Earlier this month, OnePlus launched its new flagship smartphone in the Chinese market called the OnePlus 12. The smartphone is set to arrive in the global market on January 23, but before that, OnePlus has another launch planned for the first week of January. On January 4, the brand will introduce its OnePlus Ace 3 smartphone in China. Like its predecessor, it will be more affordable than its flagship counterpart, however, it will still pack some impressive features. Here’s everything we know about it so far.

OnePlus-Ace-3-launch-date
OnePlus-Ace-3-launch-date

Design & display

Starting with the design, the Ace 3 will look quite similar to the OnePlus 12 (review), featuring the same watch-style carvings on the circular camera module. It will have the power button and volume rocker on the right side of the curved edges and an alert slider on the left side.

OnePlus-Ace-3

The front of the device will have a slightly curved 6.78-inch screen with a clear 1.5K resolution, 4500 nits peak brightness, and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and has a ‘rain touch‘ feature, so you can use it easily with wet hands. The smartphone also has a very thin fingerprint scanner.

The bezels are also minimal, with the side bezel being 1.36mm and the bottom bezel only 1.94mm thick. The screen will support Dolby Vision. Overall, the device will measure 163.30 x 75.27 x 8.8mm and weigh 207 grams.

Specs & performance

Under the hood, the smartphone will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, which is the flagship chip from last year. It will be accompanied by up to 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB of USF 4.0 storage. The device has appeared on both Geekbench and AnTuTu revealing its performance metrics. On Geekbench, it has scored 1723 points on the single-core test and 5164 points on the multi-core test. The AnTuTu results are quite impressive as they put the smartphone north of 2 million points, with a score of 2,110,808.

OnePlus Ace 3 China Telecom
OnePlus Ace 3 China Telecom

Powering up won’t be a hassle, thanks to the support of 100W fast charging. On the software front, the phone is set to operate on the ColorOS 14, based on Android 14, promising users three major updates. This implies continuous access to new Android versions up to Android 17, along with ongoing bug fixes and security updates for 4 years.

A teaser has also confirmed that the device will come with a super linear stereo dual speaker unit and support Dolby Atmos audio technology, ensuring high-quality sound. On the connectivity front, the device will have a 360-degree antenna for better signal coverage, Wi-Fi7 support, and multi-directional NFC. It will also feature L1 and L5 dual frequency GPS for enhanced accuracy and include the B1I + B1C + B2a three-band Beidou system.

Camera

OnePlus Ace 3 Moon Sea Blue
OnePlus Ace 3 Moon Sea Blue

While it is a bummer that OnePlus decided to drop its alleged plans to include a 32-megapixel telephoto camera on the Ace 3, the camera setup is still tightly capable. It is said to include a 50-megapixel main camera with a 1/1.56-inch IMX890 sensor and OIS stabilization. The main sensor will be accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Recently, OnePlus has also shared some camera samples of the Ace 3 in normal, portrait, and ultra-wide modes.

Pricing & configurations

Although not officially confirmed, a previous China Telecom listing spilled the beans on the pricing and configuration details of the upcoming OnePlus Ace 3. As per the listing, the Ace 3 will come in three variants: 12GB+256GB priced at 3299 CNY (~$460), 16GB+512GB at 3699 CNY (~$520), and the top-tier 16GB+1TB version at 3999 CNY (~$560). The color options include Star Black, Moon Sea, and Sand Gold.

The OnePlus Ace 3 is expected to be rebranded as the OnePlus 12R for the global market. It will launch globally alongside the OnePlus 12 on January 23.

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