We compare the shiny new iPhone 7 from Apple with the excellent OnePlus 3 Android phone, which costs half as much yet packs some seriously premium features. Which is best for you? Here’s our iPhone 7 vs OnePlus 3 comparison review.
And check out our iPhone 7 vs every other iPhone guide to see if the latest Apple blower is a big upgrade on previous models.
iPhone 7 vs OnePlus 3: Specs at a glance
| Phone | iPhone 7 | OnePlus 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 4.7-inch | 5.5-inch |
| Screen resolution | 1334×750 | 1920×1080 |
| Water resistant? | Yes | No |
| Processor | A10 Fusion | Snapdragon 820 |
| Storage | 32/128/256GB | 64GB |
| MicroSD? | No | No |
| Cameras | 12MP + 7MP | 16MP + 8MP |
| Price | From £599 | £329 |
iPhone 7 vs OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
The OnePlus 3 is closer in size to the iPhone 7 Plus, with its mighty 5.5-inch frame, but it’s also one of the best Android phones of 2016 so well worth comparing with the iPhone 7.
OnePlus’ handset is obviously not as compact or easy to operate with one hand compared to the iPhone 7, but it’s a good-looking phone that actually isn’t too hand-filling. That’s thanks to the edge-to-edge screen, plus a nicely curved metallic rear. You don’t get a choice of colours, unlike the iPhone, while the camera lens juts out of the rear. The OnePlus 3 will also die if submerged in water, while the iPhone 7 is fully water resistant.
If you want a super-sized smartphone screen, the OnePlus 3’s 5.5-inch AMOLED panel is gorgeous and great to watch movies on. It’s a more vibrant display than the iPhone 7’s Retina screen, but both phones pump out attractive images, with strong brightness levels to cut through glare.
Neither phone supports microSD memory cards, so you’re stuck with the on-board storage. The OnePlus 3 packs in 64GB of space, more than the base iPhone 7 model (which has 32GB). However, the new iPhone can also be picked up in 128GB or 256GB flavours, if you have the cash.
Performance is top of the range with either handset. Apple’s latest A10 Fusion processor is one of the most powerful mobile chipsets in existence, while the OnePlus packs a Snapdragon 820 processor backed with a mighty 6GB of RAM. Gaming is a silky-smooth experience in both cases.
As for battery life, the OnePlus 3 is the winner here. You can get a day and a half of solid use per charge, with Dash Charge on hand to power the phone back up to almost full in just an hour. Meanwhile the iPhone 7 is expected to give users just over a day of use between charges, a little more than last year’s iPhone 6s. We’ll be testing in full for our in-depth iPhone 7 review.
Sadly the OnePlus 3’s camera tech is its Achilles heel. It’s generally dependable if the lighting conditions are okay and it’s fast at taking shots, but low light performance is limited and it’s particularly disappointing when shooting video. Image stabilisation is poor and audio quality is ropey, although you can at least shoot 4K footage.
Check out our OnePlus 3 camera review for more info.
The iPhone 7’s camera aims to massively improve low-light performance, so should be better for those pub and club shots. The optical image stabilisation, 4-LED flash and clever camera tech means you should get crisp, detailed photos with minimal grain. You can once again record 4K UHD video, hopefully with spectacular results.
Check out our iPhone 7 camera preview for more info.
Of course, the OnePlus 3 is almost half the price of the iPhone 7, which makes it a very desirable choice. Camera tech aside, the OnePlus is more or less a match for the Apple phone in almost every area, and in the case of battery life will most likely be superior.
You can grab the iPhone 7 from O2 right now, in all three storage options and with a range of colour choices. The iPhone 7 costs from £43 per month on contract.
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