Besides Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones are also getting a lot of attention these days. Redmi, iQOO, and HONOR have already launched phones with this processor, and all of them are selling like hotcakes. Of course, OnePlus won’t let this opportunity go, and the Oneplus Ace 3 in my hand is their final answer to this challenge.
Design
I thought that when I saw this camera design, my heart wouldn’t flutter anymore. But I was wrong, and I still can’t help spitting it out. In 2023, OnePlus used the same design on five different models. Even on the iPhone, the standard and Pro versions are different. I really hope this is the last time I see this design in 2024, shall we, OnePlus?
One thing that’s funny is that you might think this is a flash here, but it’s actually an ambient light sensor. The flash is in the upper left corner. Design aside, other things about the Oneplus Ace 3 still has a bit of improvement over the Oneplus Ace 2 Pro. For example, the frame is now metal, and the IR emitter is back.
There is also a step back, that super large vibration motor has become a normal linear motor, and the typing feel is rather ordinary. Other than that, everything else is unchanged, the weight and dimensions are so similar. The fingerprint recognition is also very reasonably placed. There’s no wireless charging, no IP68, and even the USB is still 2.0. Considering that other brands are doing the same, this should be a common way to save money at this price point.
Display
The Oneplus Ace 3’s display panel is the same as the realme GT5 Pro’s, the one from BOE that claims a window peak brightness of 4,500nit, but with a slightly lower refresh rate than the GT5 Pro’s. Well, that gimmick aside, the screen has its highlights.
For example, the full-screen brightness under bright light can reach 1600nit, and the manual maximum brightness can reach 800nit. And there’s LTPO, Corning Gorilla Victus 2, and all sorts of eye-protecting features. The dimming strategy that’s on the OnePlus 12 is on the Ace 3 as well.
Compared to the Redmi K70 in the same price range, it’s slightly less impressive in terms of resolution. But it’s much better than the iQOO Neo9. So, the OnePlus is top-notch in terms of display.
Benchmark & Gaming
The processor in the Oneplus Ace 3 is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It’s been popular lately to take last year’s flagship processors and give them to mid-range phones, and it’s really making everyone happy. It’s gotten cheaper, and the performance is still strong. Benchmark and CPU Throttling Test are available for you here. The biggest surprise for me is still in the gaming section.
While last year’s 8 Gen 2 phone didn’t conquer Genshin impact, Ace 3 did it this year. No downclocking, and no lag. And the power consumption is so low that the K70 has to bow to it. Because it uses a normal VC thermal, the maximum temperature will be slightly higher, but it’s acceptable. Most importantly, it supports super-resolution and frame interpolation.
Unlike iQOO, these two features of Oneplus Ace 3 can be used in all games. Meaning all games can be played at 1200P and 120Hz, that’s awesome. It does deliver a sharper and smoother gaming experience, although it increases latency a little bit and automatically shuts off when the temperature gets too high. It’s totally acceptable though. These two features put the Oneplus Ace 3 far ahead of other phones in its price range in terms of gaming experience.
Camera
The Oneplus Ace 3‘s main camera uses the IMX890, a sensor commonly used in OPPO family phones. Like the iQOO Neo9 and Redmi K70, the main camera is a flagship performer.
A good main camera not only takes a good 23mm photo, but even at 56mm, which is twice the zoom, you can get a decent photo. With no help from the Hasselblad, the color style is the same old eye-pleasing look, with higher saturation and exposure. If you want a greater sense of atmosphere in your photos. You’ll have to manually adjust the exposure or exposure compensation.
Although sometimes it can be a bit buggy, too much HDR can make some highlight areas look a bit strange. For example, in this photo, the neon lights were always unreal when the HDR was turned on. Turning off HDR would bring it back to normal.
Or this one, where the traffic light in the back is shot in black. Overall though, most of the time it performed as usual, and I’m still quite happy with the photos taken by the Ace 3’s main camera.
Indeed, the OnePlus Ace 3’s main camera is good enough. But the other two cameras are just far off. The macro camera, in particular, is worse than I expected. Not only is the image quality poor, but it’s also seriously buggy. the left side of the photo is greenish and the right side is reddish, I’ve never seen such a bad camera in my life.
I hope it’s just something wrong with my phone, or other Ace 3 buyers should ask OnePlus for compensation. As for the ultra-wide camera, we all know this 8 MP camera is not good. There’s not enough clarity when there’s enough light, and it gets worse when there’s not enough light. And of course, it can’t record video over 1080p 30fps.
All in all, it is not very good. In fact, OnePlus has also given up on these two cameras, as you can’t take pictures with them at all in Pro mode. So we’ve decided not to dive into them both anymore either.
Battery & Charging
The Oneplus Ace 3 has 100W of charging power and a 5500mAh battery. I really like this combination, it has high charging power without sacrificing battery capacity. Apart from the Redmagic 9 Pro and Nubia Z60 Pro, there are almost no rivals for the large 5500mAh battery. You can tell that OnePlus still takes battery life seriously, which makes the Ace 3 the king of battery life in its price range.
Conclusion
My colleague met the CEO of OnePlus China at the event where we purchased the OnePlus Ace 3. I heard him say that this is not the first time, the CEO was also there when we purchased the Ace 2 Pro. Even for a mid-range phone, the CEO personally came to meet us, so you can see that OnePlus really wants to get our approval.
Well, I wonder if everyone is happy with the Ace 3 this time? Personally, I still want them to try a little harder. Getting rid of that macro camera and also a redesigned camera module would be my dream Ace 3.
