OnePlus 3 review: Confidence booster

Contacts and telephony

Not much has changed in regard to the core set of apps within Oxygen OS since its last major update. Current OnePlus owners, as well as most stock Android fans will feel right at home.

The contacts manager features tabbed interface, which displays all contacts and the favorites. You can sync with multiple accounts including Google and Exchange. A button to add a new contact is constantly present in the bottom right corner - you can choose which account to sync the new addition with.

Contacts app • The Phone app and its dialer

The phone app comes with a tabbed interface for speed dial, recent calls and all contacts. The dialer is invoked by taping on its dedicated key and supports smart dialing.

OnePlus has stuck to its typical design approach and like its sibling, the OnePlus 3 also has a single loudspeaker on the bottom. However, this time around it lacks a bit behind the OnePlus 2 and the original OnePlus in terms of loudness. It gets the job done and sounds fine, but we wouldn't count on it at parties.

Messaging and text input

Messaging is pretty much as straightforward an affair as on every other droid out there. The generic Email app is being decommissioned in favor of the Gmail app. If you tap on its icon, it will tell you the Gmail app is the client that will handle all your emails from now on.

Messages app • Gmail • Google Keyboard

As expected, the default Google keyboard is on board as well. It offers two sleek-looking skins - Material Dark and Material Light. It is now smart enough and supports things like Gesture typing, but if you would rather go with a third party for this feature, SwiftKey is also on board by default.

Apps

Google Chrome is unsurprisingly the default browser in the new OnePlus 3. Its design matches the material look and feel of Android.

Google Chrome

One of the Chrome's strengths is its ability to seamlessly sync with the desktop version, using nothing but your Google account. This allows you to open an article on your PC and finish reading it on your mobile phone. It also syncs your bookmarks and favorite sites.

OnePlus has opted to use most of the Google app suite on the OnePlus 3, but there are a few exceptions, like the dedicated File app, Gallery and Music player. The usual organizing tools are present as well - there is the massively capable Google Calendar, a neat Calculator, and Clock (alarms, world clock, timer, stopwatch).

Calendar • Calculator • Clock • Files