We Asked If You’d Still Buy The $500 OnePlus Watch 3, And The Response Has Been Brutal

Joe Maring / Android Authority

With tariffs fast becoming the buzzword of 2025, everyone is apprehensive about how they might affect consumers. US tech fans have started to spot signs of the repercussions in recent weeks after Nintendo delayed the launch of the Switch 2, and then OnePlus dropped a bombshell at the release of the OnePlus Watch 3. Originally slated to cost $330, the price ballooned to $499.99 when it went on sale.

This was obviously going to put off a significant number of previously interested shoppers, but we wanted to get a better idea of exactly how many buyers would have changed their minds after the 50% price hike. Android Authority’s Joe Maring wrote an intriguing analysis piece about what the OnePlus Watch 3 uplift might mean for the brand and the overall industry going forward. He included a poll that asked you whether you were still going to buy the excellent smartwatch at the new price point. The results are below, and they don’t make good reading for the Chinese-based manufacturer.

As the pie chart above shows, the results of the poll were as predictable as they were stark. An overwhelming 91% of you said that you were no longer going to buy the OnePlus Watch 3 at its increased price, with only 9% still interested. It’s a real shame because it’s a genuinely good wearable, but we completely understand the result. With so many good options on the market, such a huge increase in the asking price was always going to put off all but the most ardent of OnePlus fans. If anything, 9% of people being undeterred is surprisingly high.

When we usually dig into the results of our polls in articles like this, we go through the comments section of the original post to understand your sentiment better. However, in this case, there’s not much room for mystery or even nuance as to why you’ve been put up by a $170 price hike on a $330 piece of tech.

OnePlus fans in the US can only hope that the Watch 3 situation is a bump in the road.

The only people who managed to avoid the uplift were those who had the foresight to pre-order the OnePlus Watch 3, at which point it was still offered at $329.99. Congratulations to commenter M.bigio10, who was clearly one of the lucky few. He wrote, “I was smart. Even though I’m currently using the OnePlus Watch 2, as a hedge against tariffs, I ordered the Watch 3 before the tariffs kicked in. With the coupon and trade-in discounts, paid only $219.99. It arrived yesterday, thank you very much!”

The Trump administration has recently announced exemptions on some electronics products, and many of the other comments under Joe’s article discussed this subject. However, the price of the OnePlus Watch 3 remains unchanged. In any event, it’s a fluid situation, with new talk of 245% tariffs on Chinese goods this morning. OnePlus fans in the US can only hope that the Watch 3 situation is a bump in the road rather than a sign of things to come.