Looks like it's OPPO's turn to clone the Apple Watch now (Update: Launch date)

Update, March 3, 2020 (1:22AM ET): OPPO has officially revealed the launch date for its first smartwatch. The OPPO watch will launch alongside the OPPO Find X2 smartphone on March 6 at 4:30AM ET. The company made the announcement on Twitter and also posted an image of the watch. You can see that tweet below.

As expected, the image shows a smartwatch that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Apple Watch, minus the side-mounted digital crown. We can gather from the image that the OPPO watch will be able to make and receive calls. It is expected that the device will run on Google’s WearOS, but nothing is confirmed as of now.

We’ll update this article as and when we know more about the OPPO watch.

Original article, January 30, 2020 (5:54 AM ET): OPPO VP Brian Shen has taken to Chinese social media platform Weibo to share the first image of the company’s upcoming smartwatch. Lo and behold! We have another Apple Watch clone on our hands.

As you can see in the image (above) of the OPPO smartwatch teased by Shen, it bears a very strong resemblance to Apple’s counterpart. Thankfully, there’s one striking difference in the type of navigational buttons it sports.

The OPPO watch has two buttons on the side instead of a crown and a button that the Apple Watch houses. We don’t get a look at the left side of the watch, so it’s possible (but unlikely) that there’s a crown here anyway. Otherwise, the display, as Shen notes, is curved on the sides, unlike the Apple Watch Series 5.

It also looks like there’s some sort of green notification light on one of the buttons of the watch. A microphone hole rests between the two buttons.

Shen doesn’t say much else about the wearable but he’s previously confirmed that it’ll launch in the first quarter of this year. We could expect the watch to show up at MWC 2020, unless the recent coronavirus outbreak delays OPPO’s plans.

On another note, how many Apple Watch clones will we have to see before companies realize they need to do something different? Recently, we saw the Mi Watch and Xiaomi-backed Amazfit GTS sport similar designs. Both even had crowns to complete the Apple-esque look. Not to mention the countless other cheap Apple dopplegangers like these ones.

Related: We need to stop with the AirPods clones

Anyhow, other than its obviously borrowed design, we look forward to how OPPO differentiates its smartwatch in terms of features. We expect the usual fitness tracking capabilities, cellular connectivity, and perhaps an ECG sensor. What more could OPPO put in it? We’ll update you as soon as we know more.