If you hadn’t given it a chance, the OnePlus 3T was a great phone, yes it was a slightly more polished version of the 3, with a Snapdragon 821 chip. But, it helped to make 2016 a great year for the Chinese manufacturer behind it. Now, less than a year later, that company has felt emboldened enough to go one step further with the OnePlus 5. So, in this article, we’re going to conduct a comparison, OnePlus 5 vs. OnePlus 3T, is it worth the upgrade?
OnePlus 5 vs. OnePlus 3T
Before you start to read, this is our preliminary findings; there’s no real word testing been done yet, we’ll update you when that’s done. Instead, we’re going to take a look at the two handsets in a head to head face value comparison. One that looks at design, display, camera, chipset, specs, and other important factors to build a big picture.
Without further ado, let’s begin.
Design
One of the major criticisms of OnePlus handsets has been design, yes, they look modern and sleek. But, the company has failed to change things significantly enough to create a wow factor at consecutive launches. So can the OnePlus 5 vs. OnePlus 3T provide anything different?
The answer is a tentative yes, while on the whole there the OnePlus 5 looks much like its predecessor there are differences. Starting with what’s the same, that’s a metal unibody; however, it’s edges and corners look more rounded. Additionally, the antenna bands now curve upwards from the bottom edges towards the top making them less distinguishable. While this isn’t a significant design change, in comparison to the antenna bands on the 3T, which cut across its rear. It’s certainly one that focuses on aesthetics, making the OnePlus 5 easier to look at.
Additionally, and also on the rear is a slight change to the camera position, on the 3T it was placed centrally. However, the 5, has it placed off to the side, why this is the case, is open to speculation. Moving onto size, as you would expect the latest incarnation is slimmer and lighter, but wider. Its measurements are 154.1 x 74.1 x 7.25mm, plus it weighs in at 158 grams.
Finally, colors, unfortunately, in comparison to the 3T, there are fewer options for the OnePlus 5. This year you get to choose from Midnight Black, and Slate Gray, whereas with the 3T you had Gunmetal, Soft Gold, and Midnight Black.
Camera
It seems as though there’s a consensus among smartphone makers, and that’s to include dual-lens cameras on their flagships. Which is exactly what the latest OnePlus has now got, consider the bandwagon jumped upon. So, how does the OnePlus 5 vs. OnePlus 3T comparison take shape from a picture/video shooting perspective?
Let’s start with the older of the two devices, the 3T’s camera, gave almost nothing new compared to the 3. It has 16-megapixel front and rear sensors, but its relative indifference upset many would-be owners. As for the OnePlus 5, it’s camera is probably the most significant upgrade. This time there’s two rear sensors, one 16-megapixel, and the other a 20-megapixel telephoto lens.
Much like the camera on the iPhone 7 Plus, these two lenses can be combined to create the bokeh effect. Meaning that the background of an image can be blurred while the foreground is sharply in focus.
As for the 16-megapixel sensor alone, it too has seen improvement compared to the 3T. The OnePlus 5 uses a f/1.7 aperture whereas the 3T uses a f/1.7, meaning that the latest can capture 34% more light than its predecessor. Furthermore, this means, a much improved low light performance is expected, as is improved image stabilization, and autofocus.
Chipset
The onePlus mantra of “Never Settle”, was no more apparent in the swift release of the 3T, so soon after it’s older sibling. At that time, the company decided to take advantage of the latest Snapdragon 821 chipset, and its abilities. Now, with this OnePlus 5 vs. OnePlus 3T comparison, it’s going to become apparent that things have moved on again.
As such, you won’t be overly surprised to read that the Snapdragon 835 is incorporated into the 5. That’s the same chipset found in the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. It’s the latest chipset from Qualcomm and represents a significant shift in technology due to its 10nm manufacture. In fact, it’s such a change that a massive increase in performance and power efficiency is expected.
How could this impact on real word performance? Well to start with, eight kryo 280 CPU cores are running at 2.35Ghz, plus an Adreno 540 GPU. Together, tests have shown that in comparison to the Snapdragon 821’s performance in the 3T. This new 835 chip provides a 25.7% single core performance increase, and a huge 58% increase in multi-core performance. Additionally, the new GPU also offer an increase of 25% regarding power efficiency, which is going to be noticeable.
Battery
If you judge your handsets by how much juice they can carry, let’s get started on the OnePlus 5 vs. OnePlus 3T battery comparison. And to start this off, we have to say; it’s smaller, that is the battery on the 3T is bigger than that on the new release! Seriously, the 3T carried at 3,400mAh component, whereas the five is sporting a slightly smaller 3,300mAh pack.
Will this affect overall battery life? Usually, a smaller battery would indicate the answer should be, yes. However, OnePlus claim that due to software optimizations, plus the power efficiency of the Snapdragon 835, that’s not the case. Instead, you should expect an increase in battery life of around 20%. Is that going to show in real world testing? You can be sure we will put that to the test, soon.
Price
Lastly, let’s look at the price, when it was on sale the 64GB OnePlus 3T retailed for $439 USD, £399, $580 AU. Whereas it’s 128GB variant sold for $479 USD, £439, and $630 AU.
In comparison, the OnePlus 5 is a more expensive handset, which was indicated in rumors before its announcement. If you want the 64GB model, that’s going to set you back $479 USD, £449, $630 AU. And if it’s the 128GB you’re after, it’s $539 USD, £449, $710 AU.