OnePlus 3 Review

 Weight: 158g  | OS: Oxygen OS 2.1.2 on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 1,080 x 1,920 | CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 with the Adreno 530 GPU | RAM: 6GB | Storage: 64GB | Battery: 3000mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 8MP

PROS

• High-quality build
• Very good heat handling
• Excellent value
• Solid camera

CONS

• Inconsistent battery life doesn't impress day-to-day
• Innaccurate display colours

KEY FEATURES

• 5.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen
• 6GB dual-channel DDR4 RAM
• 64GB storage
• Android 6.0.1
• OxygenUI
• Snadragon 820 CPU
• Manufacturer: OnePlus
• Review Price: 400$/4000MAD

ONEPLUS 3 – DESIGN

The OnePlus 3 offers an upgrade once again, this time by way of a metal and glass design. It's available in "Graphite" – a muted grey – and its 7.4mm-thick aluminium frame makes this handset a delight to both look at and hold.

A 5.5-inch phone may still not be for everyone, but the OnePlus 3 is among the more manageable phones with such a screen size. The finish is excellent too: the aluminium rear is anodised sports the same type of non-shiny look you’ll find on an iPhone.

The OnePlus 3 also has a great fingerprint scanner, which is located in the same position as it is on the OnePlus 2. It’s a non-clicky pad that sits below the screen.

It works whether or not the display is on, and is super-fast. It's possible to use it as a "Home" soft key, either on-screen or via the physical ones below the screen. The hardware back and "apps" soft keys are marked with tiny white LED dots, rather than full-on icons. 

The 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 front meets the metal chassis in a smooth and luxuriously flush way and the Alert Slider on the left side even has a solid and satisfying motion with its grippy textured surface.

ONEPLUS 3 – SCREEN

The OnePlus 3 continues e with a Super AMOLED Samsung screen. It’s 5.5 inches across and has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, resulting in pixel density of 401ppi.

What is new is a change to Optic AMOLED technology, which is OnePlus' take on SuperAMOLED. This looks better thanks to more vibrant colours and better contrast and also is what enables the phone to have those tiny bezels.

OnePlus 3 processor, RAM and benchmarks

It's fairly predictable that the OnePlus 3 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820processor. This means it joins the 820 club frequented by the HTC 10 and LG G5. The quad-core chip comes with the Adreno 530 GPU and is clocked slightly higher than other phones at 2.2GHz – the other two cores are 1.6GHz.

The OnePlus 3 comes with a slightly insane 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM. That's a full 2GB, or 50 percent, more than any other phone we've seen.

ONEPLUS 3 – CAMERA

The OnePlus 3 has very familiar camera hardware. On the rear sits a Sony IMX298 16-megapixel sensor ; on the front Sony IMX179 8-megapixel sensor.

Colours are lifelike without being overblown, and dynamic range seems good even without using the HDR mode. A feature that works effectively is Dynamic De-noise.

At the front is an 8Mp camera with 1.4um pixels. It can record 1080p video at 30fps. Selfies are sharper than we expected, and the field of view is easily sufficient for two people at arm’s length. A Smile Capture option saves you stretching for the shutter button.

ONEPLUS 3 – BATTERY LIFE

The OnePlus 3 has a slightly smaller battery than its predecessor at 3000mAh. If you're thinking that you'd rather have a fatter and heavier phone with a larger battery then OnePlus' answer is fast charging. As usual, the battery is non-removable. 

As usual, the phone has a reversible USB Type-C port and is a supplied with the new Dash Charge charger. OnePlus touts over 60 percent in 30 minutes which means you can top the battery up with minimal hassle despite its lower capacity. There's also a Dash Charge car charger if you want to top up quickly when driving.

OVERALL SCORE

SCORES IN DETAIL

• Battery Life7
• Calls & Sound8
• Camera8
• Design9
• Performance9
• Screen Quality8
• Software9
• Value10