The OnePlus 3T has just been launched by the Chinese company, which has made incredible strides in the last few years.
The OnePlus 3 is probably one of the finest smartphones money can buy south of the $500 price range. This device can easily compete with the $700 phones like the Samsung Galaxy S7, thus offering incredible value for money. Yet, OnePlus has seen the need to replace the phone as the top dog in its lineup just four months after its launch.
The OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T are similar in specifications when it comes to the display. They both use the same AMOLED screen which measures 5.5 inches in size. The resolution is also kept the same 1080p as before. These are contrary to the rumors that predicted a large 6-inch screen on the OnePlus 3T coupled with a 2K resolution. The 1080p screen allows the company to provide excellent battery life on the products, which has just increased even more on the OnePlus 3T thanks to a 3400 mAh battery.
The OnePlus 3 only offers a 3000 mAh battery which seems rather small for the phone of this size. At 3400 mAh, the OnePlus 3T will be able to offer substantial screen on times. The company has retained the dash charging capabilities on the new device without any changes. However, the slightly larger capacity means that it will take a few more minutes to charge compared to the OnePlus 3.
One of the disappointing elements of the OnePlus 3’s design is a camera hump in the rear. Since it protrudes quite badly, it is extremely prone to scratches during regular usage. In order to protect the camera lens, OnePlus now offers a more scratch resistant glass for the rear camera. One of the disappointing elements of this 16-megapixel sensor is not the ability to pick up colors more accurately, but the ineffectiveness of the optical image stabilization especially during video recording.
The OnePlus 3T does not seem to have changed in this regard, but it does have an improved front facing camera. Theeight-megapixel sensor on the OnePlus 3 is gone to be replaced by a brand-new 16-megapixel sensor from Samsung. The decision to replace the front camera does seem surprising considering that the rear camera probably needed more attention. As it is, the 16-megapixel front camera on the OnePlus 3T will be a major boost especially in apps like WhatsApp, which now officially supports video calling amongst several new features.
The snapdragon 821 processor used on the OnePlus 3T will only be slightly faster. It has a clock speed of 2.35 GHz on each core while the snapdragon 820 processor on the predecessor came with a 2.15 GHz clock speed. Since the amount of the RAM is the same at 6 GB, expect the two devices to be almost on par in terms of performance. The OnePlus 3T, though, offers Android 7.0 experience straight away compared with the OnePlus 3 which is yet to receive the update and continues with the Android Marshmallow for the time being.
The real differences between the two products could come in terms of prices. Even here, OnePlus has limited the differences with the OnePlus 3 continuing with the same $399 pricing, which is one of the most attractive elements of the phone. The 64 GB variant of the OnePlus 3T will be available at $430, but the real star of the show would be the 128 GB version which is available for $480. The new device will also be available in the gunmetal color option, which is similar to the space grey found on iPhones.