OnePlus 3T Review: Dash-ing

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OnePlus got its act together and made a great phone this year. But as is always the case, there were a few ifs and buts involved. OnePlus 3T is where the Chinese smartphone maker irons out the kinks to make great even better.

The improvements it brings to the table aren’t massive but they are still meaningful enough to goad prospective OnePlus 3 buyers to spend extra 2,000 bucks. At the same time, since the changes aren’t massive, existing OnePlus 3 owners perhaps won’t feel snubbed. At least that’s what OnePlus must be hoping.

So we took the new 3T for a spin in order to experience first hand just how wide the gap is between the two 2016 OnePlus flagships. And this is what we think.

Also Read: Why You Should And Should Not Buy Google Pixel XL

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OnePlus 3T Vs OnePlus 3 Specs And Features:

Model OnePlus 3T OnePlus 3
Display 5.5-Inch, Full HD, AMOLED Display 5.5-Inch, Full HD, AMOLED Display
Processor 2.35GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 821 SoC, Adreno 530 GPU 2.2GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 820 SoC, Adreno 530 GPU
RAM 6GB LPDDR4 6GB LPDDR4
Internal Storage 64GB UFS 2.0, 128GB UFS 2.0 64GB UFS 2.0
Software Android Marshmallow based oxygen OS Android Marshmallow based oxygen OS
Primary Camera 16MP 1/2.8″ Sony IMX 298 Sensor sensor, OIS, LED Flash, PDAF, 4K video recording 16MP 1/2.8″ Sony IMX 298 Sensor sensor, OIS, LED Flash, PDAF, 4K video recording
Secondary Camera 16 Megapixel Samsung 3P8SP with f/2.0 Aperture, 1.0 microns Pixels 8MP Front-Facing Camera, f/2.0 Aperture, 1.4 microns Pixels
Battery 3400 mAh, Dash fast charging, USB type C 3000 mAh, Dash fast charging, USB type C
Others Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Fingerprint Sensor, OTG Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Fingerprint Sensor, OTG
Price 29,999 INR/ 34,999 INR 27,999 INR

Design and Display

That’s the part which remains unchanged. Both phones look exactly same, save for the darker ‘Gun Metal’ hue on the 3T. The OnePlus 3T design still looks awesome and it is built to the highest of standards. The back cover resists day to day scratches with ease. Also, now the rear camera has sapphire glass protection.

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In an ideal world, OnePlus would be using QHD 2K AMOLED display on the 3T, but that would have driven the cost up, further increasing the unrest among the existing and prospective customers.

The full HD panel isn’t the sharpest one around but still feels adequate. It still adheres to NTSC color gamut (associated with oversaturated and bluish tones), but the option to switch to sRGB mode is now listed under display settings.

Performance and Software

The OnePlus 3T is blazing fast. We tried comparing it with OnePlus 3 doing same tasks side by side and it had a comfortable lead over the original 3 every single time. The comparison, however, isn’t fair because the 3T is running the latest and more optimized software which will eventually be passed on to the OP 3.

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For now, the OnePlus 3T is faster of the two, and is perhaps the fastest Android phone that you can buy for under Rs. 30,000. All games we tried ran butter smooth and multitasking worked like a charm.

We lile the near stock Oxygen OS (though we still use a third party app launcher on top, but that has more to do with our individual preference). The software on OnePlus 3 is light and efficient with just the right amount of customization options that we need. Besides, OnePlus will also roll out Nougat update early next year and that is something worth being excited about.

Camera

The rear camera hardware remains same on OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T. The performance marginally differs. Low light shots got better. With OnePlus 3, we had to often switch to HQ mode to get the best snaps indoors, on the 3T that’s still true but not mandatory.

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The images captured from OnePlus 3T are sharper and have better contrast and details. The Auto HDR mode and Pro modes are valuable additions to the otherwise frugal camera app. On the whole, we are quite happy with the rear camera performance and consistency.

OnePlus 3T VS OnePlus 3 Rear Camera

Now for the selfie camera.

Though OnePlus has increased the MP count from 8 to 16 for the fixed-focus front selfie camera, there isn’t any stark difference in the selfie image quality, though. Especially when you compare the shots on a bigger display.

Having said that, the self-portraits clicked from OnePlus 3 appear sharper and brighter (if not overexposed). Details are marginally better too.

Battery Backup, Call Quality And More

The battery backup makes for the most pronounced difference between the OnePlus 3 and 3T. The later has a denser battery and thus manages to fit in a 3400mAh capacity unit in the same dimension body.

The mileage that we are getting seems to have increased more than the approximately 13 percent increase in capacity. The more optimized software must also be playing its part here.

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With OnePlus 3, the gratifying dash charge technology was more or less making up for the less than stellar battery backup. With the OnePlus 3T you will feel more assured of making it through your day even without mid-day charging.

The fingerprint sensor, clubbed with the home button on the front, is fast and accurate. The call quality is excellent and we didn’t face any connectivity issue on our OnePlus 3T either. Audio quality via headphones is excellent. The loudspeaker output is also loud enough.

Should you buy The OnePlus 3T?

Yes, you should. We heartily recommended OnePlus 3, in spite of its few minor flaws, and the OnePlus 3T qualifies as a worthy upgrade(for anyone who hasn’t bought OP3, that is).

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We agree with OnePlus’s decision of not slashing the OP3 price for that wouldn’t have been fair to anyone who had recently bought it.

The improvements in OnePlus 3T don’t seem very significant when we talk about them individually, but having spent some time with the device we do feel that the OnePlus 3T justifies the price hike.

Meanwhile, OnePlus 3 existing owners aren’t missing out on much for Perhaps many of the performance enhancements will be passed on to them once the next big Oxygen OS update arrives.

OnePlus 3T Vs OnePlus 3

  • Rear camera performance has improved
  • Selfie camera performance has improved, though the difference isn’t appreciable
  • Bigger battery and optimized software make for a marked improvement in the OnePlus 3T
  • The 3T is also a hair faster
Deepak SinghDeepak Singh
Deepak has more than 8 years of experience in covering technology for several eminent publications in India. He currently leads an enthusiastic team of young writers at Smartprix and tries to uphold the highest quality standards.

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1 Comment
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Andrew Winn
Anonymous
7 years ago

The last OnePlus flagship was so incredible that I can’t wait to get my hands of the OnePlus 4. I heard it was coming out in mid 2017 and I just hope OnePlus takes care if the issues with the last phone. I’m hoping OnePlus 4 will give one hell of an competition to other flagships in the industry.

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