Is Oppo really making an Apple Watch-rivalling smartwatch?

There might not be throngs of people scouring the web for news about Oppo's upcoming smartwatch, but it might be worth starting to get a little more interested.

A new leaked render of the watch has emerged, and while we don't have a firm release date, price, or anything approaching a full spec list, it seems we're not far off launch.

The leak shows a moodily-lit device, which has the same square design as teased a couple of times from Oppo employees (not least president of global marketing Brian Shen, who's leak is shown further down), but with an odd interface.

Oppo Smartwatch

Some have speculated that it shows the smartwatch running Wear OS, but if so, that would mean it's running a skin on top of the platform (not impossible – Xiaomi did the same thing) but with a font that looks curiously similar to Apple's own.

There's also a possibility that this will be Oppo's own smartwatch operating system – something possible given the odd font – but whether that would be attractive enough to the wider public remains to be seen.

It also – like the Apple Watch – is rumored to pack an ECG monitor inside – although whether it's got the necessary clearances internationally to activate this feature in places like the US and UK remains to be seen.

Who did this?

It's also unclear where this leak has originated from – some place the source as from 'Digital Chat Station' on Weibo, while others claim it's from notable leaker Ben Geskin.

Looking closer at the image, it really does seem like a live image given the hair on the carpet and reflections in the screen – but we've seen greater efforts from Photoshop users to craft a fake, so that doesn't really confirm anything.

It's not a direct copy of Apple's smartwatch interface (if this leak is true, and not just a fancy render from a fan) as that uses a more tile-based format, but it does suggest that Oppo would be looking to stand out slightly in the smartwatch world.

The header image on this story (first shared from an Oppo exec on Weibo) hints at a March 6 launch (and again, nods to the Apple Watch 5 stylings) – so we won't have long to wait to find out if this is, indeed, a leak or a faked render.

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