OnePlus 3 Review

If anything, OnePlus was a victim of its own success, as expectations for its second installment went above and beyond what the still-small firm was capable of. OnePlus founder Carl Pei told me during a briefing for the OnePlus 3 that "people have very, very high expectations. We got very lucky with the first device, and people wanted more. We have to balance expectations with what we're capable of". As you may expect then, from a flagship handset costing just US$399 (£309, around AU$450), OnePlus has indeed had to balance features against expectation, but with the OnePlus 3 the compromises are more acceptable. With a Snapdragon 820 processor, 6GB of RAM, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front snapper, fingerprint scanner and 3,000mAh fast-charging battery, the OnePlus 3 has the tools – on paper at least – to take on the big names. The OnePlus 2 claimed to be the 2016 Flagship Killer, and while it fell way short of living up to that boast, the OnePlus 3 may just be able to claim the title.

The single biggest advancement from the OnePlus 2 to the OnePlus 3 is the design. I forgave the original OnePlus One's polycarbonate looks because the phone offered such fantastic value for money, but when the OnePlus 2 came round many people, myself included, wanted more than what was on offer. Thankfully OnePlus has answered fan's calls for a more premium design, delivering its first metal uni-body smartphone in the OnePlus 3, cut from a single slab of aluminum. The result is pleasing. The metal chassis signals the evolution of OnePlus brand from a slightly shaky Chinese startup to a brand that knows what it's doing, and knows what people want. It doesn't break any new ground in terms of looks, with flashes of iPhone, HTC and Samsung, but it's great to eyeball and hold in the hand. It's a shame that OnePlus hasn't taken smartphone design in a new direction, but a quick look at the top phones across all the major manufacturers shows that there's a fair amount of – how shall I put this – 'borrowing' when it comes to styling. Front-on the OnePlus 3 isn't anything special – it's a relatively standard black slab coated in Gorilla Glass 4, with the main feature being the indented fingerprint scanner-come-home-button oval below the display. The fingerprint scanner is much quicker at recognizing your digits and unlocking the OnePlus 3 than it was on the OnePlus 2, with a quoted time of just 0.3 seconds. While I can't vouch for the exact speed I can see that it's impressively quick, and I didn't have any issues when using it. OnePlus says it's faster than Apple's Touch ID, and I'm inclined to agree. Either side of the scanner you'll find touch-sensitive navigation keys which are only visible when tapped, with a single white LED illuminating for a couple of seconds before disappearing into the bezel.

These are responsive and easy to hit, and you can program them in the settings menu, enabling you to perform extra functions with a hold action rather than a tap. You can also swap them round – so if you prefer your back key to be on the right rather than the left you can do just that. As well as the toughened Gorilla Glass on the front of the phone, OnePlus has also included a factory-fitted screen protector to prevent scratches, but it's a little annoying. It doesn't cover the whole screen, and at times I could see the edge of the protector running down each side of the display, which distracts from the on-screen action. Fortunately you can remove it pretty easily, and it doesn't leave any nasty residue on the glass – but you're unlikely to get the bubble-free finish if you try to re-apply it, so make sure you really want it gone before peeling it off. Along the left side of the 7.35mm-thick OnePlus 3 are the volume rocker and notification slider. The latter has three positions: all notifications, priority notifications and silent, enabling you to quickly adjust the setting without waking the screen.

It's a hat-tip to Apple's mute switch on the iPhone, and it's something I found very useful during my time with the OnePlus 3 – especially when it came to quickly muting the phone during meetings and cinema trips. On the other side is the power/lock key, which sits below the dual-SIM tray. Yes that's right – the OnePlus 3 can handle two SIMs. On some other devices, such as the Huawei P9, the second SIM slot also doubles as a microSD slot, but that's not the case here – as mentioned, there's no expandable storage option. The explanation given to me by OnePlus's Pei for why the company continues to shun expandable storage comes down to user experience. "MicroSD is a big ask [from our fans]," Pei explained, "but it's not a good ask. It's not a good user experience". You may not agree, but that's the thinking over at OnePlus. The buttons are well positioned, and as long as your hands are big enough to grapple the OnePlus 3 you'll be able to hit them without issue when using the phone one-handed. There's nothing on the top edge, while the base is packed with a speaker grille, USB-C port and headphone jack – OnePlus certainly isn't ready to ditch the 3.5mm jack just yet, unlike Motorola with the Moto Z.

Moving round the back, the gently curving rear and the antenna bands at the top and bottom of the handset are reminiscent of the HTC One M9, while the square camera bulge has something of the Samsung Galaxy S6 about it. It's a pleasing premium look, if a little understated, and its arched backed means the OnePlus 3 sits nicely in the palm, enabling you to get a decent grip around what is a large handset. The OnePlus 3 is a phone I really do enjoy holding, flipping it over repeatedly in my hand and gazing at it as it resides on my desk. There's nothing complex going on here, but it's that simplicity that I find alluring. In that sense it's similar to Apple's iPhone design, although the curved rear beats the flat backs of the Cupertino firm's handsets. Design-wise, OnePlus has done something special then. The OnePlus 3 doesn't look out of place alongside the iPhone 6S, Samsung Galaxy S7, HTC 10 and LG G5, yet it's almost half the price. For that, at least, it must be applauded.

iPhone SE review

WHAT IS THE IPHONE SE? The iPhone SE is a strange proposal, but it makes complete sense. With phones getting bigger and bigger, it’s becoming rare to see a device which is comfortably usable in one hand. The Samsung Galaxy S7, HTC 10 and iPhone 6S Plus are all great but for many they’re simply too large. With the iPhone SE, Apple has given these people a choice. Its 4-inch screen and compact body are rare these days, but it’s still one powerful device. There’s the same internals as the iPhone 6S, a snazzy pink (sorry, Rose Gold) hue and support for Apple Pay. Normally small phones are hamstrung, but this isn’t. It has an impressive camera, a battery that can last, an iconic (if recycled) design and the latest version of iOS. It’s also the most affordable iPhone yet, starting from £359/$399. IPHONE SE – DESIGN, SCREEN AND AUDIO A surprising amount of people I speak to say they want a small phone that packs all the features of a full-fat flagship. Sony is the only manufacturer to have previously attempted anything like this, but even its Xperia Z5 Compact has a not-so-tiny 4.6-inch screen and it's quite thick. The iPhone SE is much smaller and much easier to handle. Anyone who's used an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S will feel at ease with the iPhone SE – it looks and feels almost identical, except now you can get it in a fetching rose-gold colour and its cut edges are matte rather than shiny chrome. Those phones have an iconic design and I have no problem with Apple reusing it, especially if it means they can keep costs down and pass the savings on. The best thing about the design of the iPhone SE is that it still feels quality. The brushed aluminium back is both hard and cool to touch, the buttons are solid, and it’s easily small enough to use one-handed, regardless of the size of your hands.

Coming from using the giant iPhone 6S Plus and Huawei Mate 8 I also found it a relief to be able to bend my leg again when I put a phone in my front pocket. In other ways it’s taken me time to adjust to the smaller screen. It’s not just that I have to move it closer to my face to read text, like my granddad reading the morning paper, I also struggle with the small keyboard. Ironically I often have to use both my hands and thumbs on the phone to minimise the potential for embarrassing autocorrect fails. I've gotten more used to it, but I still don't find it comfortable after a few weeks of using the phone non-stop. The small screen also means watching video is a little cramped and, while the iPhone SE is more than powerful enough to play all the best games, trying to maneuver precisely requires daintier digits than mine. While the iPhone SE still looks good there are a couple of aspects of the design that aren’t perfect, and others that feel dated. For starters, if you don’t use a case with the iPhone SE you might find the edges a little harsh, particularly if you’re more used to the rounded metal sides on contemporary phone designs. The screen bezel is also rather wide – especially at the top and bottom – and that means you don’t get a lot of screen for the size of the phone.

That’s not the only problem with the screen. It packs the exact same display as the 5S. While the 1136 x 640 resolution provides a perfectly sharp 326 pixels per inch the screen lacks punch and has a reddish tinge that is exacerbated when it’s tilted at some angles. Compare it to Samsung’s colour-packed Super AMOLED screens or even the newer LCD technology on a phone like the HTC 10 and it really starts looking its age. Still, it's quite acceptable – bright enough to be used outdoors and sharp enough to read websites on the go without noticing any fuzzy edges to letters.

The speaker located at the bottom of the phone is decent rather than outstanding. Top-level volume isn’t as high as some other phones, but the quality of the audio output is surprisingly good from such a small package – sound is balanced, if a little thin, and there’s no distortion at the highest volume. Call quality is also strong. The ear speaker is clear and loud and the noise-cancelling mic does a good job of clearing up any distracting external noises when you're on a call. There are louder call speakers out there but I didn't have any problems hearing or making myself heard even on windy days with lots of traffic noise around me. Neither the design, screen or sound quality excites the blood much – so far the iPhone SE isn't very different at all when compared to its predecessors. That all changes, though, when I scratch the surface and take the camera for a spin around London.