me, creating a truly luxurious user experience that’s left me bitter towards a lot of other smartwatches (including Apple’s best efforts…). Not having to worry about charging daily is a game-changer.

While I’m excited by Google’s progress since the original Pixel Watch, it’s clear there’s still room for improvement. A more efficient hybrid interface could make all the difference, elevating the Pixel Watch 4 to a whole new level in terms of both performance and battery life. As of now, battery life is the only feature marring the Pixel Watch 3’s crown as the best Wear OS watch available.