After two-month delay OnePlus Watch 3 is finally shipping
The OnePlus Watch 3 was supposed to hit shelves in February, but a single misspelled word on the back cover brought everything to a halt. Buyers will now start receiving the device in mid-April, depending on where they live, with OnePlus offering small perks to make up for the wait.
This wasn’t just a delay over supply issues or software bugs. The production line was stopped entirely because someone signed off on a device that said “Meda in China” instead of “Made in China.” While it might seem like a harmless typo, the branding mistake showed up on the actual hardware—not a brochure, not a website, but etched into the back of the watch case. Hard to believe, but true.
At that point, OnePlus had no choice but to scrap the original batch and reprint the casing. That meant a fresh round of manufacturing, which pushed the release back by nearly two months.
How did this slip through?
It’s surprising that a company of OnePlus’ size could let something like this happen. Quality control usually picks up these kinds of mistakes early in the process, especially when it involves something as visible and permanent as the backplate of a smartwatch. But somehow, several units made it far enough into the process that people noticed, and screenshots of the typo quickly made their way online.
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To their credit, OnePlus acted quickly. Production was halted, and the company promised to correct the issue. They’ve also allowed early recipients of the flawed watch to return their units. Though in a twist, a few people might decide to hang on to the misprinted version just for the novelty factor—limited-edition typos have a strange appeal.
What happens now
The corrected Watch 3 is now available for pre-order, and OnePlus has started to share expected delivery dates by region. In the US, customers who pre-ordered with priority shipping should get their watch around April 15, while regular orders will start arriving by April 17. The UK will follow shortly after, with the EU trailing a bit later in April. Australia has the watch listed on OnePlus’ site, but there’s no confirmed shipping date just yet.
To soften the blow of the delay, OnePlus is offering small incentives. Depending on where you live, you might get a discount or even a free pair of earbuds when you place your order. These perks vary by region and aren’t guaranteed for every buyer, but they’re a decent gesture.
Despite the rocky launch, OnePlus is still moving ahead with its smartwatch plans. A smaller version of the Watch 3 is confirmed for later this year, and LTE support is also coming to markets outside China. Some regional OnePlus sites are already showing dropdown menus for size and connectivity options, so the rollout for these variants looks to be underway in the background.
No one wants to delay a product over a typo. But maybe this one was worth catching before the mistake became permanent.
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