For Android and iOS OS only in March 2012, offering residents of Russia and Ukraine a free navigation service with traffic jams. At its core, it was a slightly modified Yandex.Maps application, which only acquired a route guidance function. Yandex.Maps routes themselves had been built before, so, taking into account other existing developments within the company, the developers had to put in relatively little effort to release the first version of the navigator.
At the time of our testing, Yandex.Navigator version 1.51 was available, which in terms of functionality is not far removed from the first versions and is a simple navigation program with up-to-date detailed maps.
Pricing and licensing policy
For non-commercial use the application is absolutely free. Maps and additional services ( voice search, traffic jams) are also free.
System requirements
As system requirements Only Android 1.5 or later operating system is mentioned. No separate requirements for screen resolution or required space in internal memory the smartphone is not voiced.
Functionality
In order to immediately answer various questions about what the program can and cannot do, we have collected information about its functionality in one table.
| Interface | |
| Manual map zoom during navigation | Yes |
| Battery/satellite/GSM indicators | yes - the OS notification bar remains visible while the program is running |
| Changing the map orientation | Yes |
| Manual map rotation | Yes |
| Mileage information | No |
| Satellite View Screen | No |
| 3D mode | Yes |
| Map tilt | Yes |
| Quick Access Toolbar | only for DPOI |
| "Trip computer" | No |
| Night mode | Yes |
| Search | |
| Universal | Yes |
| Address | No |
| By coordinates | No |
| POI around / at the point / at the finish | Yes Yes Yes |
| Voice input | Yes |
| Working with routes | |
| Save/Load | No |
| Simulation of driving along the route | No |
| Full display | Yes |
| Working with tracks | No |
| Operating modes: passenger car / truck / pedestrian | yes / no / no |
| Cards | |
| Map update | free |
| Card supplier | Navteq, Scanex, etc. |
| Installing third-party and free maps | No |
| Loading parts of maps during operation | Yes |
| Online services | |
| Traffic display | Yes |
| Dynamic POIs | Yes |
| Friends on the map | No |
| Thematic news feeds | No |
| Photo on the map | No |
| Weather | No |
| Ban on Internet access | No |
Yes, the functionality of the application is very modest and in many ways falls short of the bulk of navigation programs. However, Yandex.Navigator should perform all its main responsibilities without problems.
Interface
The program interface is simple and concise. Almost all the space on the screen is taken up by the map. The operating system notification bar remains visible at the top, and if you touch the screen, a translucent panel appears at the bottom with buttons for search, returning to your current location, favorites, and settings.
In the settings you can activate 3D mode. In it, the map on a small scale begins to be displayed at a certain inclination to the horizon, and when zoomed in sufficiently, the contours of the houses become three-dimensional. They rise slightly above the surface, becoming, as it were, one-story.
Also in the settings you can select the type of map displayed: diagram, satellite or folk (everything is the same as in other Yandex maps). The 3D mode for them will only manifest itself in the appearance of the tilt and horizon line on small scales.
We will also provide a screenshot of the settings menu. In fact, almost everything fits on one screen. The only items that didn’t fit were “Clear history” and “About the program”.
The only “hot buttons” on the screen are the buttons for changing the scale, changing the map orientation, and setting DPOI marks.
Brief summary
Liked: convenient and practical map interface.
Did not like: a nondescript night color obtained by darkening.
Search and work with the map
Compared to all other products we have reviewed, Yandex.Navigator has two fundamental differences: there is no typical address search, and the universal search is supplemented with a built-in speech recognition function and a separate POI rubricator. Essentially, you have the Yandex.Maps search bar, where you can type anything - be it an address or the name of a company/institution - and get these places displayed on the map.
Speech recognition works quite well. Actually, during our entire conversation with Yandex.Navigator, we used the virtual keyboard only once - to see how this type of search works and take screenshots for it. The speech module itself recognizes the end of the phrase and immediately shows it to you, while simultaneously launching a search for it in all categories. The result is then immediately displayed on the map. While driving in a car, when the noise level is quite high, the system sometimes could not determine the end of a phrase, but this did not create any problems. In this case for manual start During the recognition process, all you had to do was press the “recognize” button on the screen.
But, of course, loud music in the cabin made communication with the navigator impossible, so it had to be muted. It was also a little disappointing that the speech module does not know in English. This is compensated by the fact that it almost always correctly transliterates the phrase you uttered and tries to search for it, which, in our practice, has always been successful. In addition to the Russian language, the speech module claims to support Ukrainian and Turkish languages.
The regular search line has a very fast subscript that, as you type a word or phrase, gives you the most suitable options. After selecting a street, the line will not disappear, and the cursor at the end of it intuitively tells you that it is waiting for the house number to be indicated.
It’s a pity that after displaying an object on the map, there is no way to see what kind of building it is and what organizations are located here. In browser-based Yandex.Maps, all this information is available, including photos, not to mention the “ street view”, when you can virtually look around the area.
Except search string users are offered a list of POI categories. When you click on one of them, all corresponding objects are displayed on the map.
It is suspected that this function is also implemented through a general search with one or more keywords.
Brief summary
Liked: speech recognition system, convenient search.
Did not like: Some of the functionality that Yandex.Maps has is missing (street view, photos, displaying lists of organizations at specified addresses).
Maps and their relevance
The application has two options for working with the map. In the first case, it constantly loads the necessary parts of the map as needed and caches them. It is very convenient and practical. You don't need to allocate a lot of internal storage space to store cards. In addition, cached cards can be deleted through the menu, thereby freeing up the necessary space.
Of course, before a long trip, in order to save traffic in roaming, you can cache the desired area of the map yourself; to do this, just view it in the application at the required scale. And if this option does not suit you, you can always load a complete set of maps or its individual parts into the internal memory of your smartphone:
The “overview” version of the maps does not seem to differ much from the “full” version. They can be seen and compared in the three screenshots below. On the first, the left side of the screen is a full map, and the right is an overview. The other two show the same section of the map in full and overview versions.
House numbers in full version maps (which are in the screenshots above) will appear on the screen if you zoom out one step. According to company representatives, the overview map differs from the full map only in the number of drawn scales and detail.
The map has one peculiarity: it does not display courtyard driveways, although when you are in a courtyard area, routes along them are built regularly.
According to the developers, downloadable map packages are updated monthly, but in practice everything is different. For example, the map of Moscow dates back to January 2013. The rest of the cards are even older. But you shouldn’t be afraid of old maps, because before displaying each section, the program requests a more recent version from the server, and if there is one, it displays it.
The cards themselves are only available for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey. There is no information about other countries yet. You can check the relevance of the information on the map yourself by going to the address in your browser. We didn’t have any special questions for her. The only thing we noticed was the extra icons of surveillance cameras and speed control in the area of the overpass on Profsoyuznaya Street near the Teply Stan metro station that opened in October. The cameras were dismantled just before the opening of the new site or even earlier. But perhaps these are minor quibbles.
Routes and navigation
We also have no complaints about route planning. They are quite logical and devoid of any oddities that can sometimes be seen among competitors. Traffic jams are taken into account quite adequately, no kinks. It’s also nice that in many cases Yandex.Navigator offers two options to choose from.
An alternative is usually offered in cases where the two most optimal routes differ from each other in time by no more than 10-15% or if a significantly longer one turns out to be noticeably shorter in distance. And if you don't really like the laid out routes, you can use your finger to drag the line of any of them (or the start and finish points) and move it to the place where the route should pass through. Yandex.Navigator will immediately rebuild the route and indicate the estimated time of movement along it. By the way, the time is always indicated quite accurately. The program knows the average speed on all sections of the route, plus it objectively increases it depending on the number of traffic lights and turns. As a result, if the traffic situation did not change during the movement, then the author of these lines always arrived at the given point minute by minute in accordance with the estimated travel time. Well, except that sometimes it was possible to win one or two minutes from the “computer” due to the fact that on free sections of the outbound highways it was possible to move at a slight speed limit within the limits conditionally permitted by the new legislation.
While driving along a route, indicators of upcoming maneuvers and the distance to them, as well as the time until the end of the route, appear on a translucent panel. Instead of time, you can display the current speed, distance to the finish or time of arrival. To select, you need to touch your finger in this place on the screen.
There is also a thin line along the panel where traffic jams and your current position are displayed in color.
Also, if you touch the upcoming turn icon, an enlarged section of the map will appear on the screen with this interchange and the route line on it.
Otherwise, there is nothing superfluous in functionality. Although there is a severe lack of warnings about speeding in the current segment, which is a big minus. But there are warnings about cameras and other road events, but this is implemented in an extremely impractical way. In the menu, you are asked to check the boxes next to those events about which you want to hear warnings.
As soon as an event or camera icon appears on the map ahead, the same warning tone sounds. It is impossible to determine the type of event from it (accident, road works, speed camera, messages from other drivers, etc.), and in addition, the system also warns about those cameras that monitor oncoming traffic.
Well, the most important thing to remember about routes when using Yandex.Navigator: without a connection to the Internet, they will not be built, even if you have downloaded all the maps and you need to drive a hundred meters along the street.
Brief summary
Liked: adequate routes, accurate forecast of travel time, alternative route options are offered.
Did not like: without a connection to the Network, routes are not built, there are no warnings about speeding, the same sound of warnings about all events or cameras.
Voice prompts
For the Russian language, two sound profiles are offered - “Dima” and “Oksana”. Both of them are quite good, but “Oksana” for the author of these lines is somehow nicer than “Dima”. Both profiles are laconic and only warn in advance about upcoming and ongoing maneuvers.
Testing
We conducted several tests regarding the software's performance and ease of use. We used the same tablets and smartphone as test platforms as before. All of them were once in our test laboratory and have full reviews, links to which you will find in the brief table of technical characteristics below.
| Zopo ZP100 | Prestigio Multipad 4 Ultimate 8.0 3G | Pipo Max-M7 Pro 3G | |
| Screen | 4.3″, 960×540 | 8″, 1024×768 | 8.9″, 1920×1200 |
| SoC | MediaTek MT6575 @1 GHz, 1 Cortex-A9 core | MediaTek MT8389 @1.2 GHz, 4 Cortex-A7 cores | Rockchip 3188 @1.6 GHz, 4 Cortex-A9 cores |
| Graphic arts | PowerVR SGX531 | PowerVR SGX544MP | Mali-400 MP4 @600 MHz |
| RAM | 512 MB | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Flash memory | 4 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Battery | 1650 mAh | 4850 mAh | 6300 mAh |
| operating system | Android 4.0.3 | Android 4.2.1 | Android 4.2.2 |
| Average retail price | T-9292625 | T-10515622 | ≈9700 rub. |
Let us remind you that our smartphone acts as a relatively modern budget platform. Here we evaluate the suitability of the software for running on low-performance systems. The Prestigio tablet represents middle segment, and Pipo gravitates toward the upper class in terms of performance and its other characteristics.
Installation
Installation problems arose only with the smartphone, since it is purebred Chinese and was intended for the Chinese market, while Yandex through Yandex.Store and through Google Play allows the installation of this application only for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey. However, there is a legal way to get the APK file on your smartphone and install the app yourself. This can be done with . But in this case, for obvious reasons, the application will not update itself.
The size of the Yandex.Navigator distribution is approximately 11 MB and depends on the device for which it is downloaded.
Start time
Regardless of the platform we use, the application only takes two seconds to launch and another one or two to display your estimated location on the map by analyzing the coordinates of GSM towers (for which Yandex.Maps was so famous). With active A-GPS and a good signal from satellites, after a few tens of seconds a marker of your exact position will appear on the screen.
This is the best result among all the software we have already reviewed.
Route planning time
Apparently, routing takes place not on the local device, but on the server, and here are a couple of arguments in favor of this version: the lack of activity of the SoC computing cores and the significantly different time it takes to lay the same route in different attempts (obviously depends on the type and Internet connection speed). The time for routing with a good connection (3G, Wi-Fi) ranges from 1-2 seconds to about 20 in the case of a “trip” from Moscow to Vladivostok. But if the connection is unstable, sometimes you can wait a long time.
Let us repeat that in the absence of the Network, routing will be impossible at all, even if you have downloaded a map of the required region.
Recycling system resources
The utilization of computing power is extremely low at all test platforms. Even on a single-core smartphone, it rarely hits the “ceiling”, and even then only at some isolated moments with simultaneous continuous scaling and loading and displaying traffic jams. On four “dusty” Cortex-A7 cores, you can sometimes see a SoC load of 35-40% (with active scrolling and scaling with loading and traffic jams). This means that the code is somehow adapted to work on multiple cores.
In addition, Yandex.Navigator uses the least RAM among the applications we reviewed.
Battery life
Starting this time, we decided to eliminate checking the operating time of systems running navigation software. Too many external factors influence this process, which leads to difficulties with reproducibility of results. In addition, the load level of the SoC computing cores plays practically no role in this, but the duration of data transfer sessions in GSM networks could have an impact, but again all the numbers are almost within the margin of error. For example, this time Yandex.Navigator, during all measurements, very actively “communicated” with the Network due to frequent route changes and reloading of traffic jams, catching up with 5-6 MB of traffic per hour, lying on the windowsill. However, the final operating time on the smartphone is 2:58. Thus, the difference between all the applications we tested remains within 5-6%, and there is no practical point in further experiments.
Network traffic volume per trip
Since the program has two modes of operation (with and without pre-loaded maps), we drove the same short 16-kilometer route in Moscow twice, first with the maps loaded and the second time with the cache pre-cleared. Both trips took approximately 30 minutes. So, the results are as follows: with loaded maps, Yandex.Navigator consumes about 3.5 MB/h, and without them - 6.5 MB/h. If converted to mileage, this approximately corresponds to 0.1 and 0.2 MB/km, respectively. An hour-long drive outside the city on the highway with an initially empty map cache gave a figure of 4 MB over a distance of 90 km.
Technical support
You can contact technical support only through special form Online. There is no knowledge base or official forum thread. Phone too. They do not answer very quickly (it takes about a day to respond), but they are polite and informative, although not always accurate. Replies come by email, after which you can enter into regular correspondence (the main thing is not to change the header of the letter with the request code).
conclusions
It should be noted that the first pancake from Yandex did not turn out lumpy, and in version 1.51 it even looks like an excellent pancake! It has a convenient voice search that works so well that... virtual keyboard During the test, we only contacted you to take screenshots of this material. The maps interface is not only pleasing to the eye (except for the night mode), but also very practical. It doesn't have the newfangled and controversial 3D display of actual building heights, but it has excellent readability. The relevance of maps is a synonym for Yandex. The route planning is also excellent. In addition, Yandex.Navigator often offers Alternative option, which is also convenient. And the application consumes a very moderate amount of traffic, even if it is not first loaded into memory necessary cards. By the way, in terms of traffic it is almost on par with Navitel Navigator, whose maps are located exclusively in the device’s internal memory and does not need to download them from the Internet.
And the main problem is one: without access to the Internet, even with downloaded Yandex.Navigator maps, it turns into a “pumpkin”, i.e. it can only display a map, your location - and nothing more. No routes, no search. In addition, I would really like to get in Yandex.Navigator the functionality of browser-based Yandex.Maps, where there are photographs, descriptions of objects, panoramas, etc. In addition, there is no advanced functionality like “friends on the map”, working with tracks, etc. However, we must remember that the application is free! And if our wishes and comments are taken into account in version 2.0, which remains free, then it will simply undermine the navigation market in Russia and in the two allied states. And one would think that Yandex would not dare to do this, but very soon navigation in Google Maps... And there is also Megafon-Navigation. So place your bets and stock up on the popcorn!
Advantages
- practical interface
- high-quality voice search
- adequate construction of routes
- current maps
- for free
Flaws
- without access to the Internet, it does not build routes and search does not work
- reduced functionality compared to browser-based Yandex.Maps
- yard driveways are not displayed on the map
- no speed warnings
- many are missing useful features, characteristic of navigation software
OnePlus 3T- this is a mirror. That's because smartphone perfectly reflect the main market trend of 2016. And that's the essence of it. First, a certain company releases a top-end smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, sells it and enjoys life. Then an updated chipset with index 821 comes out and a nose bleeds, but it must release another flagship. However, to justify its purchase, you need to add a couple of other features. Thus was born OnePlus 3T.
Get cashbackI don’t see any point in doing a full review of this device, right from now until now; I don’t see any point in taking it apart piece by piece. 3T is an almost identical device to the one that was released 5 months earlier. The new product has several differences, which we will discuss closely in this review. There are mainly three of them: a slightly larger battery, a 16 MP front camera versus 8 MP (previously) and, of course, an updated “stone” in the form of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821.
I will also answer a few key questions. Those who have acquired 1+3 will be interested to know whether it makes sense to upgrade to 3T. For those who do not have anything from this manufacturer or have some old smartphone, I’ll tell you whether it’s worth taking the model with the letter “T” or you can save money and buy regular OnePlus 3. Let's go!
Equipment
The packaging of OnePlus smartphones is one of the best on the market. It is a fact!
Thick, stylish and high-quality cardboard, a pleasant velvety coating - all this already tells us that there is nothing hidden inside, but a real flagship and 450 bucks were well spent.
Inside, in addition to the Type-C cable and power supply (5V, 4A), there was a sticker with a welcoming (Chinese) word from the brand’s CEO and his signature printed on a printer. I could have signed it in person. A loss of time in the form of just a couple of hours, and the fans are happy. Maybe.
However, the latter will be delighted with the stickers that are traditionally included in the kit. I pasted this on mine MacBook Air, let others know that I do not support spending 100500 hundred dollars on buying flagships. Something like this.
By the way, in terms of the box and unpacking experience there are no differences from the previous one. An extra letter appeared on the box, inside there was a smartphone updated in hardware. Nothing more interesting.
Design
For those who are seriously considering a device for purchase, it will be extremely useful to read it first. And do not disdain the fact that the text was written in the summer of 2016. It is completely up-to-date, except that the device was updated to Android 7.0, and from here a handful of new software features appeared. I will, of course, talk about them further using the updated model as an example.
OnePlus 3 (without "T")
I will not describe the appearance of the 3T in detail. There are no real differences from the third model, and therefore I don’t see any point in straining the keyboard once again.
Updated model - OnePlus 3T
The most significant change is that the dark version of the smartphone turned slightly brown and began to look a little more mature. Although the previous device looks wow, so stylish and well-preserved.
The key thing I want to talk about in terms of appearance is that the smartphone fits perfectly in the hand, plays with all sorts of 2.5D glass, shimmers, neatly laser-cut sides - in general, it looks 100%!
The smartphone was and remains very thin - 7.35 millimeters.
I'll tell you about my experience. It so happened that our hero turned out to be my main device for the holidays, in which I had no time for accuracy. I took my smartphone with me both to the beach and on a speedboat, it fell into my backpack, where a little sand had previously been poured, it got slightly wet with sea water in my shorts - in short, I didn’t handle it very carefully. And nothing! The smartphone feels great, and there is not a single scratch on the body or glass. More precisely, the protective glass is still slightly scratched, but these stripes are visible only at very peculiar angles and in bright lighting. Not critical.
I really want to order a branded leather case from the official website, but I just can’t get my hands on it yet. I think that in such a case the device will be protected from almost everything, and will still look stylish.
The unique feature of OnePlus devices is the mechanical alert mode switch.
The lower position means the activity of notifications of any kind, the middle one is responsible for receiving information only from priority contacts, and the upper one makes the smartphone completely silent. Even multimedia in the browser and the YouTube application are cut off - everything becomes so dull. Of course, all this can be slightly adjusted in the parameters, but I would like to note something else.
The lever is really convenient, but I constantly touch it, I don’t know with what: maybe with my fingers, or maybe with the flap of my pocket. From time to time I discover that the device, unknown when and how, went into “Priority” mode. Somehow this is not too great, don’t you think?
The fingerprint scanner and the touch pad generally work excellently. 1+3 was and remains the carrier of the fastest fingerprint sensor on the market, and with the advent of the “T” version, the situation has not changed. Rejoice, happy owners, envy, owners of all sorts of Samsungs, iPhones, and so on.
Display
To IPS evangelists or simply those who for a long time I used smartphones with this type of screen, I sympathize. Optic AMOLED (“amoled” is called that way here because OnePlus wanted to stand out from its competitors) will take some getting used to.
No, the screen is very cool: the colors are saturated, the contrast is crazy - everything is in order here. It’s just that AMOLED was and remains a panel with not very natural color reproduction. The screen makes everything unreal, too juicy and beautiful - this does not exist in nature, but in the “amold” universe it is only there.
In the parameters there are two screen operation modes: standard (eye-catching colors) or sRGB, as if your old CRT TV was slowly dying. The manufacturer made it possible to calibrate the display manually, but it didn’t go further than adjusting the color temperature, so there are actually no sane color rendering settings here.
I wouldn't say there is no inversion at extreme viewing angles. It does not exist in the usual sense for IPS matrices, when blue turns pink, for example. Here, under a serious deviation, the colors begin to become covered with a sort of mirror-like tint: white begins to shine gray, blue noticeably turns green and at the same time becomes just as mirror-like. It’s difficult to describe and even more difficult to show in a photograph, but it’s easy to notice in person.
- resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels
- DPI density 401 ppi
For wild interface performance and fierce FPS values in games, this density of dots is good. For virtual reality and Quad HD is not enough, and Full HD even more so. Fortunately, most users are cool about this technology, and rightly so. It’s too early to worry about this and choose a unit solely based on this parameter. I doubt that this year anything will change radically. We need very powerful smartphones with at least 4K resolution. How these appear, then we’ll talk.
In the settings you can select dark theme interface. I recommend doing this and also installing some kind of monochrome (ideally) wallpaper on the main screen. The thing is that the pixels of the AMOLED panel do not display black color, do not work, and therefore do not consume energy. I think you understand where I'm going with this.
In the photo below, our hero is on top or on the right, and the AGM X1 display (this Chinese also has an AMOLED matrix) is on the bottom or on the left.
In addition, in the settings there is interesting feature— highlighting new notifications upon their arrival in black and white mode. This is also useful when the smartphone is lying next to you on the desktop, and the screen lights up on its own. I looked at what came there, and I don’t need to turn on my smartphone. The most important thing is that the screen uses extremely little energy at this time.
AMOLED on AGM X1 is not the same as AMOLED on 1+3T
What I didn’t like - even if the display here is not completely frameless, but random clicks palm on side buttons interface is no exception. Frankly speaking, sometimes it is seriously so annoying and no software protection there is no provision for this. At all.
OnePlus 3T (A3010) Specifications
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor (4 Kryo cores, two of which operate at 2.35 GHz, and the other two operate at 2.16 GHz)
- Adreno 530 graphics
- RAM 6 GB LPDDR4 (4571 MB free after reboot)
- data storage 64 (about 48 GB actually available) or 128 GB (only for dark modification) UFS 2.0 standard
- Memory card support is not provided
- Optic AMOLED display with a diagonal of 5.5 inches and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (density 401 ppi), 16:9, Corning protective glass Gorilla Glass 4
- front camera 16 MP (Samsung 3P8SP, f/2.0, single pixel size 1 micron, fixed focus, electronic stabilization, 1080p recording at 30 fps)
- main camera 16 MP (Sony IMX298, f/2.0, pixel size 1.12 microns, PDAF, optical and electronic stabilization, 4K video recording, RAW shooting, sapphire lens coating)
- battery 3400 mAh with fast charging Dash Charge
- OS Android 7.0
- shell OxygenOS 4.0.2 (Russian language is available out of the box)
- sensors: accelerometer, light and distance sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, fingerprint scanner, Hall sensor (no barometer)
- connectors: USB Type-C 2.0 (OTG works), 3.5 mm audio output in place
- Dimensions: 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35 mm
- weight 158 grams
Wireless capabilities:
- 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE Cat. 6)
- support for two Nano SIM cards (slot not combined)
- Wi-Fi (802.11 ac), Bluetooth 4.2, NFC
- Navigation: GPS, Glonass, Beidou
Of course, the filling here is top-notch. 6 GB of RAM remained unchanged, this year we expect 8 GB, because Asus started the madness.
There are two versions of the device: with built-in memory of 64 GB and 128 GB. You won’t be able to find the last one during the day, and it costs so much from resellers. There is no point in taking it, and this despite the fact that the difference in the official price is only 50 bucks.
At the end of the section helpful information about engineering menu OnePlus 3T. To go to it, you need to go to the dialer or dialer, dial the command *#808# and test everything your heart desires.
Modifications and differences
As always, there are several versions of the smartphone: an American device (for CDMA), a European model with support for the 20th LTE band, and a Chinese version with slightly different 4G frequencies. Now a little more detail, with numbers and numberings of OnePlus 3T models.
The North American market is supplied with a model operating in the following LTE bands: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 30
In Europe, a configuration is sold with full support for the frequencies we need in Russia: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 38, 40.
The Chinese one, the one sold on Ali, Gearbest and so on, has A3010 in its name. Its bands are the same as those of the European, however, there is no 20th frequency, but they have added 39 and 41 that are meaningless to us.
Personally, I have the Chinese version on my hands, because Gearbest does not sell others yet. In central Russia, MTS LTE works easily and naturally. Know this!
In a world with limited resources, in which large manufacturers compete for the best components, it is difficult for a small startup to release an interesting, much less flagship smartphone. However, since 2014, OnePlus managed not only to start producing smartphones, but also to surprise users with their characteristics, as well as price. It was last year that really impressed us. Now we have received an improved version of this smartphone for review, called OnePlus 3T. Let's take a look at what this update has to offer users.
Traditionally for OnePlus, the 3T model comes in a small box, inside which you can also find Charger Dash and documentation.
Right out of the box, the smartphone comes with a protective film on the display glass.
Design
The OnePlus 3T case is no different from the previous model. The user can choose dark Gunmetal or gold Soft Gold.
OnePlus followed the path of Apple, which has not changed the design of smartphones for several years, and overall did not lose anything. OnePlus 3T looks quite modern, the display is relatively thin frames, and it itself is located almost in the center of the front panel, covered with protective glass Gorilla Glass 4. Under the screen there is a touch key with a fingerprint scanner, as well as two touch buttons responsible for calling up the multitasking menu and taking a step back. There is no logo on the front panel, which only benefits the design.
The back of the OnePlus 3T and the edges of the case are made of aluminum, with cutouts for buttons, the camera lens, and plastic antenna strips. The latter fit quite organically into the design.
The camera block is covered with sapphire glass and protrudes slightly from the body, but this does not affect ease of use.
Overall, despite the 5.5-inch display, the OnePlus 3T is relatively compact and fits well in the hand, although not everyone may like the sharp edges of the body. There are practically no questions about the build quality; the only thing I didn’t like is the power and volume keys, which are a little loose.
I would especially like to highlight the slider for switching to vibration and silent mode; this is a very convenient solution that other manufacturers should adopt.
Display
The OnePlus 3T display diagonal is 5.5 inches, using an Optic AMOLED matrix with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (401 ppi). The screen uses a PenTile pixel layout, but with a density of 401 ppi this does not affect image quality.
The maximum display brightness reaches 396 cd/m2, and the minimum is 3.5 cd/m2. The calibration of the matrix in the sRGB display mode is almost standard, with more than 100% coverage of the sRGB color space, a color temperature just under 6500K, a gamma of 2.2, and uniform backlighting.
At the same time, there are several options in the display settings that allow you to adjust the color rendering, making it more saturated, and the screen itself more “warm” or “cold”.
Performance
The OnePlus 3T uses one of the most powerful platforms available today, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 1.6 and 2.3 GHz, depending on workload. The powerful Adreno 530 core is responsible for graphics processing. In addition, the smartphone has 6 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, as well as 64 GB UFS 2.0 data storage. Unfortunately, there is no support for memory cards, but a 128 GB version of the OnePlus 3T is available.
Thus, both in synthetic tests and in real use, OnePlus 3T shows a high level of performance. Applications launch quickly and remain in the background, and games run at maximum graphics settings.
Unlike the OnePlus 3, the 3T's body begins to heat up less; during high loads, its temperature does not exceed 36 degrees Celsius.
Interface
Out of the box, OnePlus 3T offers operating system Oxygen OS, which is based on Android 7.0. At the same time, the developers have made minimal changes to the Google OS interface, so that it is as close as possible to the original. The changes mainly concern customization options: the user can change icons, the location of elements in the notification panel, the design theme, add gestures, change the assignment of navigation keys, and much more.
Overall, thanks to the Oxygen OS interface, the OnePlus 3T looks almost like a reincarnation of the Nexus, only with performance on par with Pixel smartphones.
It is worth noting that the Oxygen OS operating system itself works stably; in two weeks of working with the smartphone, it never froze. In addition, it is regularly updated thanks to the active community of OnePlus users, who leave feedback on problems with the OS on the company forum.
Fingerprint's scanner
The fingerprint sensor in OnePlus 3T is integrated into the touch button under the display.
You can add five-finger recognition to it. The scanner works very quickly, subjective fingerprint recognition occurs at the same speed as in the Galaxy S7, iPhone 7.
Camera
The main camera of OnePlus 3T has not changed compared to the previous version of the smartphone. It uses a 16-megapixel Sony IMX 298 sensor with 1.12 µm pixels, f/2.0 aperture, optical and electronic stabilization, phase detection autofocus and flash.
In daylight, this photo module provides excellent detail. But in artificial and poor lighting, detail decreases and it becomes more difficult for the camera to capture moving objects. However, this same problem also occurs in more expensive smartphones, so OnePlus 3T can be given a discount on this score.
The front photo module received a 16-megapixel Samsung 3P8SP sensor with 1.0 µm pixels.
The quality of the camera's images is good, but those who like to take “selfies” would clearly benefit from a wide angle rather than a high resolution.
Calls and multimedia
OnePlus 3T supports two nano SIM cards, one can be used for the Internet, and the second for calls. The smartphone settings allow you to flexibly configure work with each number.
The volume of the earpiece has a good volume reserve, but the external one sounds average; in a noisy environment, you might miss a call or notification. Fortunately, vibration alert works well on OnePlus 3T.
There is no separate DAC in the OnePlus 3T (the Qualcomm SoC is responsible for the sound), but the smartphone copes with headphones with an impedance of 60-70 Ohms. And although it is not entirely accurate to relate the sound volume to this, there is a volume reserve in high-impedance headphones. But what the OnePlus 3T doesn’t have is support for the aptX codec, which is unlikely to appeal to those users who want to squeeze maximum sound quality out of their wireless headphones.
Autonomy
Installed in OnePlus 3T non-removable battery capacity 3400 mAh. Compared to OnePlus 3, the battery has become larger, but autonomy has not increased, it works new smartphone about the same. With an average load, you can count on a little more than a day battery life. In the PCMark battery life test, the OnePlus 3T lasted 5 hours.
But the smartphone charges quickly, a full charge takes only an hour, and in 30 minutes the battery can be recharged to 60%. This is implemented using the proprietary Dash Charge standard developed by OnePlus. Unfortunately, other smartphones don't support it, and the OnePlus 3T also lacks compatibility with Qualcomm Quick Charge and Power Delivery standards. Thus, it is better not to lose the included charger.
Site evaluation
Pros: design, materials, build quality, good display, high performance, 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory, camera, fast fingerprint scanner, Oxygen OS with Android 7.0, dual SIM support
Minuses: own fast charging standard, no slot for memory cards, lack of official service support
Conclusion: OnePlus 3T is so far the most affordable smartphone in Ukraine on the top Qualcomm 821 platform and with 6 GB of RAM. In addition, the device offers nice design, good display, quality camera and operating Android system 7.0. Unfortunately, OnePlus 3T is not officially sold in Ukraine and in case of breakdown or broken screen repairs may take longer. Compared to OnePlus 3, the new smartphone has a more powerful processor, 6 GB of RAM in all versions, a 16-megapixel front camera, and a 3400 mAh battery. The changes are not the most significant, however, if you need a smartphone whose performance will last for several years, then it makes sense to pay attention to the OnePlus 3T.
The editors would like to thank the online store City.com.ua for providing the smartphone for review.
OnePlus 3T is more new version relatively impressive OnePlus 3. Currently, this smartphone can afford to compete even with Google Pixel.
OnePlus 3T smartphone - Reviews
OnePlus 3 best smartphone, released by OnePlus on this moment. Will he be able to new model compete with the original, and are all its innovations so good? You will learn about this in this review. Go!
Gorgeous minimalist design of OnePlus 3T
If you put the OnePlus 3 next to the OnePlus 3T, it will be almost impossible to distinguish them from each other, at least according to appearance. This is a fairly logical step, since there was no point in changing the design of the OnePlus 3, given that the previous one came out just six months ago. Plus, the original design was great in its own right.
The 3T changes the texture of the metal shell found on the OnePlus 2 from rough to smooth, and the overall design is more minimalistic. The logo is embossed on the back of the device OnePlus, and, like iPhone and HTC, on back cover there are two lines of a darker color - top and bottom, and the camera lens is slightly raised above the body.
If you take the smartphone in your hands, you can see that its sides are slightly curved and completely smooth, thanks to this, the device fits perfectly in the palm. Considering the amount of time that phones spend in a person’s palm during the day, this is very important. After OnePlus 3 debuted with high level quality and comfort, it has taken it to the next level with phones like the ZTE Axon 7 and Huawei Nova. The new OnePlus 3T may not quite live up to the ideas that underlie the formation of the Axon 7, but the 3T manages to come as close as possible to the latest generation phones.
It is worth noting that the phone is surprisingly compact. Samsung and LG have 5.1-inch and 5.3-inch screens respectively, as do others best phones this year. While the OnePlus 3 has a 5.5-inch screen, it's barely wider than the LG G5 and just a millimeter or so longer. In addition, the smartphone is thinner and weighs 158 grams, which is almost the same weight as the G5 and S7.
Great screen and fingerprint sensor
The OnePlus 3T screen is covered with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 protective glass, which has a curved shape, it beautifully completes the modern design. There is only a fingerprint sensor, which also acts as a Home button. A two-stage switch allows you to selectively mute alerts based on their importance. This saves time, and the switch itself has a new and unique look. Its placement in the upper left corner is a little unusual, but only for right-handers.
The fingerprint sensor works with amazing speed, in addition, the device has NFC, so the smartphone supports Android Pay. Even if payments using a mobile phone do not work, it is unlikely that this will be due to 3T problems, but rather to errors in the application itself.
OnePlus 3T received a 5.5-inch optical AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. What does optical AMOLED mean? OnePlus CEO Carl Pei said that the company supplies him Samsung screens, are equipped with a double polarizing layer, which is tuned to transmit improved color range and contrast. On the OnePlus 3 it was always a problem to adjust the screen using basic controls, but that changed on the 3T. The picture here looks amazing, which was difficult to achieve on the OnePlus 3. If the default settings don't work, you can always use custom installation from warm to cool tones.
Performance on par with reactive
The main change in OnePlus 3T is the replacement Qualcomm processor Snapdragon 820 to the new and more powerful Snapdragon 821. RAM remains unchanged at 6GB, and while there are a few other changes, the processor change is undoubtedly the main reason why the 3T costs more.
It's time to turn to comparative tests. Putting the 3T against the OnePlus 3 is probably the easiest way to find any differences. AnTuTu 3D on OnePlus 3 showed 44.131 points, and the same test on OnePlus 3T turns into 166.912 points. Both worked in the same environment, without third party applications, on latest version the most modern public release of the OxygenOS shell.
That's a big difference, and it crushes almost any other smartphone. Such high indicators are also present in other test programs. Geekbench 4 showed 4.133 on the OnePlus 3 and 4.390 on the 3T, and the 3DMark gaming test showed the OnePlus 3 scoring 2.561 while the 3T scored 2.700.
There are some other changes that won't be immediately noticeable, but provide noticeable benefits to the new device. For example, 3T does not heat up if it is under load, unlike the 3rd version, and it also has an increased battery capacity of 3,400 mAh.
OnePlus 3T camera and software
OnePlus 3T still has the same 16-megapixel camera as its predecessor. It has an F/2.0 aperture, optical image stabilization, HDR, and a 1.28-inch sensor. However, OnePlus has debugged the software. Pictures produced by 3T are more natural and pleasing to the eye.
When taking close-up photos, blurring the background looks very nice. With HDR enabled, shadowed areas were lit fairly well without sacrificing detail. Low light conditions reveal a lot of detail, although it's not quite like the iPhone 7 Plus, you won't be disappointed.
Coming to the front camera, the OnePlus 3T has a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The powerful sensor is installed not so much for selfie lovers, but for live streamers who require high image clarity. And even in low light conditions, it works well. The front camera has a simple beauty mode and functions where the sensor should detect smiles and activate the shutter.
Swipe right on the sensor in camera mode and you'll be able to access a manual settings mode where ISO, focus, shutter speed and brightness can be adjusted to suit your needs. The camera software is fast and efficient.
Software and updates
The OnePlus 3T runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow on the OxygenOS user interface, which slightly changes the operating system from how Google offers it. It's not a drastic change, and it's closer to how Motorola deals with Android than the heavy interface from Huawei or Samsung. Android update to version 7.0 is expected by the end of 2016, our model came with Android update dated November 2016.
There are several modifications included in OxygenOS. Most notable is the Shelf feature, which allows you to open from the left home screen an interface where you can find links to frequently used apps, space for Android widgets, weather data and a place to write notes. If desired, you can either enable or disable this function.
OnePlus installs its own app gallery, file manager applications, music player, a voice recorder, as well as a new Community application - it gives direct access to the company’s online forums. There are a lot of complaints and whining on the forums, most of which are individual cases, but this allows you to find problems on the forum if the solution was not found on the Internet.
Memory capacity and lack of MicroSD slot
Depending on which model you buy, you can get either 64 GB or 128 GB of internal memory, but unfortunately there is no slot MicroSD cards- to increase memory. OnePlus decided not to follow fashion and did not add new feature Dual-SIM tray, which has the ability to use one of the memory card slots, so the 3T is strictly a dual-SIM device.
For this reason, we suggest choosing the 128GB version of the OnePlus 3T, which will allow the smartphone to last for several years, given its performance, before you need to replace it.
Battery life and fast charging on OnePlus 3T
Even though the OnePlus 3T has the same dimensions as the OnePlus 3, it is equipped with a larger 3,400 mAh battery that holds a charge for about a day with moderate-to-intensive use. You can increase your battery life even further by using a feature that turns off the display of data in background, as well as a vibration function.
The fast charging system works great, and OnePlus claims it will charge the battery to 60 percent capacity in just 30 minutes. Our tests showed this to be true, and we saw 60 percent at 31 minutes. A full charge was completed within an hour and 20 minutes. We achieved the same thing with OnePlus 3.
Warranty, price and availability
The much-hated invite system is now a thing of the past; you can buy the OnePlus 3T through the OnePlus online store right now. For the 64 GB model you will have to pay $440 (28,000 rubles), which is $40 more than the price for OnePlus 3.
OnePlus offers a good one-year warranty, defects will be repaired or a replacement device will be provided - free of charge, including shipping and handling costs. This does not cover wear and tear or water damage. Alternatively, OnePlus offers an extended warranty plan of one year, 18 months or two years, but this costs extra and is only available in the US, not China. 
Is it worth buying OnePlus 3T?
The OnePlus 3T smartphone is quite powerful, it combines high performance and style, allowing you to save a significant amount of money in your pocket, unlike its competitors. One or two problems in software do appear sometimes - but we hope that they will be fixed in the near future. Moreover, they are not enough to cover all the advantages of this device.
OnePlus 3T is, in our opinion, a good and powerful smartphone, without any serious flaws. It's beautiful to look at, great to use, takes impressive pictures, and is technically capable of being a powerful, productive device for many years to come. And all this for a price of $440 (28,000 rubles). Tempting, isn't it?
Advantages
- High speed work thanks to Snapdragon 821;
- Impressive cameras;
- Beautiful metal case;
- Almost pure Android with regular updates;
- Very fast battery charging.
The Chinese company One Plus, releasing commercially successful flagship smartphone models, successfully competes with such “monsters” mobile market like Apple, Samsung and Google. One of the most successful in the history of the company was the One Plus 3 model released in June 2016. And just five months after its release, the updated modification 3T was presented, which came to us for testing.
Was such a quick release of the new model justified? What is it and how does it differ from its predecessor? We have prepared detailed review One Plus 3T, after reading which you will learn all the features and characteristics of this smartphone.
OnePlus 3T video review
To get a first impression of what the One Plus 3T is like, watch the video review of this model:
Price and characteristics
At the beginning of March 2017, the price for 3T starts at 24,000 rubles. This is cheaper than in the US, where a similar model costs an average of $399-$499. The difference in price arose due to the fact that One phones Plus is produced in China, from where they are supplied directly to Russia, and to the USA – across the ocean. You can also save significantly on purchasing a phone if you order it directly from a Chinese website.
Characteristics of 1+3T:
- screen: 5.5” Full-HD Super AMOLED;
- processor: Snapdragon821 + Adreno 530 graphics accelerator;
- RAM: 66 GB;
- internal memory: 64/128 GB, depending on version;
- cameras: main – 16 MP, front – 16 MP;
- wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS, LTE;
- battery: 3400 mAh.
Let's take a closer look at all the features of the phone.
Design and ergonomics
Visually, the new model is very similar to the third smartphone in the line, that is, its predecessor. There are two production colorways on sale - gold and dark gray, as well as limited edition versions called Colette and Midnight Black. Only 250 Colette-type smartphones were produced, for which huge queues lined up in Paris. The Midnight Black design is more affordable but also limited edition.
The aluminum back houses the One Plus logo, camera lens and flash. There are plastic inserts for antennas, the transition between materials is almost tactilely indistinguishable, and visually the stripes also harmoniously complement the design of the smartphone.
On the left edge there is a triple button for switching sound modes, which in practice turns out to be very convenient, and a volume rocker.
On the right is a screen lock key and a tray for a card slot (2x NanoSim).
Below - USB-C port, headphone jack and speaker grille. The upper end of the case remained completely empty.
On the front panel covered with tempered glass Gorilla Glass 4 there is a mechanical key with a built-in fingerprint. It works almost instantly with minimum number false recognitions.
Despite the screen diagonal of 5.5 inches, the smartphone turned out to be very compact; it fits easily in the hand. At the same time, the metal body has a matte, slightly rough surface, which does not slip and encourages a confident grip.
Display
The screen of the new model is exactly the same as that of the regular One Plus - it is 5.5 AMOLED with a Full HD resolution of 1920x1080 401ppi. During testing of the smartphone, the protective glass did not receive even the slightest scratch; the olephobic coating on it is also very good.
The display is bright, rich and contrasty. Viewing angles are maximum, the brightness range is more than sufficient for any conditions of use. In general, the 3T’s screen is truly flagship.
The smartphone has many settings for customizing the display, there is an adjustment color temperature, contrast, etc. The mode for automatically adjusting the screen brightness to external conditions works correctly. It is very useful on a sunny day, when you either walk down the street with your phone or go into shaded areas. In both cases, what is happening on the screen will be clearly visible and you will not have to change the brightness manually every time.
Hardware, performance
One Plus 3T runs on Snapdragon processor 821, and its predecessor - on the Snapdragon 820. In practice, the difference between the two chipsets is absolutely imperceptible; the performance of both is enough for the eyes in any scenarios for using the smartphone. Therefore, if you have One Plus 3, do not rush to change it to a new one - you will not see much of a difference in operating speed.
During the entire testing period, we did not notice any moments of thoughtfulness in the smartphone, or any bugs or stutters. Everything flies - both in the interface and browser, and in games. Add to this the amount of RAM increased to 6 GB and we get a smartphone that will be relevant for at least several more years, since it is now one of the best in terms of hardware.
Cameras, picture and video quality
One of the main differences between the 1+3T and its predecessor is the 16 megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash. However, this did not give a real noticeable increase in the quality of selfies; the picture was not much better than the one produced by the 8-megapixel front camera 1+3, and the pictures it took were decent.
Video 1+3T records in 4K resolution, the picture turns out to be very decent in detail, but stabilization sometimes fails. In general, in terms of photo and video capabilities, the smartphone can easily compete with the flagships of A-brands; here it will not disappoint even demanding users.
Speaker and sound quality
The 1+3T has a useful button for changing volume modes; it allows you to choose between three profiles: normal, quiet and do not disturb (silent), which is very convenient for various situations. The quality of the multimedia speaker is good, the sound is loud and clear. Headphones are also doing well.
The microphone and speaker of the device work flawlessly. During a conversation, the interlocutor, like you, can be heard perfectly, and he claims the same.
Battery
We conducted a variety of endurance tests on the One Plus 3T, testing it in intensive mode all day long: taking photos and videos, surfing the Internet, and using the device as a navigator. The smartphone lasted until the evening, and it still had 15% charge left.
In a more economical mode, the battery holds a charge for about two days. Test of continuous video playback with disabled wireless communication gave almost 17 hours of active screen - this is a very cool result. Well, as befits a flagship, the 3T is equipped with fast charging, which fills the battery from zero to 100% in an hour.
Wireless communications and Internet
The smartphone supports Wi-Fi, GPS, NFS, Bluetooth 4.2, GLONASS and the Chinese BeiDou system. It takes about 5 seconds to set up for satellite navigation on a cold start. Signal from Wi-Fi router The device receives at a distance of up to 350 meters. 3G/4G Internet is fast and stable both outdoors and indoors, no connection problems were detected.
Via USB-C, the smartphone correctly connects to any external devices. The disadvantages of the model include the absence of FM radio, beloved by conservatives.
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