OnePlus 3 didn’t bring any surprises this time. As the company’s execs kept mentioning, they’ve been working on the mistakes that were committed with the OnePlus 2 and since then, even most of the users knew what to expect. The smartphone is finally here and without even using it for more than a day, one can say that the phone isn’t priced heavily. Especially because you know, there will be a variant coming with lesser RAM included and thus, lesser priced.
Now, let’s talk about the phone. HTC’esque design? I surely mentioned that when the first leaked image came out. But I also mentioned how that matters the least if the phone is comfortable, bold, and solid in the hand. OnePlus is the only brand that doesn’t look at its past to take some inspiration for the design. In fact, the brand has to be given some applause for that.
I was very happy with the OnePlus One’s design. Then came in its successor, which seemed a bit thicker and heavier, but that did come with a better battery capacity (though the battery life is another story). Now, a metal body replaces the Sandstone finish!
Take a look at this year’s flagships. The LG G5, HTC 10, and LeEco Le Max2 had a metal body, while the Xiaomi Mi 5 and Samsung Galaxy S7 have a glass body, so OnePlus had to adapt to one of them. They both add to the class, and OnePlus uses a metal body that does look and feel good in the hand.
With the exterior, I still can’t digest the fact that OnePlus, who usually distances itself from the lot, has jumped into the slimness war, which led to having a camera hump on the back. A few reviews already mentioned this, and it makes a lot of sense – Just like on the OnePlus 2, the company should’ve levelled the back with the camera’s thickness to have a higher capacity battery in the device.
Solid with not just the frame, but the buttons that feel too tactile and you know you have pressed one with that click noise. Let’s talk about the internal aspect now – OnePlus hasn’t really given a thought of taking any risk with any other than the flagship chipset, right from OnePlus One to OnePlus 3. That backfired with the OnePlus 2, with the chipset being prone to excessive heating, but the Snapdragon 820 has been doing so well in several devices already.
OnePlus has launched only the 6GB RAM variant. Seriously? 6GB of RAM in a smartphone? While some, including me, might argue that it is overkill, others might be okay with it as a luxury and accepting the fact that the coming days, every other brand will follow and have this amount of RAM packed into their smartphones. Sometimes, some things don’t seem necessary, but they are given to keep the list of USPs bigger.
How much would you multitask? But then, if brands like Samsung bring out a device with 6GB of RAM by the end of this year (which is expected on the Note 7), OnePlus 3 will be called a mediocre device until they come up with the successor.
Just a few hours of usage but I haven’t seen any minor issue with the device’s performance, not even with the interface. OnePlus has the Oxygen OS available for Indian users, and it was even on the OnePlus 2, where until the recent Marshmallow-based OxygenOS was released, it was only problems with the device that users talked about.
The fingerprint scanner is surely made better than what it was on the OnePlus 2. Quite swift in recognition, and to be fair to OPPO, this is as close to but not better than the recognition you’d see on the OPPO F1 Plus.
Although there are navigation buttons on the either side of the home button that act as a fingerprint sensor as well, you better be using the on-screen navigation buttons because these off-screen ones are just a bright dot with no indication of what’s what. The Oxygen OS 3.1.0 on the OnePlus 3 doesn’t seem too different from the stock ROM, and OnePlus has kept a few good elements to make the user experience better.
What’s important to note here is that OnePlus has, indeed, worked on a few things from its past. NFC is brought back into the OnePlus 3, but there is a bit of compromise with the battery capacity, as a 3000 mAh battery is what you see in the device.
Too early to talk about the battery performance, but so far, the phone seems all impressive and let’s not forget its past – OnePlus One was a flagship killer, no doubt. OnePlus couldn’t continue its reign as the OnePlus 2 (check OnePlus 3 vs. OnePlus 2) wasn’t even one of the top five. But with the introduction of OnePlus 3, it seems the brand has begun winning some crucial points against the competition.
How long will this last, and how well it fares in the long-term performance? We can assess that only after a considerable amount of time. Till then, fair to say that OnePlus is surely back into the game!
OnePlus 3 Accessories (In Pictures)
The box package does come with a Dash Charger that helps in fast charging of the phone. OnePlus claims that it takes about 30 minutes to charge the OnePlus 3 from 0-60%. To add to it, optional accessories include a Car Dash Charger, using which one can still attain the same fast charging when doing it on your car.
The other ones include the few cases available on Amazon India already and a flip cover. The reviewer’s unit that we got has all of these cases and they are no different in quality from the ones that were available for the previous OnePlus devices. The OnePlus 3 has a metal body and for someone who wants the Sandstone finish that was on the previous two phones, a Sandstone Black case is available as well.
awesome.. waiting for full review and Mi5 vs OP3 comparison review
OnePlus 3 seems to be the almost “perfect” handset. Thumbs-Up for the detailed hands-on.