OnePlus 3 release date, news and features
Update: The OnePlus 3 is finally here! Below you can learn about everything you need to know on the latest flagship killer phone from OnePlus.
It’s official and the OnePlus 3 is yet another great looking smartphone with a brilliantly low price. The OnePlus 2 was a fantastic phone – we gave it four and a half stars in our review – but the OnePlus 3 looks to be even better.
OnePlus has a lot to live up to with the OnePlus 3. OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei told TechRadar, “People have very, very high expectations. We got very lucky with the first device, and people wanted more. We have to balance expectations with what we’re capable of.”
Last year, OnePlus underwent a lot of criticism for losing NFC and the OnePlus 3 has brought it back on board as well as including the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 16MP rear camera.
The best bit of all? The OnePlus 3 is out right now and there are no invites. You can just visit the website and buy it without having to wait – hurrah!
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The latest affordable flagship phone from OnePlus
- When is it out? It’s out right now!
- What will it cost? It’ll cost US$399 or £309
OnePlus 3 release date
OnePlus has now announced its latest flagship in a virtual reality experience called The Loop. It’s on sale now in a virtual reality store and after the event – 3pm EDT (12pm PDT, 8pm BST) to be exact – it’ll be on the normal online store for you to buy.
The normal OnePlus way of doing things is inviting people to buy the phone – but that scheme has been dropped for the OnePlus 3 and it’s fair game for everyone. You’ll have to be quick though – rumor has it there are only a million handsets ready to be shipped and there’s a lot of demand for the OnePlus 3.
When the OnePlus 3 will be shipped is another matter altogether. The company hasn’t revealed how long it will take to send its orders out.
OnePlus 3 design
Most of the recent leaks we saw of the OnePlus 3 were true. The design of the OnePlus 3 is much more premium than the OnePlus 2 and it comes with a full metal uni-body for the very first time.
It uses an anodized aluminum for the body and OnePlus claims this adds extra strength to the phone. It’s only 7.35mm thick and has rounder edges than we’ve seen on previous OnePlus phones too.
There are also two color options this year with either graphite or soft gold to choose from. Only graphite is available right now though, we have to wait a little while longer for the soft gold option.
- Watch our unboxing to find out everything you’ll get with the OnePlus 3
OnePlus 3 display
OnePlus has kept to the 5.5-inch display size we saw on the OnePlus 2 and is using a Full HD AMOLED screen. It looks much the same as the OnePlus 2.
Some had hoped the OnePlus 3 would opt for a 2K display, but that would have likely had a big impact on the phone’s battery life. It offers 401 pixels-per-inch – the same as the OnePlus 2.
The bezels are ultra-slim on the OnePlus 3 though coming in at under a millimeter each meaning the phone is really making the most of the space it has. There’s also Gorilla Glass 4 to help tackle any scratches and drops.
OnePlus 3 specs and power
OnePlus has upped the power in the OnePlus 3 – on paper it’s very impressive under-the-hood. There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor clocked at 2.2GHz as well as a huge 6GB of RAM.
The OnePlus 3 is one of the only phones in the world to tote 6GB of RAM alongside the ZTE Axon 7 and LeEco Le Max 2.
Storage wise there’s only one option for the OnePlus 3 this year – your only choice is a 64GB version. You may ask why there’s no smaller and cheaper OnePlus 3? The reason is not enough 32GB OnePlus 2 phones were selling.
OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei told TechRadar, “90% of users chose the larger storage option – [the] price difference wasn’t that great between the two [storage sizes], and one model makes it easier for us too.”
There’s also no microSD support on the OnePlus 3 – you’re stuck with just 64GB of storage. Pei said, “MicroSD is a big ask [from our fans], but it’s not a good ask. It’s not a good user experience. What happens if you use it as adoptable storage and remove the card?
“All your apps gets messed up. If you don’t adopt it, it can only used for media. Not the best experience in our mind.”
That’s a strong opinion on microSD and may mean we won’t see a card slot on the OnePlus 4 or OnePlus X 2 either.
NFC is back for OnePlus allowing you to use Android Pay on the OnePlus 3 – that’s a big feature that many were disappointed was dropped from the OnePlus 2.
Underneath the screen also sits a fingerprint sensor, which OnePlus claims can be unlocked in under 0.2 seconds.
OnePlus 3 battery
This year there’s a 3,000mAh non-removable battery in the OnePlus flagship phone. OnePlus now has a fast charging technology called Dash Charge that allows you to juice up your OnePlus 3 from zero to 60% in just half an hour.
Most fast-charging options mean your phone will get hot and overpowered during the process, but the OnePlus 3 does most of the hard work in the adaptor for the charger, so the heat won’t even get to the phone. For you, that’ll mean means you can still play games and use your phone while it’s fast charging.
OnePlus 3 camera
Shooter wise there’s a 16MP Sony PDAF sensor on the back of the OnePlus 3 that boasts a f/2.0 aperture as well as an auto HDR mode and a dynamic de-noise feature.
The manual mode on the OnePlus 3 has been improved as well and there’s a new RAW image support mode as well as new stabilization features.
OnePlus 3 price
OnePlus has confirmed it will cost US$399 or £309 for the OnePlus 3. That’s a similar price to how much the 64GB OnePlus 2 originally cost when it launched.
OnePlus 3 competition
OnePlus launched the OnePlus 2 as the “2016 flagship killer” even though it came mid-way through 2015. It held its own against some of the best phones you can buy, but now the OnePlus 3 is ready for action.
There’s stiff competition for OnePlus with the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5, HTC 10 and the iPhone 6S. In September, we also expect to see the iPhone 7 launch.
But then there’s both the OnePlus X and the OnePlus 2 as well. Even though both of these phones are older, they’re both cheaper than the OnePlus 3 and there’s likely to be a lot of stock available as well.
More to read
Source: techradar.com
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My OnePlus One has 64Gb storage. They're saying the top-spec OnePlus 3 will have the same?
6GB of RAM is not needed, but 64Gb storage is.
Can you check my punctuation and spell check me while you're there?
The 64 GB version is on sale right now for $299- so better than the OP2. But that is a sale price.
Hey- the OPO always had to deal with the Nexus 5/6 and the Moto X/G as its main competitors. Its getting tougher out their – even ASUS and BLU have pretty good phablets at lower prices.
You want a QHD screen and fast charging… in a $329 phone? You achieve the same results with a 1080p screen. Save the 4K for your living room hugescreen tv. QHD sucks battery power and adds to the price with negligible benefit on a 5-6" screen. The fingerprint scanner is an expensive, pointless and sketchy, just there to keep up with the other guys- ditch it. MicroSD slot- GOTTA HAVE IT. I use them for photography, movies and dash cam videos. Transferring a chip is way better than going through the Cloud, and running up your data plan.
Keeping the phone fast, useful and CHEAP is what Oneplus is all about.
The title of this article shouldnt have been "OnePlus 3 release date, news and rumors", It should have been: 'OnePlus 3 Clickbait….. because we know nothing.'
Simply saying a QHD screen sucks is too simplistic. If it means you still have great battery-durance and performance, its fine with me. On the other hand, there is still nothing wrong with FHD on 5.5" unless your phone is used in combination with a VR headset.
OnePlus is truly an amazing company. They managed to keep their head above the water despite total crap they are manufacturing. Their devices are cheap because they hired monkeys to customize OS (design and development is done by Google already). I know, I bought and sold two of their devices already. OnePlus One, thanks to the hype, was sold almost at the same price it was bought. OnePlus X however, I had to sell well below the purchasing price. They are proving over and over again that a good phone cannot be made at this price. But hey, they found their customer base amongst those who prefer to spend less and get much less in return.
How important is battery life to you? A QHD screen sucks a lot more power than a 1080p display. Is it really that much clearer on a 5" screen? I have no problem with a 1080p screen on the OP3. It keeps the price down, and the battery life long. Definitely looking forward to the MicroSD slot too, my dashcam uses one and I would like to show the cop the video evidence before he tries to write a ticket!
i want:
Good Camera
Cool CPU ~ SD820
4GB RAM
Fingerprint-Reader
NFC!
Quick-Charge
USB 3.0 Type C
QHD Screen
Nice battery life
Softtouch Buttons
Notofication-Slider
and i guess that's it^^
Had 3 chinese imported phones. Never again, it isnt worth the trouble.
16gb means 8gb storage. Without cloudstorage (i hate everything that ruins my privacy) 8 GB isn't simply enough. (for any serious user)
Read carefully…" redundant for any SERIOUS smartphone user."
Yeah, but importing Chinese phones can be a pain as most don't have the correct LTE networks.
i use NFC very often. Use it to pair my bluetooth devices
You know… There's Google Photos… Unlimited storage of 16MP pictures? Yup don't need any SD Card for those cat pics!
behind its looks like htc design, the best price for new smartphone .
I very much doubt that the release price of the 3 will be £239 seeing as they're still selling the one plus 2 on their site for £249
Lack of NFC was the only reason I didn't get a OnePlus 2.
I couldn't care less about a QHD screen. Keep it at 1080p.
how about xiaomi? they have great phones! Not to mention all the herd of chinese manufacturers offering high end specs on phones costing less than 250…300$. I won't even start with mid-range phones at 100…150$+ that would check most of users' needs. Myself, personally, can't find (solid) arguments for 700$+ phones anymore …
cool
5'5 get your facts right
you should be glad you sold it, the software updates for it have been few, far between, and buggy as all get out. i cant wait to ditch mine, im waiting for the new HTC to drop.
Sure it is, but the sd820 is a powerhouse and still delivers a good battery-durance.
Why are people so keen on a fingerprint or iris scanners?
How is it beneficial to anyone but the intelligence services and money-grabbing corporations or hackers?
I hope it doesn't have either, save the space and cost please. Keep your identity people… 1984 is looming if not already upon us.