OnePlus 3 with 6 GB RAM has an exclusive status in the market now. Meanwhile, Asus launched its new Zenfone 3 in India. Both the phones are available at Rs 27,999. So let’s check out if we have a new flagship killer?
Design and Display
OnePlus has gone for a metallic uni-body design with OnePlus 3 which clearly indicates how fast the company is growing. But, the phone is much thinner due to which we have a not so appealing camera hump. One the other hand, Asus Zenfone 3 is all about glass both on the front and back with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for the protection. The home button with fingerprint scanner is at the back of the device. Both the devices are pretty slippery so we recommend you snap on a case for better grip and protection. OnePlus 3 also boasts a fingerprint scanner in the home button which is one of the fastest in the industry.
Regarding the display, both the phones feature a 5.5 inch 1080 x 1920 pixel display with the one on the OnePlus 3 being Optic AMOLED and on the Zenfone 3 it’s the IPS+ display. There is nothing to compare here but as a personal opinion, I always prefer an AMOLED display.
Processor
Here the things gets a little serious. Asus Zenfone 3 is powered by a 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 64-bit processor, Adreno 503 GPU and 4GB RAM. Whereas OnePlus 3 sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Chipset clocked at 2.15 GHz with Adreno 530 GPU and 6GB of RAM. OnePlus 3 is certainly taking up all the attention here with better processor and more RAM. Both the devices run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow but while Asus Zenfone 3 runs on ZenUI, OnePlus 3 runs on Oxygen OS which is a lot similar to Stock Android making it for an even more buttery smooth experience.
Camera
We are back to square one in the camera department. Both the devices have 16 Megapixel rear facing camera with Autofocus (OIS in OnePlus 3, laser in Asus handset), LED flash etc. In the front, they have 8 megapixel shooter.
Moreover, it seems that both the smartphones even feature the same sensor so a lot here depends on image processing. Now based on the reviews on the internet, OnePlus 3 seems to be doing better at image processing and hence better results. But Asus Zenfone 3 pictures appear to be more vibrant and saturated so if that’s what you want, Asus Zenfone 3 is not a bad deal.
Storage
When you have such big devices, media consumption only tends to increase. For this both the smartphones come with 64GB internal storage but if that’s not enough for you, there is a micro SD card slot in Zenfone 3 which can hold up to a 256 GB micro SD card. Unfortunately, there is no expandable storage in the OnePlus 3. Both the phones have dual SIM capability but if you want that extra storage on the Zenfone 3, you will have to work with a single SIM because the smartphone has a hybrid SIM slot.
Battery and Connectivity
Battery is yet another department where both the phones look equal. Both the smartphones have a 3000 mAh non-replaceable battery. Now, the actual results depends entirely on one’s own usage but it should last you an entire day on both the devices.
Connectivity options are same on both the devices with WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, NFC is back on OnePlus 3 and USB Type-C. So not much thinking here.
Wrapping Up
All comes down to this as to which one is actually better for the price. While OnePlus 3 has better processor, Zenfone 3 has that expandable storage. To choose between these two we surely have to nit-pick. Day-to-day usage on both the smartphones will fly but OnePlus 3 having better internals with the stock Android experience will be better in the overall performance. Moreover, OnePlus is also offering accidental protection for 12 months for the OnePlus 3. Don’t get us wrong Asus ZenUI is fine but nothing beats stock Android if you ask me.