OnePlus 3 vs. OnePlus 3T (Should you upgrade?)

The OnePlus 3 was released in July and now only five months later, the Chinese device maker has unveiled the OnePlus 3T, a supped up version of this summer’s flagship. Prices for the OnePlus 3T start at $439, only $40 extra when compared to its predecessor. So the question that arises is: should users upgrade to the OnePlus 3T or not? We compare the two phones to give you an idea:

Display

5.5-inch AMOLED with 1080 x 1920 resolution vs 5.5-inch AMOLED with 1080 x 1920 resolution

The OnePlus 3T retains the OnePlus 3’s screen size and the resolution remains the same. An upgrade in this department might come with the OnePlus 4 which, as the rumor mill says should arrive sometime in June-July 2017.

Computing power

Snapdragon 820 clocked at 2.15GHz vs Snapdragon 821 clocked at 2.35GHz

6GB of RAM vs 6GB of RAM

Adreno 530 vs Adreno 530

The only difference here is that the new OnePlus 3T features Qualcomm’s latest gen chipset, the Snapdragon 821 which is clocked a bit higher. Although the GPU is the same in both, the one in the 3T is clocked slightly faster.

Basically this means, the OnePlus 3T should run smoother when tackling everyday tasks. Furthermore the new Snapdragon 821 will help extend the device’s life cycle thanks to its two battery saving cores running at 1.6GHz. Qualcomm states that the Snapdragon 821 is capable of delivering 10% faster boot speeds, 10% faster app loads, smoother scrolling and better browsing experience.

Camera

16MP/8MP vs 16MP/16MP

The selfie snapper is a very important feature for people buying smartphones today. The OnePlus 3T beefs up the secondary camera to 16MP (Samsung 3P8SP sensor). OnePlus has optimized the selfie camera to include a pixel binning technology that unites pixels in low lighting environments, so users are able to take great selfies basically anywhere.

While the main shooter retains the 16MP capacity, OnePlus has fine-tuned it on the OnePlus 3T. Video stabilization has been improved and now the main camera is protected by a sapphire lens cover, which is obviously more resistant to scratches.

Software

Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow vs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow

The OnePlus 3T doesn’t come with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, as anticipated but with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Not to worry OnePlus says it will update moth models to Nougat by the end of the year.

But the new phone does offer a new version of Oxygen OS which adds a few neat features like the ability to quickly access icons in the status bar or add a password or fingerprint check individual apps.

Battery

3,000 mAh vas 3,400 mAh

OnePlus listened to users’ request and so the OnePlus 3T arrives with a larger battery onboard. Luckily the phone’s thickness remains at the same 7.3mm. While the OnePlus 3 can barely make it through the day without needing to be plugged in for a while, we hope the OnePlus 3T won’t have this problem.

Other features

64GB of internal storage vs 64GB/128GB of internal storage.

Both phones feature a fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C 1.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.2. The only difference is that the OnePlus 3T will have a 128GB version.

Value

$399 vs $439

The OnePlus 3 is a bit cheaper than the new model. The OnePlus 3T starts at $439 for the 64GB of storage model, while the 128GB version will sell for $479.

Verdict

If you’re thinking of purchasing a new OnePlus phone is makes sense to go for the OnePlus 3T directly. But if you already have an OnePlus 3 at home, then you’d better hold on it. The OnePlus 3T brings some interesting upgrades, but not enough to convince us. The OnePlus 3 is still a new phone and a pretty great one too. Although selfie enthusiasts might find themselves fiercely drawn to the OnePlus 3T.