The OnePlus 3 Review
by Brandon Chester on June 20, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- OnePlus
- OnePlus 3
GPU Performance
GPU performance is one of the areas where Snapdragon 810 actually tended to do quite well. It's also the case that GPUs generally see larger performance gains year over year than CPUs. We already saw how Adreno 530 performs in the LG G5 review, but the device being compared to was the LG G4, which used Snapdragon 808. The OnePlus 3 represents an opportunity to compare a Snapdragon 810 device to its successor using Snapdragon 820.
The OnePlus 3 does very well in 3DMark Sling Shot. In both the physics and graphics tests it trails the LG G5 slightly, but the gap isn't anything truly significant. Exynos 8890 is still not something I can compare to until our Galaxy S7 review is posted, but barring that it's clear that Snapdragon 820's Adreno 530 gives the fastest smartphone performance in this test, and when looking at the graphics performance the performance is over two times faster than the OnePlus 2.
In BaseMark ES 3.1's on screen test the OnePlus 3 manages a significant lead over the LG G5 as a result of its lower resolution. In the off screen 1080p test both phones have essentially the same performance, which is what you'd expect. It looks like Adreno 530 doesn't make the same gains in this test that it does in some others, and it's not clear whether this is just the result of driver optimizations or something about the benchmark that is able to perform batter on other GPU architectures, which could be contributing to the iPhone's lead even in the off screen test.
In GFXBench Car Chase the performance of the OnePlus 3 is in line with the LG G5. On screen performance is significantly higher due to the lower resolution display, while off screen performance at 1080p is about the same as the G5 and exactly the same as the on screen result. As far as absolute GPU performance goes, both of our Snapdragon 820 devices are at the top of the chart for absolute performance, and that's good news for anyone playing games or using software that benefits from a powerful mobile GPU.
NAND Performance
The OnePlus 3 moves to a UFS 2.0 NAND solution, which OnePlus claims is three times faster than the eMMC storage used in the OnePlus 2. In more realistic testing you probably won't end up achieving speeds three times faster than the OnePlus 2 since it actually wasn't slow at all by eMMC standards, but there should be a decent uplift in NAND performance nonetheless.
The move to UFS 2.0 brings healthy gains over the OnePlus 2's storage performance, although as I said, the OnePlus 2 didn't perform poorly at all by the standards of eMMC devices. Sequential read and write performance is actually the best that I've measured so far on an Android device. We're still not looking at anything close to what you get for sequential performance on iOS devices, but there are some other factors at play like the fact that the iPhone was a 128GB unit while our Android devices are usually 32GB or 64GB devices. In any case, the OnePlus 3 doesn't present any problems with storage performance, and you certainly won't run into the same issues that you can with budget smartphones at the $200-300 range where the eMMC solutions can be exceptionally slow.
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vision33r - Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - link
I just got the OnePlus 3, I honest can't say the screen is bad. It's very similar to the Note 3 screen. I compared them side by side and the Note 3 was brighter that's about it. Both uses Pentile which makes them seem similar. I've used it for a whole day and the phone is just blazingly fast and everything I wanted in a Samsung is here except for the QHD display.Lolimaster - Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - link
Put the note3 in the calibrated profile "basic" i guess.When you are using CRT's for 20 years and your current monitor is Trinitron CRT things like the default Galaxy color profile or these one 3 becomes pretty much eye cancer.
vision33r - Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - link
I had the Nexus 6P and sold it, I really don't think the OnePlus 3 screen is as bad as this review makes it seems. Every other review says the display is good but not the best. The viewing angle is actually better than the OnePlus 2 as well as the contrast. The screen doesn't cover as much sRGB gamut but it's good enough for avg user.Lolimaster - Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - link
One Plus going bankrupt soon.And I thought there was no chance in hell some company woul deliver a worse screen than the LG G5. My faith in humanity is lost.
RIP 1+.
Lolimaster - Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - link
You should've ended the review just after the display test and put a big failzodia stamp at the end.luca.costantino - Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - link
My phone arrived a few hours ago. I don't have a colorimeter and my eyes are definitely not expert ones, but the screen seems absolutely amazing. Good resolution, good colors, zero flaws...I understand that the colorimeter says differently, but maybe the our (my...) eyes are not able to see the difference. And maybe it's better like this!
designgears - Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - link
I have to agree, I think the testing done on the screen here is flawed. I have it sitting next to my Nexus 6p in sRGB mode, aside from brightness I'm not seeing much of a difference in color or clarity, certainly not enough to call this the worst screen they have tested.Vulpy - Thursday, June 23, 2016 - link
Unfortunate conclusion, and saying that the screen is the worst out there, really is unfair. The screen is decent, and makes it a very solid option for 99% of potential users.I have it next to my Galaxy Note 4 and the difference is not that massive in comfort and detail. Brightness could have indeed been better (I live in the UK, so... Unfortunately this is not a problem for me.
I have a OP3 and couldn't be happier with the tradeoffs : great performance, sexy as hell, solid shooter, half of the Apple price!
If money is no objection, you go with the Galaxy S7(+), specs and performance benchmark today.
Could have OP made a better phone: sure! It would have been a lost battle to Apple and Samsung marketing machines.
They just nailed it with OP3, this is the Nexus that Google should have done. Not beating every other flagship on all counts, but a fantastic all round package. Peace!
Vulpy - Thursday, June 23, 2016 - link
BTW, talking about weaknesses, it would have been good to mention the less then perfect palm rejection, the crazy thin bezels (while making the design so appealing) would need some smart touch calibrarion for the edges of the screen.This is for me the first thing OP should tackle in a future update.
sanv - Thursday, June 23, 2016 - link
I don't understand the rgb and stuff. It's just technical jargons for me.But having used OP3 for few days and having used iPhone 6s for a prolonged time, my conclusion is simple
For a normal guy, the screen is really good. Resolution is good,clarity of images or HD videos are good. And that's what really matters to me.
But yeah max brightness is not upto the mark.
But definitely, display should not be a deal breaker to anyone.
I feel this review is too much biased towards technical superiority on paper and doesn't really show the real world usability