Will you buy the OnePlus 3? I have


OnePlus had quite literally the least exciting launch of their short life this week, but the OnePlus 3 ticks many of the right boxes for many like me who have bought one. Will you?
With leaked renders, photos, and even a TENAA listing of the OnePlus 3, not to mention the adverts in Indian newspapers on the day of launch, everyone following the company and the device knew what they needed to ahead of launch.

If any of you did manage to miss it though (how did you do that?) the OnePlus 3 was launched with an all metal body, 5.5-inch FHD display, Snapdragon 820 chipset, 6GB RAM, fast ‘Dash’ charging, and 16 mega-pixel rear camera with OIS. The phone also sports USB Type C, NFC, 3.5mm headphone jack and a fingerprint scanner.

So basically the launch was the least exciting of any OnePlus launch so far, and many people have already commented on how the device isn’t all that interesting and how it looks far too much like an Apple/HTC for their tastes, but out of those of you reading this who is going to buy one?

I was at an airport bar during the launch so I missed the VR spectacle (sob), but even without ensuring the leaked specs were accurate I ordered the OP3 from the OnePlus website as soon as it went on sale. 

Gizchina News of the week



My reasoning for buying the phone (my 4th OnePlus to date) are as follows:

  1. OnePlus phones just work.
  2. NFC.
  3. 16 mega-pixel rear camera and OIS.
  4. Oxygen OS.
  5. To see what the buying process was like.
  6. To review the phone.
  7. And perhaps the fact I had had a few pints helped smooth the purchase too.
Read Also:  List of smartphones from Xiaomi, OnePlus and iQOO to be released in the last week of October

That first point is the main point. With a near stock Android experience I have had the best results with app compatibility and stability on OnePlus devices. Strava works without crashing (unlike on my ZUK Z2 Pro), Android Auto works out of the box (unlike every other Chinese phone), and the user experience is pretty good.

Will I regret my purchase? Who knows, but I’m quite confident that I won’t. 

Oh and before anyone says so, no I’m not a OP fan, no I didn’t get a deal/discount/free sample, and no OP don’t pay me anything, in fact I’m pretty sure they don’t really like us here at GizChina.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

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51 Comments

  1. June 17, 2016

    Yep, i bought one too. Not sure if I keep it. A bit worried about the battery life. I’m a heavy user so it might not be enough for one full day. We will see.

    • Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
      June 17, 2016

      I won’t expect more than a 5h SOT on average from this 3000mah battery bro

    • Fernando Fernandes
      June 17, 2016

      Heavy users have powerbanks 😀 at least two!! With fast charging and powerbanks you don’t have a problem. Users depending heavily on their phone don’t count on SoT 🙂
      Nowadays you can charge it everywhere: home, work, car, commuting…

      • Mateus Marta
        June 18, 2016

        Epá, Having to carry a powerbank with you is not very practical, tás a ver.

        • Fernando Fernandes
          June 18, 2016

          Issue is beyond “pratical” 🙂 If you rely on phone you HAVE to not be worried about power! It is like heavy smokers: they always carry 2 packs 😀

  2. justyfier
    June 17, 2016

    why dont they like you

    • Hakim Farouk
      June 17, 2016

      I think because of the chinese gadget review image nature of Gizchina that might not appeal to OP. OP doesn’t want to be labelled as one. I think they would rather go for MKHD, Android Authority and etc.

      • Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
        June 17, 2016

        Oh sure that mkhd guy…it’s getting boring.

        • Joel Adames
          June 19, 2016

          Never heard of him before… a better reference is GsmArena. Imho

  3. Nolan
    June 17, 2016

    I’m waiting for AnTuTu v6 scores from the retail units. I’ve seen scores from previous units, but want to wait a while and see where the score really goes.

    Other things I’m somewhat disappointed about is that it doesn’t have:
    – a 2K screen
    – curved interactive edges like the Galaxy Edge Series
    – a 5000 MaH+ battery
    – a removable back cover with normal sim inserts
    – an SD card slot with certified support for 256GB cards
    – 240/480 fps recording at any resolution
    – a more powerful SoC, like SD 821 or even higher, maybe the 823, which will score even higher in AnTuTu v6.

    Hopefully we’ll have a phone with the OP3 specs + all of the above by the end of the year, for about US$ 250. I’ll surely buy that phone then. Also, a front+back dual glass ultra-luxury design would be nice, while still keeping the price at the 250 USD mark.

    • June 17, 2016

      Good joke…

      • Nolan
        June 17, 2016

        The joke will be on you eventually, since you haven’t learned anything about price trends and the life-shelf of a supposedly top-end SoC. There was a time when SD 801 phones were in the $600 range, and now two years later, they are in the $250 range.

        This year, SD 820 phones are already in the $350 range, so within a year from now, I’m pretty sure there will be even crazier configurations available at unbelievable price points.

        Keep this page bookmarked. We’ll see how the “joke” plays out.

        • Assefa Hanson
          June 17, 2016

          the joke is your disappointing in this configuration happening now, by the way the 821 is renamed to be the 823

          • Nolan
            June 17, 2016

            Try to be more coherent while putting across your argument. “Configuration happening now?”

            • Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
              June 17, 2016

              See my reply…SD820 is the fastest mobile cpu at now and with some luck we can see phones with this chip in the $250-300 segment in 2017

            • Assefa Hanson
              June 17, 2016

              i was saying since you said your were disappointing and the rule goes you cannot be disappointing without having expectations, you listed some specs that was associated with this disappointment indirectly saying then you were expecting those specs to be in this phone, and i thought those expectations were funny i.e a joke especially for such a combination of specs(which i called configuration) to HAPPEN NOW

            • Muhammad Yasir
              June 18, 2016

              come on man , he’s only vouching for CHEAP SD 820 PHONES

              how many times a day do you see that happen 😀 ?

              let there be peace!

            • Assefa Hanson
              June 18, 2016

              i wasnt fighting lol

        • Fernando Fernandes
          June 17, 2016

          You said by the end of the year. Which one? 🙂

        • Muhammad Yasir
          June 18, 2016

          true…

    • Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
      June 17, 2016

      I won’t say we’ll see such a pricing by the end of this year, but in 2017 why not.

      • Nolan
        June 17, 2016

        Yes, likely a bit later, and not necessarily by Dec 2016.
        However, many more SD 820 phones are going to crop up in the next quarters and the price competition is going to be vicious.

        By the time the next top-dog SoC is here, the 820 based phones will be the next SD 801 phones, selling a dime a dozen.

    • Danny H.
      June 17, 2016

      Your fantasy phone is so funny, it’s hard not to lol! The 801 is still a good chipset now. The top end version of the 801 still sell for 320 usd at least for the zuk z1. I’m pretty sure none of the flagship phones will have 5k battery as the market has dictated that thin phones are more desirable. That top end spec won’t be less than $499. You have to pay reasonable amount of money for good quality man! Don’t be such a cheapskate.

    • Joel Adames
      June 19, 2016

      Dual front+back glass design while having removable back anything … uhmmm I believe you skipped physics class. It would break really fast!!!. Unless you meant plastic that looks like glass…

    • Joel Adames
      June 19, 2016

      Then I do agree on the needed battery size.

  4. Xalis
    June 17, 2016

    One Plus went from the invitation hype, to paying review and news websites to shill their crap.

  5. Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
    June 17, 2016

    No I won’t buy it. I’m more looking into the Vernee Apollo Lite.

  6. Kurious
    June 17, 2016

    I would buy it if only they release a OP3 with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage at $300 for international buyers. But evey manufacturers copy each other when you look at the devices available in the market. Actually the momentum is about releasing devices with up to 8GB ram. I am sure that we will have to wait for months before to see a OP3 with 3GB ram so I will consider other devices like the Zuk Z2.

    • June 17, 2016

      not happening, unfortunately. in fact there won’t be a 4GB version, either.

      • Kurious
        June 18, 2016

        Thanks for the confirmation, I will wait for the zuk z2 reviews. I am really tempted to get the Redmi 3S. Do you think that the SD430 is a good cpu?

    • Stef
      June 19, 2016

      Since that’s one of their selling points I doubt it. And if they actually solved their ram management issues, it would be one of the fastest phones on the market. A 3GB phone would be rather slow by comparison (lot’s and lot’s of reloads)…

  7. Roberto Tomás
    June 17, 2016

    I would but I am on verizon…

  8. MaxPower
    June 17, 2016

    Lol, why are you sure they don’t like people of GizChina?
    You make me curious now.

  9. pa5t1s
    June 17, 2016

    Cool Andi 😉
    Waiting for mine to be delivered…

  10. Tremaine Underwood
    June 18, 2016

    Nope won’t buy that, but I just bought a Le 1 Pro 64gb phone for $182 dollars :-). Le-eco seems to have dropped the prices of their old models. Bargain of the Century, I think. I just hope the audio is as good as the reviews suggested :-).

    • Fernando Fernandes
      June 18, 2016

      How is software support? Third parties roms?

      • Tremaine Underwood
        June 18, 2016

        Honestly, I am not really sure :-). I saw 64gb le 1 pro with 4gb of RAM for $182 dollars and jumped at it. The reviewers only had good things to say about it. The audio output is the thing I am the most interested in. I assume since it’s a Snap Dragon there should be custom roms. I got mine from bang good but the price goes up for every amount sold.

        • Muhammad Yasir
          June 18, 2016

          @tremaineunderwood:disqus , can we expect some sort of feedback from you on the phone performance , cam and other hard facts once you have it in hand ?

          sub $190 price for a 4 gb phone sounds dead awesome !

          • Tremaine Underwood
            June 20, 2016

            Thanks, I definitely will. I am still pretty surprised at the price myself, but i just got a tracking number 🙂

        • Cynaegeirus
          June 19, 2016

          try myphone.gr, we have a topic on the phone. plus the italian and cm links if you want. my opinion -> flash it immediately, battery life improves, gps is instant, camera focus properly and dolby atmos, double touch etc are installed and play with no bugs
          official rom is not ready: browser/youtube crash, camera is not focusing etc

          • Tremaine Underwood
            June 20, 2016

            Thanks for the tip 🙂

      • Cynaegeirus
        June 19, 2016

        right now exist 2 cuoco roms and a single cm.

        best vfm this year, but not official software.

        anyway, with cuoco’s roms everything works properly.

        we are asking leeco-usa to give us the source code or support us but they are NOT playing the game for now.

  11. Muhammad Yasir
    June 18, 2016

    but but … im not rich :'(

  12. Muhammad Yasir
    June 18, 2016

    why does OP loathe gizchina 😀 ?

  13. Raul
    June 19, 2016

    I won’t buy it after I found out they limited RAM usage, what’s the point of making a 6 GB Ram phone if you are gonna limit the RAM usage?

  14. Joel Adames
    June 19, 2016

    I would buy it. AFTER a few months when it goes down a bit. But it is a great deal of a phone . But I would still crave some more battery and 2K as that’s my liking.

  15. June 20, 2016

    Samsung. last time I was advocate for mic, but cmi, now my S7 & tab A 2016 reset in China, stuck in setup, as can’t connect to internet although connected
    I’m not going back home country soon.

    question, xiaomi phones bought in China can simply install Google play store apk from apkmirror just like that like other apks, thank you?

    hope mi max 2gb if ¥999, then I buy…?

  16. June 20, 2016

    mic made in China

    cmi cannot make it

  17. PhoneFix
    June 20, 2016

    no