After a disappointing first generation, the OnePlus Watch 2 has really turned things around. With the second generation, OnePlus has created a wearable that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best Android smartwatches, with a stylish design, solid fitness tracking, and battery life that can be measured in days instead of hours.

The filing with the FCC has already revealed that the OnePlus Watch 3 is coming, and now SmartPrix, through its leakers Chunvn and Yogesh Brar, has revealed some new details about the wearable.

The biggest change is the introduction of a rotating digital crown, which sources claim can be used alongside the touchscreen as an additional means of controlling the watch, such as scrolling and selecting apps.

Hopefully, this is based on inside information rather than a logical leap from the attached picture. Because while the pictures show a nicely textured crown like the Apple Watch, it must be remembered that the OnePlus Watch 2 also had a rotating crown.

This was a bit of a mystery at the time. Was it a bug? No, the twist-type crown was purely for durability.

“The crown has no function on the device,” OnePlus told The Verge. The crown rotates when you move it, which makes it more durable than if the buttons were rigid, especially when subjected to impact.”

That said, the OnePlus Watch 3's crown appears to be more textured than its predecessor, suggesting that it is intended to twist.

As you may have noticed from the photos, not much has changed design-wise; the OnePlus Watch 2 is a handsome wearable, and Apple Watch design has changed little over the last decade.

However, according to SmartPrix, the internal specs are also quite familiar. It is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, supports 2GB of RAM, and has 32GB of onboard storage. The battery would be “500mAh+” - given that the FCC listing pegged it at 631mAh, it could be a massive short sale.

So far, so familiar, but there are two other potential improvements: first, an “enhanced heart rate sensor suite” that includes ECG functionality; and second, an “enhanced heart rate sensor suite” that includes a “heart rate sensor” that will be “more sensitive to the heart rate and heart rate of the heart.

In addition, OnePlus is apparently “exploring” the possibility of adding LTE connectivity. This would allow the watch to be fully functional while leaving the smartphone at home, which would be especially attractive to runners and hikers.

The site claims that the OnePlus Watch 3 will launch globally in the first quarter of 2025, or between January and March. Given that, it seems very likely that it will at least be mentioned at the OnePlus 13 launch event scheduled for January 7.