OnePlus 3T Deliver High-End Features at an Affordable Price

The OnePlus 3T includes plenty of features found in higher-end smartphones, but is priced considerably less than comparable Apple or Android OS models.

If the OnePlus 3T looks familiar, there’s a good reason for that: It has the same design as its predecessor, the OnePlus 3. The smartphone comes with a slender metal unibody chassis with antenna lines running across its back. It’s slightly curved around the back and its rear-facing camera is protected by sapphire glass. The device is just 7.3 mm thick and, at about 5.5 ounces, is among the more lightweight smartphones in the high-end category.

Running the OnePlus 3T is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, featuring a 2.35GHz clock speed. The device has a whopping 6GB of onboard RAM and its Adreno 530 GPU is one of the best on the market. OnePlus says the 3T also uses a new file system that improves “transfer and boot speeds,” which translates to apps running more smoothly and launching more quickly.

Users will find OxygenOS 3.5 in the OnePlus 3T. The operating system, which is a custom version of Android, allows users to customize icons in its status bar to more easily navigate apps. The operating system also has settings that give users more control over apps, data and OS appearance than they’d find in a standard Android build. OxygenOS also comes with familiar Android services including Google Chrome, Google Play, YouTube and more. And, it works with third-party Android apps.

The OnePlus 3T has a 3,400mAh battery, allowing it to last more than a day on a single charge. It also comes with Dash Charge, a feature that can bring the battery to 60 percent charge after just 30 minutes of charging time. It can go from 0 to 100 percent charge in a little more than 60 minutes.

Both the front- and rear-facing cameras on the OnePlus 3T come with 16-megapixel sensors. The front-facing camera supports HD streaming, while the rear-facing option has several exposure settings, the ability to adjust ISO settings and improved image stabilization. Combined, those features should produce a picture quality rivaling those from a digital-SLR camera.

On the OnePlus 3T’s spine is a feature the company calls an Alert Slider. The physical button, which slides up and down, lets users set the device to three alert settings: All, Priority or Silent. The All setting means users will get every notification sent to their device, while Priority means OxygenOS will alert users only for important notifications. The Silent setting turns off all notifications. The feature could be a nice one for those who often find themselves in meetings and only want to be bothered with important calls, text messages or e-mails.

The OnePlus 3T comes in two versions: a 64GB option and another with 128GB of storage. That’s nice to see. The high-end smartphone market is shifting to vendors going light on built-in storage and instead offering more cloud-based storage. OnePlus, however, seems willing to continue to deliver ample storage for those who aren’t so keen on the cloud.

The OnePlus 3T comes with a 5.5-inch screen. However, unlike some of its competitors, the smartphone doesn’t have a quad-HD or 4K resolution. Instead, it comes with a full-HD resolution and 401 pixels per inch. That disappointment aside, it’s protected from falls by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4.

The OnePlus 3T has dual-SIM support, so users can be connected to two carrier networks from the device. The feature isn’t a big one for consumers who don’t travel, but for business people and those who travel often, it’s a major selling point.

The OnePlus 3T is available through the OnePlus website. The device starts at $439 for the base model featuring 64GB of storage, while the 128GB model is priced at $479. Compared to some of its competitors, such as the iPhone 7, the OnePlus is several hundred dollars less expensive for similar specs.