OnePlus 3 or a Nexus 6P?

[JonnyT]

There are a few similarities between the phones in terms of design, lack of bloatware and the specs aren't hugely different (this is all opinion of course,) but which one would you go for, or do you already have one?

I was literally about to buy a 6P yesterday and I'm thinking I might get the OnePlus instead now - was hoping for a bigger screen but those bezels look smalllll. I like.

Interesting bit for me was the AC Review suggesting the battery life was better on the OnePlus, that I didn't see coming, guess the screen has made a really big difference after all!

Thoughts?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Golfdriver97]

Their second Con was the first thing I was wondering about: Legitimate worry about software updates.

If I were in your position, i would either get the 6P or see what comes out in the fall.

 

[Aquila]

As a totally biased 6P owner, 6P is better by a mile. But it's also probably more expensive, so that sorta makes sense.

Here's where I think the comparison is:

Display: Nexus 6P wins - Higher res, larger, better accuracy
Battery: Nexus 6P wins - life may be similar, but capacity is bigger on the 6P and charging tech is better
Build & Design: Nexus 6P wins - better button configuration, same materials and build quality (as far as we know), better layout (FPS location, system buttons, etc)
Audio: Neither really went after this market, but Nexus 6P wins for having both speakers on the front
Performance: I'm going to give the nod to OnePlus on this one because they have a better CPU, better GPU and more RAM, but Nexus gets a mention for having higher max storage
Options: Nexus 6P has more colors, more storage options and works on more carriers
Software: Nexus 6P - better resistance to obsolescence, more timely updates
Security: Nexus 6P - software will always be more up to date on security patches and security features
Camera: I don't have enough info to make this call

So counting up the bold winners, Nexus wins 7 categories and OnePlus wins 1, with 1 tie.

 

[Howard H.]

Be aware of my experience with OnePlus One as a company. I had a OnePlus One. It completely died (would not even turn on when it was just over the end of the warranty period at 13 months. OnePlus would not provide any replacement for my dead device. Pretty stinky! Be very weary of their quality and very stingy attitude regarding warranty support.

 

[Aquila]

Be aware of my experience with OnePlus One as a company. I had a OnePlus One. It completely died (would not even turn on when it was just over the end of the warranty period at 13 months. OnePlus would not provide any replacement for my dead device. Pretty stinky! Be very weary of their quality and very stingy attitude regarding warranty support.

Were they willing to repair it at normal rates?

 

[Maknora]

One plus 3

 

[Morty2264]

The OnePlus definitely looks amazing and certainly has merit, but (and this is coming from someone who does not currently own a 6P, but has had a Nexus device in the past) you really can't go wrong with a Nexus device. The 6P is no exception to this rule. And Nexus is stock so it will always get updates (and they'll usually come faster than to other manufacturers' devices) and it is known to give a good Android experience. However, only you can make this choice. Try out both phones in-store and see what you think! Good luck, and let us know what you've decided!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Aquila]

The numbers here represent the rank of each device in each category in the 15 devices that this compares. Details are here for how it's scored and such: http://forums.androidcentral.com/phone-wars/687005-matts-phone-rankings-best-phones-6-1-2016-a.html

Example: Display, 6P is the 9th best, OnePlus 3 is the 13th best.

Disclaimer: We don't have all the info yet needed to make an absolutely accurate comparison, this is preliminary.

The total score is out of 9 points and assesses each device on 9 categories relative to each other - while the rank is the ranking of the 15 devices on that score. In the linked thread, you'll see the 6P is ranked as the best phone over the S7 Edge according to the methodology, which many here will disagree with - which is why I gave the description of the methodology so anyone can feel free to tweak according to what they prefer in devices, etc. Most of the metrics are measurements though, so there's as much bias control as possible. According to that ranking, the OnePlus 3 breaks into the top 10 - and when we get detailed information from Anandtech on the display and some real life battery measurements, that ranking is probably going to go up. The pack between 7th through 11th place is very tight, so seeing the OnePlus break up into the top 5 or 6 is seeming pretty likely to me, depending on where the Moto Z ends up when we get final data for it. That said, that'd make the OnePlus a best case scenario top 5 with the 6P being the reigning king - for the moment.

 

[JonnyT]

The OnePlus definitely looks amazing and certainly has merit, but (and this is coming from someone who does not currently own a 6P, but has had a Nexus device in the past) you really can't go wrong with a Nexus device. The 6P is no exception to this rule. And Nexus is stock so it will always get updates (and they'll usually come faster than to other manufacturers' devices) and it is known to give a good Android experience. However, only you can make this choice. Try out both phones in-store and see what you think! Good luck, and let us know what you've decided!

Posted via the Android Central App

Yeah, I think I really need to get both phones in my hands. I thought the Nexus 6P might have been a tad too big, but I'd really like to get a feel for them both, as it was a big screen I was after and the Nexus does go one better on that front. Thanks!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[JonnyT]

As a totally biased 6P owner, 6P is better by a mile. But it's also probably more expensive, so that sorta makes sense.

Here's where I think the comparison is:

Display: Nexus 6P wins - Higher res, larger, better accuracy
Battery: Nexus 6P wins - life may be similar, but capacity is bigger on the 6P and charging tech is better
Build & Design: Nexus 6P wins - better button configuration, same materials and build quality (as far as we know), better layout (FPS location, system buttons, etc)
Audio: Neither really went after this market, but Nexus 6P wins for having both speakers on the front
Performance: I'm going to give the nod to OnePlus on this one because they have a better CPU, better GPU and more RAM, but Nexus gets a mention for having higher max storage
Options: Nexus 6P has more colors, more storage options and works on more carriers
Software: Nexus 6P - better resistance to obsolescence, more timely updates
Security: Nexus 6P - software will always be more up to date on security patches and security features
Camera: I don't have enough info to make this call

So counting up the bold winners, Nexus wins 7 categories and OnePlus wins 1, with 1 tie.

That's a great comparison and I didn't really look at it like that, so thank you. I think the headline specs may have won me over, price wise there isn't much in it, but only because I was looking at the 32GB 6P, although as I'm moving away from 64GB S6 edge, I'd probably appreciate having the larger storage as I do use it.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[mhettrich]

I'd go 6p as well, but I'm also a biased owner of the device. It runs wonderfully and I get to tinker with Android N.

 

[dannyar11]

I don't see why anyone would buy the 6p over the Oneplus 3 at this point in the cycle. The new Nexus phones are around the corner, the 32gb model of the 6p is 100$ more than the 64gb Oneplus, your getting double the ram with the Oneplus, the most up to date CPU available, a basically vanilla android that actually has features like dark mode and other customizations that you don't get with stock android. Also it comes fully bootloader unlocked so if you don't like Oxygen you can easily install anything you want. I understand current owners of the 6P are going to be biased, but dont swing non owners looking for the better phone at the moment the wrong way. The 6p is at the end of its cycle and the Oneplus 3 is not only current, but even more future proofed with the 6gb of ram.

 

[Aquila]

The 6P is at the end of its cycle? The 6P is the best overall package available and only comes in behind the OP3 on RAM and processor, being the same or better at everything else. It's also the one device out now that's not from Apple that will be current on software and security for the entirety of 2016 and 2017. I could buy an argument to wait for the next Nexus, but not one that says the best phone is worse because it's got lower RAM. If 6 GB was necessary, Samsung would have it. Specs are kinda their thing and Samsung is one of the biggest sufferers of memory management.

 

[dannyar11]

The 6P is at the end of its cycle? The 6P is the best overall package available and only comes in behind the OP3 on RAM and processor, being the same or better at everything else. It's also the one device out now that's not from Apple that will be current on software and security for the entirety of 2016 and 2017. I could buy an argument to wait for the next Nexus, but not one that says the best phone is worse because it's got lower RAM. If 6 GB was necessary, Samsung would have it. Specs are kinda their thing and Samsung is one of the biggest sufferers of memory management.

Can you explain to me how its the best overall package available? Aside from being first to get updates there isn't a single thing better about the 6p than the S7 Edge or the Oneplus 3.

 

[Aquila]

Screen, display, audio, charging tech, security software, layout, resistance to obsolescence, max storage, storage options, color options, works on more carriers, battery, etc, etc. There are several posts, including two in this thread, detailing the comparison.

 

[Howard H.]

Were they willing to repair it at normal rates?

The "nominal" fee quoted was $10.00 less than I payed for the new device And I would have to pay postage for returning it to OnePlus!

 

[Aquila]

The "nominal" fee quoted was $10.00 less than I payed for the new device And I would have to pay postage for returning it to OnePlus!

Yuck, that sucks

 

[Howard H.]

Yuck, that sucks

I subsequently purchased a 6P which has worked flawlessly.

 

[alc2077]

Oneplus 3 in my opinion. Don't get me wrong N6P is a great phone, however it's just tool tall for me with the 5.7" screen plus I think there are certain features vanilla android OS lacks.
I went from a Note 5 SM-N920i to a Oneplus 2 because the screen size and got tired of the Samsung TW being too overbearing after using it for 4 months.
I was very hesitant to make the switch from the note 5 to OP2, but having used the Oneplus 2 now for a couple of months I can honestly say it has performed beyond my expectations. I like how Oneplus adds subtle enhancements to the oxygen OS while keeping an almost vanilla android feel like the Nexus. Sure there's the concern about timely software updates, but when it comes to overall value for the money I don't think you can go wrong with the Oneplus 3 except of course you decide to get the ZTE Axon 7
When it's all said and done, the only best phone there is; is one that fits your needs

 

[y2jdmbfan]

I ordered one, but I'm not quite sure why...I have an S7 Edge and Nexus 6P I use on AT&T...I had been using the 6P since the gold model came out. I got the S7 Edge again 2 weeks ago for the microSD card slot. Not sure how the One Plus 3 fits in...I am probably going to cancel it today. I wish the HTC 10 had a camera as good as the S7 Edge and didn't blow out the brightness in low light situation, such as focusing on a TV picture in a dark room.