Shame! Shame! Samsung and OnePlus have ruined my favorite smartwatch feature

When functionality doesn't keep up with design, what's the point?

Shame! Shame! Samsung and OnePlus have ruined my favorite smartwatch feature
A Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra rests alongside a OnePlus Watch 2.
Credit: Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority

Before I get to it, I hope anyone perusing this article knows to read the title at the pace and tone of Septa Unella in Game of Thrones. Shame has been earned. Now that that’s out of the way, I am very disappointed in both OnePlus and Samsung for making the same regrettable design choice on their latest smartwatches. More importantly, both companies teased an improvement, only to let us down unapologetically. I thought a rotating digital crown was making its way to the masses with these watches, but ended up with misleading buttons.

When a smartwatch leaks and renderings or photos make their way across the web, my interest is immediately kindled. Like most reviewers (and most children in early December), I love sneak peeks. Guessing internal specs, musing over compatibility, and over-analyzing design choices is half the fun of anticipating launch seasons. Unfortunately, sometimes, that means getting my hopes up based on misguided assumptions.