OnePlus held their VR launch for the One Plus 3 overnight, and overall the OnePlus 3 looks from a design and specs perspective to be a decent performer, with a 5.5″ FHD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 820, 6GB ( yes 6) of RAM and 64GB of storage. The OnePlus is getting closer to the promise of no compromises that it originally launched with.
Rounding out the specs is a 3000 mAh battery, USB C, a proprietary fast charging solution dubbed “Dash Charge”, 16 MP 1.12 micron f/2.0 rear camera and an 8 MP 1.4 micron f/2.0 front shooter, Bluetooth 4.2 and all the Wi-Fi you want. At launch, there are 3 SKUs covering the USA, China, and international markets, and unfortunately, international in this case seems to mean Asia and Europe, as not all Australia LTE bands have made it into any SKU.
What’s missing? LTE Band 28, the 700 MHz spectrum reclaimed from the old analogy TV network and now used as an essential component of Telstra’s and Optus’s next generation LTE networks.
| Oneplus 3 LTE spectrum | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Band | Telstra | Optus | Vodafone |
| 1 | Used | Used | not used |
| 3 | Used | Used | Used |
| 5 | Not used | Not Used | Used |
| 7 | Used | Used | Not used |
| 28 | Missing | Missing | Not used |
| 40 | Not used | Used | Not Used |
As you can see if you’re a Vodafone customer, or you know you don’t access a Band 28 network, then the OnePlus 3 may be suitable for you.
The charging platform for the ‘3 is interesting. OnePlus have taken advantage of the higher power capacity of USB C and supplied a 5V 4 amp charger, in comparison the Nexus 6P has a 5V 3 Amp rating. From watching OnePlu’s marketing material however you’ll be restricted to using their chargers to achieve these speeds.
Unlike standards like Quick Charge, or the more typical 5V 3 Amp implementation OnePlus have put part of the charging smarts into the brick and unless they open up those standards and people actually build to them, welcome to accessory lock in. That said it will charge from any USB charger if you have the right cables, you just won’t get the faster speeds.
One feature we are fond of is the Alert Slider. OnePlus has kept their hardware notification slider for selecting between All, silent (hooray) and priority modes. I miss easy access to a silent mode and would almost, almost, switch to a OnePlus to get it back.From a software perspective, Oxygen OS is making a return and looks to be a clean and minimal implementation of Android Marshmallow. The key will be how often OnePlus pushes security updates to its users.
Check out the OnePlus 3 announcement video below.
So you want to order one? Ok, there’s not silly pre-ordering system this year, now you have a silly VR ordering system. For the initial time at least the only way to order a 3 is to watch the interactive ‘VR Loop’ experience’, found here, get to the end and interact with their VR marketplace to buy the phone. At present only the Graphite model is available for 399 pounds or about $800 AUD 399 Euro or about $610 AUD before shipping or other importing costs.
We have reached out to OnePlus to ask about direct marketing in Australia, however, based on previous years if you want one start looking off shore or to local importers.
How does the OnePlus 3 look to you? Weight in below.
Please can you advise if the oneplus 3T (on sale today in USA) will be suitable for use in Australia. I live between the USA & Aus and use T-mobile and Vodafone. Thanks
damn i’m really want this, i’m with Vodafone. :'((
not interested. I’m waiting for the new nexus 6
If oneplus thinks Australia is not a good enough market for their phones, AUSTRALIA DOES NOT WANT IT.
I REALLY WANT IT
I have a Telstra sim and a Vodaphone sim, will they both work on 3/4 G or will I only get 2g on one and 3/4g on the other ?
So can I use this phone in Australia?
Yes, the phone will work, all 3g bands are there, you just may not get full LTE coverage depending on your network.
I have Telstra, so I’m guessing it should work.
Also, how should I ship it out here and how do I buy the Intl version?
On Telstra it’s missing band 28. That will effect LTE coverage depending on the exact network technology used in areas you frequent. I’d hold of a few days. We are definitely keeping an eye out on the OnePlus 3 and will let people know what we find
Ok, thanks
I am using OnePlus 3 on Telestra and I get 4G+ on it, so far so good.
So im with Amaysim which works off the optus network. Does this mean i cant use this phone? This is the only thing stopping me from buying it right now.
You won’t have band 28, how that effects you depends on the network technology in the areas you frequent. Optus uses band 28 which is missing.
I will instead wait for OPPO’s offerings
Price is actually $399USD. Which comes to near $550AUD and free shipping. As you can order it direct from Oneplus in the US now, if you’re in Australia like me you can use Auspost Shopmate and pay the extra shipping through them to get it soon. Oneplus has never shipped directly to Australia, which is a joke. Or wait for Eglobal to get it (2-4 weeks apparrently)
Careful using Shopmate, Haven’t used them personally but i’ve heard nothing but horror stories.
I made a mistake with pounds and euros. The international model with almost all of our bands will be about $610, before importing costs. Updated, thanks for the heads up
Ok, So i’m not real good with this sort of stuff….. I’m on vodafone, So I have any problems? whats the wort case scenerio?
You may not be able to use the 4G network depending on where you are. 3g will be fine. I had the OnePlus One and it would constantly switch from 4G to 3G on the Optus network.
At present this phone should work on all of the Vodafone network, however if they get more spectrum on a different band that may affect you in the future
Off topic ,Samsung just activated there pay app 2 hrs ago here in au