OnePlus 3T: Upgraded in the right places

Before the year is out, OnePlus has introduced a newer “flagship killer” exactly 5 months since it introduced the original OnePlus 3. Like the name suggests, the OnePlus 3T is more of an update instead of an all-new model.

They could have waited until next year but they decided to release the OnePlus 3T to stay ahead of the game. Despite the minor changes, OnePlus claims that they have managed to make significant user experience improvements with the latest iteration.

As expected, it runs on an updated 2.35GHz Snapdragon 821 processor that’s mated to 6GB of RAM. Storage wise, it is still 64GB UFS 2.0 on-board but now there’s a bigger option with 128GB storage. While the processor offers a 10% boost, OnePlus says loading and transfers are noticably faster with its new file system.

The exterior is still the same anodized aluminium unibody design but to stand out, it now comes in a new Gunmetal colour as shown above. Alternatively, you can get the OnePlus 3T in soft gold colour option. The display remains unchanged with a 5.5″ Full HD Optical OLED display that’s protected by Gorilla Glass 4. You still get the signature alert slider at the side and a super quick fingerprint sensor at the front.

In the photography department, the OnePlus 3T now features 16MP f/2.0 cameras for both front and back. The front camera gets the biggest change with a Samsung 3P8SP 16MP Sensor instead of an 8MP Sony IMX179 unit on the OnePlus 3. Over at the back, it still uses the same Sony’s IMX298 sensor with OIS but with an improved EIS for steadier videos. It also shoots in RAW and it records video up to 4K resolution.

The battery on the OnePlus 3T has been upgraded from 3,000mAh to 3,400mAh. Despite having 13% more in capacity, it still manages to retain the same size, thickness (7.35mm) and weight (158g) as before. Also included is support for DASH fast charging (5V4A) that claims to provides a full day usage with a quick 30-minute charge via USB 2.0 Type-C.

OnePlus 3T will be running on the latest OxygenOS 3.5 which is tweaked with more customisable options while maintaining a stock-like appearance. It will ship with Marshmallow out of the box and the newer Android 7.0 Nougat will be pushed simultaneously to both OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T later this year. Like the OnePlus 3, the new OnePlus 3T is also a dual-SIM (nano) device with support for 4G LTE on both FDD-LTE and TDD-LTE bands.

The OnePlus 3T is priced officially from US$439 (about RM1905) for the 64GB version which is slightly higher than the OnePlus 3 US$399 price tag. It will be available first in the US on 22 November, followed by Europe on 28 November. There’s still no word of its availability for our Malaysian market.

For more info, you can check out the OnePlus 3T product page. In case you missed it, you can check out our review of the OnePlus 3.