The OnePlus 3T is one of the best mid-range Android smartphones out there with a power specification that will give some high-end smartphones a run for their money.
The OnePlus 3T is packed with a lot of great things, from fast charging with dash charge to a whopping 6GB RAM and a good performance when it comes to speed and graphics, read on to see how we got on with it.
Fast, no-nonsense unboxing video of the One Plus 3T
OnePlus 3T design review – It’s sleek and feels natural in hand.
Current OnePlus 3 users will notice nothing new here as it’s the next iteration of the 3 line. It is to the iPhone 6 what the “S” range is. For me, though, if yo have a winning design formula that no one has complained about, why change it?
Once you take it out of the box, you will notice its metal housing, the one which OnePlus mentioned that it’s carved out of one piece of space-grade aluminium alloy – it screams premium and solid build quality that some so-called premium devices can’t match today.
Its build material also makes it one of the lightest devices on the market weighing just 158g and it’s 5.5inch display spans 153 x 75 x 7.4mm. Its edge to edge bezels is near non-existence, leaving the noticeable bezels at the top and bottom of the device.
To the right of the OnePlus 3T, there’s a power/lock button and on the left, you have your volume rocker and a really cool alert slider for quickly switching between silent, vibrate and loud.
On the bottom of the frame, the USB-C port, speaker, mic and 3.5mm headphone jack is located. It’s worth mentioning that the alert slider is finished with a grooved metal so you can easily feel for it in your pocket or in the dark.
The front of the 3T is also very minimalist with a front facing camera and earpiece/speaker at the top and at the bottom, a fingerprint scanner/home button, but the button is not a clicky one, it relies on haptic feedback.
The colour combination that we have here for review is the dark grey one and on the back, you will notice the black band on top of the 16MP camera with flash below it and right at the bottom another band – the bands are the antenna for the best signal possible at all times.
I really like the subtle OnePlus logo sitting on the back too, kudos to OnePlus for a minimalist design and a solid build working in harmony – you will almost forget you didn’t pay more than £400 for it. Let’s not forget to mention that it comes with a screen protector out of the box too.
Another thing that’s similar to its predecessor is the display configuration. It’s still a Full HD (1920×1080) resolution dishing out 401ppi and an Optic AMOLED display panel.
Don’t let that put you off, though, crank it up to full brightness when watching movies or reading books even, and you will notice its vibrant colours with the option to tweak to your own taste, for example, making it warmer for night time usage.
OnePlus 3T processing power, software and battery performance review
We won’t bore you with benchmark scores as it’s never a true reflection of the real world usage, but for the techie and processor geeks like me, you will be happy to read that OnePlus did not compromise here, even for its price point.
Packed with a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor, it’s on par with the likes of Google’s highly praised Google Pixel and Pixel XL. Coupled with 6GB of RAM and Adreno 530 graphics chip, I can’t express how fast the OnePlus 3T enough in words.
It’s like an old car with performance tweaks smashing a brand new fast car – what I’m getting at is, for the price you pay, you don’t expect such performance, you expect it from something you pay over £600 for.
Whether you’re gaming, switching between apps, multitasking or any processor intensive tasks, the 3T will handle it very well. Even it’s Software, the OxygenOS 3.5 is smooth, not bloated with applications you don’t need and it offers some customizations to truly make it yours.
With an efficient processor capable of managing applications and dishing out the right amount of power combination when needed, battery performance is really good too. It works in perfect harmony with its non-removable 3,400mAh, 400 more than its predecessor, the OnePlus 3.
You can use the 3T all day and still have a little juice left under heavy usage, but whilst everyone’s usage will vary from person to person, OnePlus has included a fast charger – a really fast one, it’s witchcraft – called the “Dash Charger”; it’s a USB Type C and power brick combo that will charge the 3T to 60 percent in 30 minutes – that’s nearly a day’s worth of charge in 30 minutes.
OnePlus 3T camera performance
Anyone who’s been following my smartphone reviews will know this is a section close to my heart. If you were to rank smartphone features by how important it is to me, the camera would stand out on top of my list.
The 3T is loaded with a 16MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture combined with LED flash ready for low light shots and capturing as much light as possible, accurately. When it comes to video, 4K is also becoming a basic feature now and the 3T is no exception. If you prefer to go standard, then there’s an option for 1080p FHD at 60 frames per second.
Whilst most devices out there, even the high-end ones have about 8MP front-facing camera, even the 3T’s predecessor, this one offers selfie fans a whopping 16MP on the front too. Not only is that great for video calls, you have all the pixels you can eat.
So what does that look like in the real world? you can see the samples below, how well the colours are represented, the dynamic range and use it in a perfect lighting situation, you will be capture images that will give some smartphones a run for their money. The blacks are great and highlights are not overblown.
Should you buy the OnePlus 3T?
There’s a reason why the 3T was sold out in a matter of minutes at launch, and that’s because it’s such a great device and a steal. For previous OnePlus 3 users, you probably won’t be upgrading yet, unless you absolutely one a new device, but for new buyers, you will not be disappointed – that’s if you can get hold of one.
If I have any qualms with the OnePlus 3T, it would be the lack of microSD card support and I now worry about OnePlus realising how good their devices are that the price will continue to rise – fingers crossed that don’t happen.
Pricing and availability:
The OnePlus 3T is available online with the 64GB in Gunmetal and Soft Gold at £399 and the 128GB in Gunmetal at £439.
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