China Considers New Rules to Limit Purchases of Foreign AI Chips Amid Growing Demand 
U.S. Lawmakers Raise Alarm Over Trump Approval of Nvidia AI Chip Sales to China 
Micron to Buy Powerchip Fab for $1.8 Billion, Shares Surge Nearly 10% 
Microsoft Strikes Landmark Soil Carbon Credit Deal With Indigo Carbon to Boost Carbon-Negative Goal 
TSMC Shares Hit Record High as AI Chip Demand Fuels Strong Q4 Earnings 
China Halts Shipments of Nvidia H200 AI Chips, Forcing Suppliers to Pause Production 
South Korea Seeks Favorable U.S. Tariff Terms on Memory Chip Imports 
South Korea Sees Limited Impact From New U.S. Tariffs on Advanced AI Chips 
Nvidia Denies Upfront Payment Requirement for H200 AI Chips Amid China Export Scrutiny 
Zhipu AI Launches GLM-Image Model Trained on Huawei Chips, Boosting China’s AI Self-Reliance Drive 
Tesla Revives Dojo Supercomputer Project With AI5 Chip at the Core 
Google Seeks Delay on Data-Sharing Order as It Appeals Landmark Antitrust Ruling 
TikTok Expands AI Age-Detection Technology Across Europe Amid Rising Regulatory Pressure 
Federal Judge Clears Way for Jury Trial in Elon Musk’s Fraud Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft 
xAI Restricts Grok Image Editing After Sexualized AI Images Trigger Global Scrutiny 
OpenAI Launches Stargate Community Plan to Offset Energy Costs and Support Local Power Infrastructure 
More smartphone makers have launched their smartwatch in recent years, and it is no surprise that OnePlus is joining the list. After months of rumors, CEO Pete Lau has confirmed the company is working on a OnePlus watch that will be released next year.
OnePlus Watch release date confirmed for next year
Lau has set the record straight in a recent Twitter post confirming that a smartwatch from OnePlus is slated to launch “early next year.” The OnePlus CEO did not reveal the upcoming device’s official name, but many are speculating it would eventually be called OnePlus Watch. The company’s flagship smartphone series has a very simple name, and carrying that tradition over to its first-ever smartwatch is likely.
Many of you said you wanted a watch, and as you might have heard over the weekend—we're making one, to be released early next year. Wishes do come true.???? https://t.co/H1Fqv9srXj
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) December 22, 2020
In announcing the release window of OnePlus Watch, Lau also retweeted a previous post where he asked his more than 372,000 followers: “Is there something you want to see that we haven’t done yet?” While the replies section is filled with a wide variety of answers, one of the common responses was, indeed, a smartwatch.
Fans of the company will have to wait for maybe a few more weeks or months for the exact release date of the OnePlus Watch. But it is worth noting that the OnePlus 9 series is rumored to be unveiled in March next year, so that is one possibility. Other reports also suggest that the all-new device could get its own launch event for undivided media attention.
OnePlus Watch operating system: What to expect
The OnePlus Watch release date window is the only detail known about the upcoming product. But Lau may have already hinted at having Google’s Wear OS (formerly called Android Wear) power the OnePlus Watch.
Some of the most successful smartwatches in the market are known for health and fitness-related functions. However, that might not be the main focus in developing the OnePlus Watch following Lau’s statements in an interview with Input Mag earlier this month. In discussing the OnePlus Watch, Lau confirmed that they have been working with Google suggesting their first smartwatch will most likely run with Wear OS.
“What we're trying to do is work with Google to try to improve the connectivity between the Wear OS ecosystem, Android TV, and Android smartphones to create this ability for better device interoperability across the ecosystems,” Lau said. “This is the direction that we're trying to develop, but we don't have more than we can share on that right now.”
OnePlus launched a lineup of smart TVs powered by the Android TV earlier this year. In discussing the company’s smart TV plans in the same interview, Lau said practically the same thing where he emphasized their plan of offering a well-integrated ecosystem with smart displays being “seamlessly connected” to other devices.
Featured photo by Denis Cherkashin on Unsplash
