The device is ready; the business does not exist.
Oppo Watch X3 is a solid Wear OS smartwatch. With long battery life, a sturdy design and zippy performance, it’s the perfect alternative to the Galaxy Watch and Pixel Watch. But there’s one big catch: US citizens can’t legally buy it. What gives? Well, as you might guess, the answer has less to do with the watch itself than the market around it.
The reason you can buy one here is simple. Oppo has no official consumer hardware business in the US. Its phones, tablets and wearables are not officially sold, as is the Oppo Watch X3.
Oppo is coming out
So, why isn’t the Oppo brand entering the lucrative US market? Because selling connected devices here is more complicated than setting up an online store. You need distribution, compliance work, warranty service and software support. Then there’s the tangled web of carrier relationships if you want the mobile version. If a company isn’t willing to invest in that infrastructure for its phones, it probably won’t make a niche smartwatch for you.
There is also some overlap with Oppo’s sister brand, OnePlus. The Oppo Watch X3 is broadly the same device as the OnePlus Watch 4. The global versions have the same specifications, from battery measurements and Snapdragon W5 chip to size and design. And with OnePlus now out of the US and Europe, it’s hard to imagine Oppo coming in with the same device under a different name.
Competition is another factor. The North American market is dominated by the Apple Watch, leaving a small slice for everyone else to fight for. Any new entrant will have to compete with Samsung, Google, Garmin and others in the non-Apple market. It would take a big marketing push to make a small dent – something OnePlus has failed to do.
The political climate doesn’t help, either, with Huawei serving as a clear precedent. The FCC has banned new approvals for “Covered List” companies until 2022, and the environment has gotten tougher since then. While Oppo has never faced a Huawei-style ban, any Chinese tech company trying to disrupt the US market has reason to worry about lax regulation.
An intake loophole
The good news is that the truly devoted can still get their hands on one. Go to eBay or AliExpress, find the global version of the Oppo Watch X3 from a reputable seller and import it. Just know that there are trade-offs, and they don’t end with tax-related fees. The global version specs don’t list eSIM, so you’ll be limited to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Imported devices also do not offer easy returns, local support or guarantees of long-term updates.
So that’s it in a nutshell. Launching the Watch X3 here will be expensive and risky. The hardware is ready, but Oppo’s business is not. And hey, if you can live with some compromises, there’s nothing stopping you from getting one.
