The OnePlus 3T has expectedly built-up on the legacy created by OnePlus 3 last year. The Chinese handset manufacturer has managed to literally disrupt the flagship segment posing problems for various other OEMs that play around that price segment. While Samsung also tapped the phablet segment earlier this year with its Galaxy C9 Pro which is probably the best phablet you can buy right now. However, Oppo today launched its new F3 Plus smartphone which, based on the specifications, is a shootout against both the OnePlus 3T and Galaxy C9 Pro. So If you were looking to buy the OnePlus 3T or the Galaxy C9 Pro, just hold on as we keep these three devices side-by-side. Also, don’t just go by the star power both Oppo(Sonam Kapoor and Hrithik ) and now even One Plus (Amitabh Bachchan)have enlisted, but use your head too.
Design and Display
For the design aspect, there is a lot going on here. While all three devices sport similar design aesthetics, the overall feel and form factor does differ especially when we consider the OnePlus 3T. Oppo F3 Plus and the Galaxy C9 Pro share the same six-line Antenna lines at the back which also curves around the edges making it identical if we ignore the camera module. While the Oppo F3 Plus has the camera along with a LED flash, placed on the top left corner, Samsung went in for its trademark square-shaped camera placement on the top centre. OnePlus 3T, on the other hand, is a lot different in the design although the material used here is the same i.e. aluminium. As we have mentioned a lot of times before, OnePlus 3T doesn’t offer anything extraordinary in terms of design but that doesn’t imply that it’s the worst of this lot. At the end of the day, the decision about the design aspect lies in your hands. One thing which you should note here is that the camera hump at the back is the least in the Galaxy C9.
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OnePlus 3T comes in Gunmetal, Gold and the newly launched Midnight Black colour options, the Galaxy C9 Pro offers Gold, Pink Gold and Black colour options and the Oppo F3 Plus sells in Black and Gold colour options. Regarding the form factor, the OnePlus 3T is definitely the most compact of the lot with its smaller 5.7-inch Full HD AMOLED display. While both the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus sports a 6.0-inch Full HD display. Also, the one on the C9 Pro is also an AMOLED panel while Oppo went in for an IPS LCD display for the F3 Plus.
While it’s true that we get better Pixel density on the OnePlus 3T, but that’s not something a lot of us will notice in day-to-day usage. However, the screen type might be something where a lot of decisions fall either way. If you ask us, we would pick an AMOLED panel any day because of its saturated colours and battery efficiency. For the protection, we get Corning Gorilla Glass protection on all the devices with Oppo stealing a march with the latest Gorilla 5 version
Hardware and Software
Unleashing the internals, all three come packed tight. The OnePlus 3T looks to EDGE ahead here. In figures, both the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus are powered by a 1.95 GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 Chipset coupled with Adreno 510 GPU. On the other hand, the OnePlus 3T sports a 2.35 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 821 chipset paired with Adreno 530 GPU. Moreover, Oppo F3 Plus comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage while the Galaxy C9 Pro and OnePlus 3T have squeezed in 6GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The internal storage on the C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus is expandable whereas we get a 128GB option for the OnePlus 3T.
In terms of performance, you will not notice a lot of difference between the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus. Both the devices also run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with ColourOS 3.0 on the Oppo handset and Samsung’s own UI in the C9 Pro. While both the skins are not perfect in terms of optimisations and battery, both of them keep you satisfied. Meanwhile, OnePlus 3T cuts a lonely and proud trail with the Snapdragon 821 and latest Android 7.1.1 Nougat (recently updated) on board. Further, OxygenOS on the OnePlus 3T resembles a lot to Stock Android which further bumps up the overall performance and battery optimisations.
Now, don’t take this wrong, the performance on the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus in no way unsatisfactory, but the Processor on the OnePlus 3T is just more powerful resulting in a better performance overall. If you don’t crib about the maximum performance, the C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus will do the job here.
Camera
When we come to the camera, things get even more interesting as Oppo F3 Plus has something unique to offer in this segment. This new device from Oppo sports a dual front camera set up with a combination of 16-megapixel and an 8-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The dual camera setup will basically help users get a Wide-Angle selfie pictures. Flipping the device, the back of the Oppo F3 Plus features a 16-megapixel sensor with f/1.7 aperture, phase detection autofocus, OIS and dual-LED (dual tone) flash. For a company that harps pretty much exclusively on its selfie abilities, this was the least to expect, perhaps.
Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro, on the other hand, sports a 16-megapixel camera both at the front and back with a f/1.9 Aperture with dual-tone LED flash at the back. Lastly, the OnePlus 3T also features a pair of 16-megapixel sensors both at the front and back with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash, OIS and PDAF. Another point to note is that while the Oppo F3 Plus and OnePlus flagship can record up to 4K, the Galaxy C9 Pro maxes out at 1080p Resolution when recording.
Based on the specifications, the Oppo F3 Plus surely has an edge here with its dual-selfie cameras and a pretty solid looking rear camera as well. The f/1.7 aperture means the device will possibly do better than the other two in low-light photography. On the other hand, the camera on the Galaxy C9 Pro also doesn’t look like a dud at all, with the One Plus as solid as ever. However, if we had to rank, we would go with Oppo F3 Plus > Galaxy C9 Pro > OnePlus 3T, simply based on the specifications. Else, we would request you to wait for our detailed camera test of these three devices before choosing your favourite.
Battery and Connectivity
The battery is another area where OnePlus 3T falls short when compared to the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus. While the OnePlus 3T comes with a 3400 mAh battery capacity, the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus packs in a 4000 mAh battery. What’s important to note here is that the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus comes with a bigger 6-inch screen, so they are bound to suck a little more battery on a day-to-day basis. However, the Galaxy C9 Pro also sports a Super AMOLED Display which might save up some percentage of juice at the end of the day. For the verdict on this one, we would go for the Galaxy C9 Pro followed by the Oppo F3 Plus and then OnePlus 3T. But, OnePlus 3T comes with its trademark Dash Charging which is probably the fastest on any device right now even though Oppo F3 Plus comes with its own VOOC Flash Charge technology.
In terms of connectivity, we have Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac on all the devices, Bluetooth 4.2 in OnePlus 3T and C9 Pro (Bluetooth v4.1 in Oppo F3 Plus), GPS, a fingerprint scanner etc. Further, Oppo F3 Plus skips the USB Type-C port and instead sports a microUSB 2.0 while the other two comes with USB Type-C v1.0 for charging and data syncing. Oppo F3 Plus also skips NFC here.
Wrapping Up
Now here comes the tough part. Before jumping to the final verdict, let’s look at the price first. Oppo F3 Plus is priced at Rs 30,990, while the Galaxy C9 Pro is available for purchase for Rs 36,999. Meanwhile, OnePlus 3T still remains the best value for money proposition at Rs 29,999 (64GB). Another point here to note is the place of availability. While OnePlus 3T is an online only device, you can get the Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus on any of your nearby retailers as well, in case you missed seeing the Oppo hoardings plastered all over. And now for the verdict, OnePlus 3T, despite its slightly iffy battery, manages to be the best bet at this price with its powerful Snapdragon 821 SoC. Further, the update track record for OnePlus devices has been a lot better than the likes of Samsung and Oppo. In fact, considering the positive perception around the One Plus brand, one really has to wonder why Oppo expects a premium for plastering hoardings all over the city and having not one but two Bollywood stars as celeb endorsers. Too much effort, we say. On the other hand, the Galaxy C9 Pro surely comes with the Samsung brand value and customer service. A little shaken, but still sturdy. For us, the OnePlus 3T edges this one, followed by Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus.