OnePlus Launches the OnePlus 3: SD 820, 6GB RAM For $399

After what has been a fun hype train full of leaks, including the ones where newspaper ads came in from the future, we finally have the OnePlus 3, in all of it official glory.

Device Name:	OnePlus 3	Release Date/Price	Available Now, U$D 399
Android Version	6.0.1 (Oxygen OS ROM)	Display	5.5 inch 1080p AMOLED (401p ppi)
Chipset	Snapdragon 820, Quad Core 2x 2.2GHz 2x 1.6GHz, Adreno 530 GPU	Battery	3,000mAh, Dash Charge (5V 4A)
RAM	6GB LPDDR4	Sensors	Fingerprint, Hail, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light, Electronic Compass
Storage	64GB UFS 2.0	Connectivity	USB 2.0 Type C, Dual nano-SIM slot, 3.5mm audio jack
Dimensions	152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35 (~73% screen-to-body)	Rear Camera	16MP Sony IMX 298 Sensor, 1.12μm, OIS, EIS, PDAF, f/2.0, RAW support, 4K 30FPS / 720p 120FPS video
Weight	158g	Front Camera	8MP Sony IMX179, 1.4μm, EIS, Fixed Focus, f/2.0, 1080p 30FPS video

The OnePlus 3 builds up a lot from the OnePlus 2, but also differs by a good margin in several areas from its predecessors. The OnePlus 3 bears a full metallic unibody design, which means that we have to bid adieu to the distinct Sandstone textured back panels from the previous OnePlus flagship lineup devices. The back now looks like erstwhile HTC One series devices, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. The back of the device also bears the distinct antenna lines, which give a nice color contrast to the metal back. The back is also where the squarish rear camera setup and the OnePlus branding logo reside.

On the front, you get a 5.5″ AMOLED display. OnePlus is calling it an Optic AMOLED display, claiming custom-engineered gamma corrections… but we will have to wait for a hands-on to see if this bears some additional merit or is just a play with marketing buzzwords. Below the display, you will find a fingerprint scanner, much like the OnePlus 2. Additionally, there are capacitive buttons on either side of this scanner-home-button combo. But, if you like on-screen buttons, OxygenOS on the OnePlus 3 gives you the option to use those instead. Both, the capacitive buttons and the on-screen buttons can be configured based on your liking.

The OnePlus 3 retains the alert slider seen on previous OnePlus devices. It is present on the left side of the mid frame, accompanied by the volume rocker. The power button and the SIM tray slot (for 2x Nano SIM) sit on the right side of the device. The top of the device is clean and bare, but the bottom is a bit crowded with the drilled speaker holes, the USB Type C slot (which is USB 2.0), the microphone hole and the 3.5mm microphone jack.

The bottom does draw mixed reactions on the front that OnePlus is still stuck with USB 2.0, but on the other hand, they did retain the headphone jack, so you can in fact charge and listen to music personally at the same time. OnePlus has also added in “Dash Charge” functionality as a type of fast charging feature, delivering 5V at 4A to the 3000 mAh non-removable battery. There is no wireless charging functionality on the OnePlus 3, but OnePlus is promising upto 60% battery charge within half an hour of charging, so one may possibly overlook this omission.

On the inside, the OnePlus 3 is flagship material and should not have any issues standing at par with the current crop of flagships. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC and the Adreno 530 GPU should make the device fairly competitive. For RAM, OnePlus is on the attack front, packing in a beefy 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM. You also get 64GB of UFS 2.0 as internal storage, but on the flip side, there is no microSD expandability. Unlike the OnePlus 2, the 3 also comes in with NFC.

For the camera setup on the 3, OnePlus has chosen the Sony IMX298 sensor for the rear which is 16MP sensor with f/2.0. There are some more handy additions, like Optical Image Stabilization, Electronic Image Stabilization and Phase Detection Autofocus. The Laser Autofocus from last year is noticeably missing from this list. But on the bright side, the OnePlus 3 can shoot 4K video at 30fps and Slo-Mo video at 720p at 120fps, along with RAW image support. The front sensor on the OnePlus 3 is the Sony IMX17, which is an 8MP sensor with f/2.0. How exactly both of these perform is something that we will have to find out in the hands on.

The OnePlus 3 is available for purchase, sans any sorts of invites, starting today. The device starts off at $399 at OnePlus.net for this 6GB RAM phone.

With the OnePlus 3, OnePlus has really revisited the phrase “Flagship Killer of 2016”. The OnePlus 2 was nowhere near doing justice to that marketing slogan, but the OnePlus 3 is a strong contender. Granted, the phone does have a few “shortcomings”, such as a FHD panel instead of QHD, lack of wireless charging, no USB 3.0 support and some more areas where we could nit-pick. But on paper, the OnePlus 3 stands to be a solid contender in the affordable flagship category, and a much better flagship than the OnePlus 2 ever was. Let’s hope that the OnePlus 3 can walk the walk too.

What are your thoughts on the OnePlus 3? Let us know in the comments below!

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