The smartwatch market is about to get a little more crowded this year, with OnePlus confirming that it is developing a smartwatch (called the OnePlus Watch in leaks) to compete with the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch 3.

But other than that official confirmation, there is much we don't know about the OnePlus Watch. But as the OnePlus Watch's release date approaches, we'll be hearing a lot more details about its cost and features.

Here's what we know about the OnePlus Watch so far, and how it intends to challenge the best smartwatches, just as OnePlus phones shook up the smartphone world.

The OnePlus Watch rumor first surfaced in August when it was posted on the Infocomm Media Development Authority website. However, the remainder of 2020 passed without the watch making an appearance.

That is likely to change this year, as OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has admitted that the OnePlus Watch is in development; in a December 22 tweet, Lau said the watch will appear "early next year," or in 2021.

The question is what exactly Lau means by "early": the OnePlus Watch could debut alongside OnePlus' next flagship phone, the OnePlus 9, six months between the company's regular phone rollout if it keeps it, that phone is not expected to arrive until mid-March. Earlier reports indicated that the OnePlus 9 would appear before the watch.

Another clue may come from OnePlus' second rumored product, the OnePlus Band. According to reports, the fitness tracker will appear in the first three months of 2021 as a low-cost alternative to the OnePlus Watch. You would think that would mean both devices would launch at the same time.

Our best guess: the OnePlus Watch will launch at the same time as the OnePlus 9, but OnePlus has so far held separate launch events for non-phone releases, such as a TV set to be sold exclusively in India.

Unfortunately, there are still no specific details on pricing for the OnePlus Watch. Given that this is the company's first smartwatch, there are no existing products that could hint at pricing.

We speculate that the OnePlus Watch will be sold similarly to OnePlus phones. If so, we expect the OnePlus Watch to be positioned as an alternative to devices like the Apple Watch Series 6, which starts at $399, and the Apple Watch SE, which starts at $279.

During the OnePlus 8T launch in mid-October, OnePlus posted a sketch on Twitter that appeared to show the design of the OnePlus Watch. That design featured a circular display, fueling speculation that OnePlus would opt for that look for its next smartwatch, which leaker Max Jambor (@MaxJmb), who has been documenting OnePlus' future moves, expects to happen.

He also has a pretty good idea of what software the OnePlus Watch will run; CEO Pete Lau told Input in a December interview that OnePlus is working with Google to make a smartwatch He said. Google's Wear OS powers other wearable devices, so the OnePlus Watch is expected to use Google's software, but Lau has indicated that the company is looking for an improved version of the OS.

"What we're trying to do is work with Google to improve connectivity between the Wear OS ecosystem, Android TV, and Android smartphones, and to improve device interoperability across ecosystems," Lau told Input.

If the OnePlus Watch runs on Wear OS, it could be powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100 chipset, one of the new mobile processors for wearables. However, there have been no leaks to support this speculation yet.

It is still very early to make educated guesses about how the device will perform over the lifecycle of the OnePlus Watch, especially as key details about the Watch's features are not yet known.

We expect the OnePlus Watch to include some fun features. With a number of competing smartwatches already on the market, the OnePlus Watch will need some compelling features to set it apart from others, especially the Apple Watch Series 6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 3. However, fitness and health tracking features are a must, and OnePlus could well include complementary features in its upcoming phones.

Expect to hear more about the OnePlus Watch in the months leading up to its release.