OnePlus 3T Phone: Advantages & Limitations

*This post is off-topic. 

Since I was involved in a full-time IT project over the last few months, I’ve not been able to update this blog. It’s now completed and you can expect regular posts on IT/Comp. networking from now on. Do comment below if you have any topic suggestions.

I also wish to highlight my latest creative venture – animatedphotos.org. Basically, you could send me six photos taken on a special occasion like a trip, birthday, wedding, etc. and I will create a nice animated photo slideshow using those photos. Head over to my personal blog for details.

Now let me come to the topic of this post.

OnePlus 3T Mobile Phone

Main Specs

  • CPU: Qualcomm SnapDragon 821 Quad Core processor
  • Android Nougat (OxygenOS)
  • 6 GB RAM, 64 GB Storage
  • Battery: 3400 mAh with quick Dash Charge
  • Network: 4G LTE
  • Wireless: WiFi (802.11 AC); Bluetooth 4.2; NFC
  • Screen: 5.5″ Full HD 1080p ; 401 PPI
  • Camera: 16 MP Front & Rear
  • More…

Advantages

  1. With one of the best processors available now and maximum RAM capacity, the performance of this phone is as peak as it can be.
  2. The phone is both thinner and lighter than most others.
  3. Both on-screen navigation and navigation using physical buttons are available.
  4. Call quality is excellent and on-call noise cancellation is very good. Network reception is also great.
  5. VoLTE is supported by default.
  6. Video recording and image stabilization capabilities are very good, especially after 7.1.1 update.
  7. There is a physical alert slider on the side which can be used to quickly change to silent or vibrate mode.
  8. The fingerprint sensor is fastest we have seen and the phone is encrypted by default.
  9. The functionality of the Navigation buttons can be swapped.
  10. The premium AMOLED screen used on this phone provides a better viewing angle and saves power as well.
  11. The ambient display shows important notifications when the phone is picked up, without one having to press the power button or touching the screen.
  12. When the app drawer icon is long-pressed, it opens the search bar automatically.
  13. Some good off-screen gestures supported: Double tap to wake, O for camera, V for torchlight, etc.
  14. LED notification color can be customized.
  15. Low-light photography is very good in manual mode; camera images are bright in the night even without flash.
  16. Since 2 GB of RAM is dedicated to the camera, processing time & quality is better.
  17. Factory applied screen guard saves time, efforts, bubbles.
  18. Battery, when fully charged, is sufficient for one day even for normal users. With WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Mobile data all On, we get on-screen time of about 3.15 hours and talktime of about 3.30 hours. Dash charging charges the phone really fast, as advertised.
  19. Not much bloatware installed.
  20. Left swipe opens library with widgets which can be customized as per our liking.

Limitations

  1. While doing dash charging (quick charging) the phone gets heated up rapidly.
  2. There is no selfie camera flash – although the front camera is capable of taking good pics in the night as well, for this price one would expect a selfie flash.
  3. When camera app is used for a long time, the device heats up a bit more.
  4. It is not possible to change the pixel size in the default camera app. All pictures can be taken at 16 MP only.
  5. While playing games in full-screen mode, physical navigation buttons become an obstruction as they are placed so close to the screen and it’s easy to accidentally press them.
  6. Battery life is above-average and the phone doesn’t lose charge within a day, but it may not be sufficient for heavy users.
  7. Simultaneous dual-active 4G is not available.
  8. No memory card slot for expandable memory.
  9. Although the quality of sound is good with the built-in speakers, the volume is not sufficient at times.
  10. Sometimes, camera app struggles to focus with macro photography (objects that are very near).
  11. Although the USB-C port/cable is faster, older USB cables cannot be used with this phone. Sometimes, when one forgets the USB cable, this becomes an issue.
  12. There is some touch latency when we type fast.
  13. After upgrading to Android 7.1.1, apps go into hibernate mode once closed. Updates don’t automatically happen unless one opens the app!

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