Exclusive: OnePlus does not tolerate “any failure” when it comes to smart watch testing

The OnePlus Watch 3 is here, boasting not only another impressive jump in battery life but a larger AMOLED screen with slimmer bezels, a functional rotating crown and massively boosted sensor smarts. It’s also incredibly durable, with official MIL-STD-810H certification.

That certification is not earned lightly. It involves a pretty intense durability testing process outlined by Dr Zijing Zeng, Head of Research & Development and Head of the OnePlus Health Lab, whom I had the pleasure of speaking to exclusively ahead of today’s big reveal.

Zeng explained that the OnePlus Watch 3’s durability test starts with the famous drop test, though he remarked that it was “very easy for us” – compared to the more intense rolling test, anyway. 

It’s one of the more challenging tests for a pre-release wearable to go through. According to Zeng, the OnePlus Watch 3 is joined by “sharps like keys, necklaces, jewellery” along with materials like wood and plastic into what equates to a washing machine, which is then left to cycle. 

Once the cycle is complete, Zeng explained that OnePlus ensures “there is no major damage to [the] watch,” including the rear sensors. If there is, it simply won’t be released. “Because you put this in your purse, your bag with, you know, those chargers and other things.”

“That’s a very tough, harsh test.” Zeng continued. “I think that kind of harsh test only, you know, top-tier companies can do”, mentioning both Samsung and Apple by name. How does he know that for sure? “I was from Apple”.

That extreme durability testing continues with what Zeng describes as a high-temperature, high-humidity test – HTHH for short. 

“We have, you know, this huge [thermal] chamber […] we tested all the way to temperatures as high as 80 degrees, and then we do the humidity test all the way to 95%”. That might seem like extreme conditions, but Zeng claims it allows OnePlus to ensure “people in very humid environments like the jungle” will be fine. 

Other tests include salt ingress testing to help protect the wearable on beach trips, pressure testing, corrosion testing, solar radiation testing, and more, all of which are necessary to achieve its MIL-STD-810H rating.

OnePlus has very strict manufacturing standards

That’s already a strict set of tests for the OnePlus Watch 3 to run through, but OnePlus is committed to the highest standards possible. Zeng explained that “we absolutely do not tolerate any failure,” claiming that even if a single watch from a large batch of test samples failed, it would go back to the drawing board. 

“Otherwise we’re losing money, right? […] Consumers are going to figure it out”.  

This impressive stance should reassure consumers that OnePlus is taking its new wearable journey very seriously, with the end result being a wearable that should survive whatever you can throw at it.

For more on the latest wearable ahead of its release on 25 February, take a look at my full OnePlus Watch 3 review.