OnePlus 3T Pro Reviews

There is one thing that draws a clear line between the Galaxy S8 and the OnePlus 3T, and it’s not the camera, the battery or the software: it’s price. Put simply, the Galaxy S8 is the much more expensive phone! The full retail price of the S8 is set at $720 in the United States, while the 64 GB OnePlus 3T costs $440 and the 128 GB one is priced at $480. That’s nearly a 50% price premium that you pay for the S8. And the price difference is much bigger in markets outside the U.S.: in Europe, the OnePlus price starts at €440, but the S8 price there is actually €800, nearly double the cost of the OnePlus. The biggest thing that the OnePlus lacks is the ‘wow’ factor: you pick up the Samsung Galaxy S8 and you see a futuristic display unlike anything that’s been out before. You pick up the OnePlus 3T and you see a very good phone with a very good camera, battery and performance.

The OnePlus 3t offers all-around top-specs and snappy performance, all wrapped up in a sleek metal unibody design. While the camera performance can't quite match the best in class, it is still very good, making the 3t one of the currently best value propositions in the market.

I was going to mention the fact that this model costs $100 more than its predecessor for very little in the way of major improvements. But since the OnePlus 3 is no longer available for sale from OnePlus, the point is basically moot. A smartphone as good as this for $439 off-contract should scare the likes of Samsung and Apple – but it won’t.Not until OnePlus is taken seriously by the general public and mobile carriers no longer hold the keys to the kingdom. Not until having a spot on a carrier shelf is no longer the deciding factor in smartphone buyer’s minds. Not until the vast majority of smartphone users ride with OnePlus’ tagline “Never Settle” will a company like OnePlus have a chance at taking the top spot from the most major brands. We’ll see if they survive long enough to make that happen. In the meantime – they make really great phones for surprisingly small amounts of cash. The OnePlus 3T is reliable and well worth what it costs.

At the end of the day, the OnePlus 3T is great: it’s fast, it’s good all around and it does not make cheap compromises. Now if only OnePlus could make enough of them, so it does not take a few weeks waiting to actually get one.

This is our new favorite budget Android, but if you have the OnePlus 3, you don't need to upgrade.

It does everything really, really well, and while it may not truly excel in areas such as screen resolution and camera quality, the OnePlus 3T is still astonishingly good value for what is a serious flagship contender.