The OnePlus 3 (FAQ) has been standing tall in the under 30K price range, even when it’s more expensive than other viable alternatives (that means a lot in a price sensitive market as India). The primary reason for all the good press is that it’s a great phone that keeps things simple.
Having said that, perfection is subjective. And a great phone might very well not be the best one suited to your individual needs. So, here we enumerate and elaborate its pros and cons to help you decide if it’s worth your money.
OnePlus 3 Key Specifications And Features:
| Model | OnePlus 3 |
| Display | 5.5-Inch, Full HD, AMOLED Display |
| Processor | Quad Core Snapdragon 820 SoC, Adreno 530 GPU |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Internal Storage | 64GB |
| Software | Android Marshmallow based oxygen OS |
| Primary Camera | 16MP sensor, LED Flash, PDAF, 4K video recording |
| Secondary Camera | 8MP Front-Facing Camera, 1080p video recording |
| Battery | 3000 mAh, Dash fast charging, USB type C |
| Others | Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Fingerprint Sensor, OTG |
| Price | 27,999 INR |
5 Reasons To Buy OnePlus 3:
Elegant and Durable
The OnePlus 3 is slim, sexy and very durable. Design details include a metal back that tastefully curves towards the edges and 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 laden front. All ports, slots, and buttons are aptly placed, save for the volume slider. We keep hitting the power key inadvertently while trying to maneuver it using just one hand.
Also, the beautiful official OnePlus Cases count as meaningful customization options and ensure that your phone looks attractive at all times.
Also Read: Asus Zenfone 3 Review – Exceeds Expectations
The only design peeve point should be the protruding camera module, but that’s increasingly becoming a staple in smartphone world where consumers covet ultra slim phones and prioritize low light camera performance. Besides, the cool cover accessories available can even out the hump.
The best part is that the metallic sheen on the OnePlus won’t wear off easily. It feels extremely resistant to day-to-day scratches, even with somewhat clumsy handling.
It’s Quite Powerful
The OnePlus 3 is powered by the top of the line Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, paired with 6GB RAM and 64GB of fast UFS2.0 storage. Now, it might not be taking full advantage of the surplus RAM but the OnePlus 3 is still lightning fast. Be it browsing, opening apps or switching between them – the phone works as smooth as the best in business.
The erratic software bogs down the user experience for a few people (more on that later), but we are quite satisfied with our review unit.
Of course, the brute force imparted by the SoC doesn’t wholly define the device performance. But, that’s an important part nonetheless.
sRGB OLED Display
By default the full HD Optic AMOLED display on the 3 targets NTSC color gamut. The Optic branding refers to the dual polarizing filter used on this Samsung-sourced display panel to reduce glare.
The interesting part is that you are allowed to switch to sRGB mode (the one that Android natively supports, and also the gamut for which all color content is essentially created) from developer options. Moreover, the colors in sRGB mode are very accurate.
At first, the sRGB mode might feel unnaturally yellow (since our eyes are accustomed to cold blue whites), but hold on to it for a bit and the default mode will feel gaudy. Besides, the AMOLED panel has excellent minimum brightness levels. The absence of backlight (since it’s an AMOLED panel), low minimum brightness and the sRGB mode – all make OP3 ideal for night time reading. The display is extremely soft on eyes and that’s a huge plus point.
Also Read: LeEco Le Max2 Review: A Value For Money Flagship
A Great Camera
The OnePlus 3 uses a 16MP Sony IMX 298 sensor for the primary camera, alongside wide f/2.0 aperture optics, PDAF and OIS. The camera can shoot great images when the lighting is good and also in low indoor lighting (with HQ mode turned on).
The camera app isn’t very convenient but does include a manual mode – one of our primary requirements.
The camera can outperform more expensive handsets, even when it can’t match the 2016 high-end flagship standards. The quality of video recording, however, is average at best.
Dash Charge Convenience
OnePlus’s Dash Charge shifts fast-charging mechanism to the charger side of the equation, which should theoretically keep your phone cool while charging (That’s not what we are experiencing, though).
The marketing claims of “a day’s charge in half an hour” are more or less true. So, I just plug-in my handset when I start getting ready for work and by the time I shower and dress up, the OnePlus is close to being fully charged (of course, I don’t plug it in at Zero).
It’s one of those luxuries that you can’t do without once you have tasted the convenience. Feels like when we first got acquainted with Oppo’s VOOC charging.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro Launched With 6-Inch Display & 4GB RAM At 32,490INR
3 Reasons Not to Buy OnePlus 3:
Erratic Software
While we do love the simplicity and concept behind Oxygen OS, the OnePlus ROM isn’t very mature and that materializes a different set of problems for different users.
Our review unit is still plagued with Random reboots, issues with GPS navigation and magnetometer, and erratic battery drain. Others have complained about ringtones disappearing, Notifications not being delivered, poor LTE connectivity, and more.
None of the issues that we are facing are deal breakers, but they do hamper the overall experience. We also aren’t very enthusiastic about updates as there always is a risk of one thing or the other breaking down.
Low Display Resolution
Since OP3 is using 5.5-inch RGBG PenTile OLED panel (Full HD), you only get half the resolution for blue and red colors. This results in icons and text not being super crisp, and if you have lived with QHD or 2K Panels in the past, you can easily notice the difference. If it were an IPS LCD panel, the full HD resolution would have sufficed.
If it were an IPS LCD panel, the full HD resolution would have sufficed.
No MicroSD Card Support
I personally don’t need microSD storage with 64GB of UFS 2.0 on board, but it’s totally understandable if you do. Option to store and carry all multimedia content in a swappable storage can be convenient depending on how you actually use your phone. If that’s something you value, the OnePlus 3 isn’t for you.
Our Verdict
In spite of a few random issues that we are facing, the OnePlus 3 offers a very pleasant practical life experience and is something that simply works for us. It’s a good phone if you are looking for something south of 30,000 INR, and is certainly better than what other Chinese rivals are offerings in and around the same budget.
