OnePlus 3T review - better late than never video

Specifications

Screen
: 5.5-inch AMOLED display with FullHD (1920 x 1080) resolution;
protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Case materials:
anodized aluminum back with minimal plastic dividers on top and bottom
Colors:
Gunmetal (dark gray), Soft Gold (gold, only version with 64 GB ROM)
Processor:
quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (64 bit , Kryo architecture, 14 nm process technology);
two cores operate at 2.35 GHz, the other two at 1.6 GHz Graphics:
Adreno 530 (624 MHz)
Operating system:
HydrogenOS (Chinese version) / OxygenOS (Europe and USA) based on Android 7 Nougat
RAM:
6 GB (LPDDR4)
User memory:
64 GB / 128 GB (UFS 2.0)
Camera:
16 MP (f/2.0 aperture), Sony IMX298 sensor (1/2.8″), phase detection autofocus, optical stabilization, LED flash, 4K video recording (30 c/s);
front camera 16 MP without autofocus, Samsung 3P8SP, f/2.0 aperture, FullHD video recording Network support:
GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz 4G LTE (Cat. 6).
North American Model: WCDMA: Bands 1/2/4/5/8; FDD-LTE: Bands 1/2/4/5/7/8/12/17/30; CDMA EVDO: BC0 Europe/Asia model: WCDMA: Bands 1/2/5/8; FDD-LTE: Bands 1/3/5/7/8/20; TDD-LTE: Bands 38/40 Model for China: WCDMA: Bands 1/2/5/8; FDD-LTE: Bands 1/3/5/7/8; TDD-LTE: Bands 38/39/40/41; TD-SCDMA: Bands 34/39; CDMA EVDO: BC0 Wireless technologies:
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (dual band: 2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2 (LE), GPS / GLONASS / BDS, A-GPS support, NFC
Sensors:
scanner fingerprint, accelerometer, Hall sensor, gyroscope, digital compass, distance and illumination
Additionally:
USB 2.0 Type-C port with USB-OTG support, fast charging using DASH Charge technology (current up to 4 A), LED indicator
Battery:
3400 mA* h, non-removable
Supplied with:
power supply (5 V 4 A), USB cable, paper clip for removing the tray, instructions
Dimensions:
152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35 mm
Weight:
158 grams
Cost (official):
$439 (64 GB), $479 ( 128 GB)

OnePlus 3T A3010 CN Version 6/64GB

5.5″ Snapdragon 821 6/64GB

Data updated 10/01/2020 20:32:00.

Since this model has been out of production for a long time, it is likely that not a new, but a refurbished device of the Chinese version of the A3010 will be sent, regardless of what is indicated in the description. Please take this into account to avoid disappointment.

Appearance

OnePlus 3T has the same body as OnePlus 3, the only differences are in the colors.

The model appeared in a new color - Gunmetal (dark gray), in addition, the Soft Gold color (gold) remained.

Connoisseurs of unique devices will appreciate the black version of the OnePlus 3T Colette edition, but only 250 of these devices were produced, and finding them will be a challenge.

The fact that only the color of the phone has undergone changes does not mean that the manufacturer has become extremely lazy. Anyone who has used or at least held OnePlus 3 in their hands will say that the phone turned out to be excellent. The protective glass on the front panel has a noticeable rounding both to the touch and visually. At the same time, the transition from glass to metal cover is made so well that you can simply admire the phone.

On the right side there is a power key and a slot for two nanoSIM SIM cards.
On the left is a slider that changes the volume mode to vibration and silent mode, as well as a volume rocker. At the bottom there is a USB Type-C port, a multimedia speaker, a microphone and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The top end is empty. Photo of the edges On the back side there is a main camera block, which protrudes quite strongly above the body. Under the lens there is a flash, and even lower is the OnePlus logo.

The fingerprint scanner is located on the front panel, under the screen on the touch button. This arrangement contributes to comfortable work, because to unlock the smartphone there is no need to pick it up, just put your finger on it.

If we talk about ease of use, then the OnePlus 3T is doing great. All mechanical control keys are where you expect, so after purchase it will take quite a bit of time to get used to it. Unfortunately, the fingerprint scanner does not always work correctly. Sometimes, to unlock it you need to put your finger on it a couple of times. If we compare the dimensions of the OnePlus 3T with the Moto X Style, we see that the 3T is not much smaller in size, while it has a 5.5-inch screen, while the X Style has a 5.7-inch screen. On the other hand, the OnePlus 3T is only 7.35mm thick.

Comparison photo

An interesting point is that the control of the smartphone can be completely customized. For example, we don’t like control using touch keys, under the screen, it’s easy - we turn it on the screen keys.

If this is not enough, we can change the location of the keys. If you want to turn on the phone by tapping the screen, that’s no problem. It is from all of the above that positive impressions of the smartphone are made.

▌Operating system and shell

Software that is as close as possible in appearance and functionality to bare Android is the best thing that can happen to any smartphone running Google's OS.
The first-born OnePlus was released with CyanogenMod on board, but as a result of some ups and downs, subsequent smartphones had to be transferred to their own developments. Thus, the Chinese market received HydrogenOS, and Europe and the USA received OxygenOS. Despite ordering from a Chinese online store, my smartphone arrived with international OxygenOS 3.1.3, which was subsequently updated “over the air” to version 3.2.4. Screenshots

The system launcher is almost a complete analogue of Google Start, with the exception of several innovations and shortcomings discovered during use. The leftmost page, which usually housed the Google Now service with a selection of current information (weather, calendar events, news), was replaced with Shelf. “Shelf” (translated from English), according to the logic of the developers, is intended for widgets such as a calendar or a list of frequently launched programs, and also, similar to Google Now, the weather can be displayed here. But the overall functionality of this solution is noticeably lower than that of the “Google” service, so after some time I returned to Google Start.

Screenshots

At the same time, the OnePlus launcher has simple and useful features that for some reason are not present in Google Start. Just look at activating the search bar by swiping from the bottom of the desktop and displaying the notification shade with a reverse gesture. There is only one complaint about the search - it does not search well for applications on the phone, and this is my main use case. However, all these are quibbles that can be solved by installing a third-party launcher, which is what Adnroid is famous for.

Screenshots

Google Start stock launcher

I already showed the dark system theme in the previous chapter; in addition, you can change the color of the controls, enable on-screen buttons and change their location, assign additional actions to touch buttons, assign a specific LED color to a separate application when a notification is missed, and much more. There is support for gestures when the screen is off and the ability to interact with the smartphone screen using the proximity sensor on the front panel. Fans of fine-tuning their smartphones have plenty to enjoy.

Screenshots

Of course, the system works stably and as quickly as possible; the only bug with FullHD video playback at 60fps, which was mentioned in many early reviews, has already been fixed.

Display

The Optic AMOLED display was in the OnePlus 3, and it remains in the OnePlus 3T. The diagonal and screen resolution remain the same - it is 5.5 inches and 1920 by 1080 pixels. Moreover, it is made according to the PenTile scheme, but this is not scary because the density is 401 ppi. Individual pixels cannot be distinguished by eye even if you look closely. Protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4 is used.

Outdoors, the picture on the screen remains not only readable, it practically does not fade even in sunny weather.
This is all thanks to the high maximum brightness. If you turn the brightness to maximum in a room, it becomes difficult to look at due to the high brightness value. In cloudy weather, you can get by with a brightness of 50%. In general, it’s better to trust the automatic adjustment sensor, because it works just fine. Screen Settings

For those who do not like the oversaturated colors of the AMOLED screen, the item with color settings will be useful. You can select sRGB, but in my opinion, in this mode the screen becomes somewhat gray, or you can configure it yourself by adjusting the temperature slider. To summarize, we can say that the OnePlus 3T has, dare I say it, a magnificent screen.

conclusions

The official price of the device, presented on the company’s website, is $439 for the younger version and $479 for the older one. In this price segment, no other phone can boast such powerful technical characteristics. But again, don't just look at the numbers. The mobile device often slows down, the camera is frankly mediocre. Therefore, if you really want to get a top-end smartphone, we recommend paying extra and buying a product from a more famous brand. And if saving money is in your interests, then the Oneplus 3t will be good value for money.

Hardware platform

Release of a new smartphone model leaving the old processor was an unacceptable action, because OnePlus 3T is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor. The use of this chip is not due to the fact that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 could not cope with the tasks, but simply because at the time of the announcement of the smartphone it was the most productive.
The LPDDR4 RAM capacity is 6 GB, but only about 3 GB is available after switching on. The test smartphone has 64 GB of user memory, of which 53 GB is available. If this is not enough, there is also a version with 128 GB. This smartphone must score the maximum number of “parrots” in any benchmark, which in practice it succeeds.

Test screenshots

The differences in the versions of the smartphone are not only in colors and memory capacity, but also in the regions for which they are produced. There are two versions: Chinese with index (A3010) and European (A3003). They differ in the plug on the power supply and support for LTE frequencies. The Chinese version (this is the one in the review) does not have support for Band 20, which will be critical for some operators.

GPS tests

Despite the fact that the test phone is a Chinese version, searching for satellites or working on a 3G network did not cause any complaints.

Game screenshots

To say that the OnePlus 3T is the perfect phone for gamers is an understatement. Its technical characteristics will be relevant not only for current games, but also with a large margin for the future. At the same time, playing WoT at maximum settings, the picture in the game looks beautiful, and the game runs smoothly. There is no excessive heating in games, yes it is felt, but not critical. The most noticeable heating was noticed in the GFXbench battery life test.

▌Communications and multimedia

On the left side of the OnePlus 3 there is a three-position slider that is responsible for setting notification modes.
When the slider is set to the top position, the smartphone goes into “silent” mode, i.e. All notifications are turned off except the alarm clock. The lower position corresponds to the standard sound profile of a smartphone, but the logic of the central one is not entirely clear to me. Here you can set who to make calls from or even leave sound notifications only for messages, but you cannot activate only vibration for an incoming call. Those. either audio calls from your favorite contacts, or nothing. And to use the standard mode with vibration for calls and notifications, you have to manually reduce the volume to zero. Screenshots

During the entire period of use, I had no complaints about the telephone functionality of the smartphone. The speaker is loud and of high quality, and the microphone and speech transmission are also good. The multimedia speaker lacks the volume in sound that the LeEco Le Max 2 speaker showed, and I would like to hear more low frequencies. The cost of the smartphone may be lower than flagships from A-brands, but still $400 is quite an impressive amount and such quibbles are justified in this case. When predicting questions about the sound quality in headphones, I obviously refer to the review from overcklockers.ru, since I do not have the appropriate equipment to carry out the necessary measurements. According to subjective feelings, I don’t hear any difference with a $100 budget device, if this difference can actually be heard on tracks from Google Music and $20 headphones from Xiaomi.

The most I can notice is a low bitrate or a reduced frequency range. I discovered the last phenomenon when using OnePlus 3 with the Macaw T1000f Bluetooth headset. Unfortunately, this smartphone does not support the aptX codec, which is necessary for transmitting high-quality audio over Bluetooth. The reasons for its absence are unknown to me, but I assume that this was done for the purpose of banal savings, since aptX is a proprietary codec, and its licensing costs money.

When paired, the headphones alternately send requests to use a specific audio codec. After a negative response to a request to use aptX, SBC becomes the working codec. And SBC, despite a bitrate comparable to MP3, has a fundamentally reduced range of reproduced frequencies, as a result of which even the original MP3 material sounds disgusting. A repeated test with Parrot Zik 2 led to a similar result, and the quality of music playback in Bluetooth headphones was depressing. Why, in the absence of aptX, the smartphone uses SBC by default and not AAC, which does a much better job of encoding music files, I don’t know.

Screenshots

Pairing log with Macaw T1000

Pairing log with Zik 2.0

In terms of the quality of Wi-Fi signal reception, OnePlus 3 is only slightly inferior to Xiaomi Redmi 3 with extensive plastic inserts on the back side. The comparison was made in the 2.4 GHz band at a 4-meter distance from the router with an obstacle in the form of the wall of a residential panel high-rise building.

Screenshots

OnePlus 3 Xiaomi Redmi 3

Navigation satellites, when the A-GPS mode is turned on on the smartphone (an Internet connection is required), are detected in a matter of seconds and are stable during operation, but the smartphone still does not reach the level of the Xiaomi Mi Max. That one was, perhaps, simply the best smartphone in terms of navigation that has ever fallen into my hands.

Screenshots

I almost forgot: when you connect a smartphone to a PC, a virtual drive with adb drivers (Win/Mac/Linux) and a program for working with the Adnroid file system on Mac is mounted. Those who like to root and flash their smartphone will not have to look for drivers on the Internet.

Interface

OnePlus smartphones are a kind of Nexus devices.
OnePlus 3T was no exception - it came out of the box running Oxygen OS, which is based on Android 7.0. Interface

Some of the features of the system were described above, but these are not all the pleasant features. What I liked most was the ability to enable a dark interface theme, which looks great when paired with an AMOLED screen, because it changes the color of the curtain, the background of the application menu and settings from white to dark gray. In practice, this is an excellent solution that is missing in “pure” Android.

Additional settings

At the time of preparation of the material, stable firmware for Android 7.1 had already appeared.

OnePlus 3T A3010 CN Version 6/128GB

5.5″ Snapdragon 821 6/128GB

Data updated 10/01/2020 20:41:59.

Since this model has been out of production for a long time, it is likely that not a new, but a refurbished device of the Chinese version of the A3010 will be sent, regardless of what is indicated in the description. Please take this into account to avoid disappointment.

Cameras

The main camera module of OnePlus 3T remains the same as it was in OnePlus 3 - a 16-megapixel Sony IMX 298 sensor with 1.12 µm pixels, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), and optical and electronic stabilization. We didn’t forget about the ability to save pictures in RAW.

More screenshots of the camera app

In daylight, the quality of the images can be safely assessed as good.

Additional pictures

Full-size photographs can be downloaded from this link.
At night, if you photograph bright objects, you can get great photos.

More examples

The front camera has improved. Now it is a 16-megapixel Samsung 3P8SP sensor with 1.0 µm pixels, f/2.0 aperture and digital stabilization. Unfortunately, the shooting angle is not wide.

The main camera is capable of recording video in 4K resolution at 30 fps and slow-motion video in HD resolution at 120 fps.

Autonomy

The battery life of a smartphone is one of the most important parameters. If by 2 days of work in the case of a budget/mid-range device this is normal, then the flagships do not want to go down this path. The battery capacity of OnePlus 3T has increased to 3400 mAh, while the thickness of the body remains the same. The included charger is made using Dash Charge technology (5 V, 4 A). Charging time from 0 to 100% was 1 hour 10 minutes. Moreover, in the first 15 minutes the device is charged by 30%, and in half an hour by 60%. If you use a non-included USB Type-C cable for charging, the battery charging time will increase significantly. The same applies to the use of third-party chargers.

In the PCMark Work 2.0 test at 50% brightness, battery life was 7 hours 19 minutes.
It is worth noting that a brightness of 50% is too high for everyday use. Autonomy tests

I've been using the smartphone as my main device for a little over a week. On the second day of use, total battery life was 1 day 2 hours, with active screen time of 3 hours 33 minutes. After that, I charged the phone again and the next time it worked much longer - 1 day 16 hours. The active screen time was 6 hours 22 minutes.

Autonomy charts

At the same time, I am a fairly active user of social networks and instant messengers, but I practically do not play games. Interestingly, when you turn on the power saving mode, the smartphone discharges slowly, but the smooth operation remains the same.

Equipment

The OnePlus 3T smartphone comes in a branded white cardboard box with a red brand logo. Hidden inside is another red box. Red and white are also used in the design of the kit. The box contains separate compartments:

• Smartphone with protective film pasted
• DASH adapter
• USB Type-C cable, rolled and secured with special clips
• Card tray ejector clip hidden in documentation
• Stickers

Results

OnePlus 3T can easily be called one of the best smartphones.
If you have doubts about whether to buy this phone or not, then I can safely say that I recommend it for purchase. OnePlus 3T has a high-quality body, a good screen, high performance and smooth operation. The camera and battery life didn't disappoint either. Moreover, it has a significantly lower price than the flagship Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 and others. Liked:

high-quality case;
display; performance and smoothness; firmware and quick release of updates; battery life; camera; price. What I didn’t like:
fast charging only from the included power supply; The fingerprint scanner does not always work the first time.

With the promotional code “GB3T” the price of the smartphone is $418 + cashbacks can be increased to 400 and below.

Thank you for your attention!

The product was provided for writing a review by the store. The review was published in accordance with clause 18 of the Site Rules.