My OP3 mini review after a month

[DamianP]

I was excited to get the OP3 and wanted to share my experiences having it after almost a month.

Positives:

Build - solid and well built. I like the button placement.
Near stock interface with customizations I always wanted in stock( I love dark mode!)
Screen - I think its a fantastic screen, never cared that it wasn't 2k. I have a S7 and Nexus 6P as well. This stands up to them quite well. S7 is definitely brighter however.
Speed - incredibly fluid, running lots of apps, exchange, syncplicity, evernote, gmail.
Battery - I am happy with little over 4hr of SOT with my usage pattern with decent cell signal.
Camera is overall quite respectable. Not quite as good as the S7, but close enough for me.
I love the button options and doubletap to wake(Missed that from the LG G4!)

Negatives
Body is too slippery to have without a case.( I use the stock OP3 and Tudia TPU case)
Reboots to happen still once in a while even with the latest update with nav/maps being used at times when plugged in.
Camera dynamic range could be better.
Alert slider needs to be integrated with native alert profiles.
Native launcher needs to have a higher icon density option.
Needs more color options for accent colors(nitpicking here but I hate the color options)
I have some occasional odd behavior when leaving wifi after an extended period and data will not be enabled(no LTE or H, but full bars). Only way to fix this is to reboot.

I have taken the OP3 on vacation and it turned out to be a real trooper with pictures and working internationally(Iceland). I don't regret getting the OP3, and its quite a good phone for the money in my opinion.

 

[krazyatom]

Nice review. I am still on fence. I want to upgrade from iphone 6s plus. I really like amoled screen.

 

[Sergiusz Jasper]

Nice review. I am still on fence. I want to upgrade from iphone 6s plus. I really like amoled screen.

Do it, join the dark side lol
I love my op3

 

[jtcannonball]

I find myself using my S7 more and more and OP3 less. The camera is not good for baby and toddler shots. Outside in great sunlight it does great, but taking pics of my kids is my number one use. It's great so don't be scared away.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Tyresian]

Dang, that stinks to hear. I was strongly debating grabbing one. My Nexus 5X works great for low light and quickly capturing shots. I've gotten some fantastic quick pictures of my dogs. I just did a 4 day trial with the Nexus 6P as I got it used very cheap but I am filing for a return on it and back to my 5X right now. 5.7" is just a hair too big and it has issues connecting to multiple bluetooth devices simultaneously (while the 5X does this just fine).

 

[krazyatom]

Do it, join the dark side lol
I love my op3

My only concern is that one plus official updates are pretty slow. I know this because i had one plus one and two. Samsung s7 is almost perfect phone for me hardware wise but i really want close to stack android.

 

[Sergiusz Jasper]

My only concern is that one plus official updates are pretty slow. I know this because i had one plus one and two. Samsung s7 is almost perfect phone for me hardware wise but i really want close to stack android.

Well yes they can be slow in updates but one can always root and flash, they usually will release an update and is available before out over OTA.
S7 is a beautiful phone but question is are you willing to pay almost double for it.. At least here in Canada it is stupid expensive, also rooting samsung is way harder and not much for it.
Op3 with the newest oxygen 3.2.2 runs amazing also I'm running custom kernel, and nova pime launcher.

Plus dash charging is awesome and now works on custom kernel so for me a win win.

 

[Sergiusz Jasper]

Dang, that stinks to hear. I was strongly debating grabbing one. My Nexus 5X works great for low light and quickly capturing shots. I've gotten some fantastic quick pictures of my dogs. I just did a 4 day trial with the Nexus 6P as I got it used very cheap but I am filing for a return on it and back to my 5X right now. 5.7" is just a hair too big and it has issues connecting to multiple bluetooth devices simultaneously (while the 5X does this just fine).

I have both op3 and nexus 5 x and I would say that op camera is way faster in lunch and fantastic but has a tendency to over expose image. In low light it's quite good but 5x has an upper hand just so slightly.
Still find that the op is way better phone than a stock nexus 5x...but now since I installed a custom rom and kernel plus governor my nexus 5x is not far behind, double battery life and over 5 sot and no lagging.

S7 definitely better but expensive, and in my opinion not better enuf to justify the extra cost of op3.

 

[jtcannonball]

My unlocked S7 was only $150 more. So that is worth the extra in my opinion.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Sergiusz Jasper]

My unlocked S7 was only $150 more. So that is worth the extra in my opinion.

Posted via the Android Central App

Maybe in your country or on contract, here no such deal on contract it's 300$ with an 85$ per month plan and if you want it off its 910$ plus tax vs 499$ plus tax for op3 and that is still better than 499$ nexus 5x 32gb plus tax... Ya Canada sucks when it comes to contracts and phone prices.

I would definitely get an s7 if it was only 150$ more but at same time can't complain about the op3 plus rooting is possible with ease.

 

[jtcannonball]

It wasn't enough of a difference to keep it. I returned it after noticing the unlocked variant actually has less signal than my wife's att version.

Posted via the Android Central App