OnePlus releases Watch 3 with inflated $500 price tag, won’t say why

After modest success with its first two smartwatches, OnePlus was poised to release a third-generation smartwatch early this year. Unfortunately, the company had to delay the Watch 3 from February to April, and now the previously announced $330 price tag is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the OnePlus Watch 3 has launched at an eye-watering $500 in the US, and you can probably guess why.

The OnePlus Watch 3 was all set for release a few months ago, but early reviewers spotted an embarrassing typo on the device. Like most smartwatches, OnePlus printed the watch's key specs on the bottom of the housing. Part of that text was supposed to read "Made in China," but instead, it said "Meda in China." Oops.

OnePlus delayed the launch so it could correct the mistake on retail units. However, the US-China trade relationship has deteriorated dramatically in the intervening weeks. Since the watch is ~~meda~~ made in China, it is subject to tariffs—the amount of Trump's China tariffs is changing on an almost daily basis, but it's currently 145 percent.

Provided you don't mind a big watch, the OnePlus Watch 3 was shaping up to be a good value at $330. However, the new price on the OnePlus store is about 50 percent higher, putting OnePlus on the wrong side of devices like the Pixel Watch and Apple Watch. OnePlus has refused to comment on the reason for the price increase, but the sudden, extreme tariffs are the only explanation that makes sense.

The tariff fees are typically paid on a product's declared value rather than the retail cost. So a $170 price bump could be close to what the company's US arm will pay to import the Watch 3 in the midst of a trade war. Many technology firms have attempted to stockpile products in the US ahead of tariffs, but it's possible OnePlus simply couldn't do that because it had to fix its typo.

Losing its greatest advantage?

Like past OnePlus wearables, the Watch 3 is a chunky, high-power device with a stainless steel case. It sports a massive 1.5-inch OLED screen, the latest Snapdragon W5 wearable processor, 32GB of storage, and 2GB of RAM. It runs Google's Wear OS for smart features, but it also has a dialed-back power-saving mode that runs separate RTOS software. This robust hardware adds to the manufacturing cost, which also means higher tariffs now. As it currently stands, the Watch 3 is just too expensive given the competition.

OnePlus has managed to piece together a growing ecosystem of devices, including phones, tablets, earbuds, and, yes, smartwatches. With a combination of competitive prices and high-end specs, it successfully established a foothold in the US market, something few Chinese OEMs have accomplished.

The implications go beyond wearables. OnePlus also swings for the fences with its phone hardware, using the best Arm chips and expensive, high-end OLED panels. OnePlus tends to price its phones lower than similar Samsung and Google hardware, so it doesn't make as much on each phone. If the tariffs stick, that strategy could be unviable.