Year 2016 has seen the launches of plenty of impressive smartphones. The Honor 8 and OnePlus 3 are arguably, the most talked about smartphones of the year. Packed with high end specifications in a premium body, both smartphones offer a refined overall experience. In this post, we have pitted the two phones against each other to ascertain which is better and why. Read on to find out Honor 8 vs OnePlus 3 comparison.
Honor 8 vs OnePlus 3 Comparison
| Device/Feature | Honor 8 | OnePlus 3 |
| Price | Rs. 29,999 | Rs. 27,999 |
| Processor | Octa-Core Kirin 950 (16nm processor) | Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 |
| GPU | Mali-T880-MP4 | Adreno 530 |
| Operating System | Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1 | Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Oxygen OS 3.1 |
| Display | 5.2-inch FULL HD (1920×1080 pixels resolution, 2.5D curved glass) | 5.5-inch Full HD Optic AMOLED (1920×1080 pixels resolution and 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 4) |
| RAM | 4GB | 6GB |
| ROM | 32GB (expandable up to 128GB via microSD card) | 64GB (non expandable) |
| Rear Camera | 12 mega pixel with dual rear cameras with dual tone LED flash, f/2.2 aperture, 6P lens and Laser Auto Focus | 16 mega pixel with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, OIS, EIS, PDAF, Sony IMX298 sensor, 4K video recording |
| Front Camera | 8 mega pixel | 8 mega pixel with f/2.0 aperture, Sony IMX179 sensor |
| Battery | 3000mAh with Fast Charging | 3000mAh with Dash Charge technology |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and USB Type-C | 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and USB Type-C |
| Weight | 153 grams | 158 grams |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes | Yes |
Design
Looking at the Honor 8, the first thing that will grab your attention is its stunning design. It is a combination of elegant design and high-end craftsmanship. The body of the Honor 8 is built with 2.5D glass on the front and back along with finished aluminium alloy. It has ultra narrow bezels. The light catching glass finish of the Honor 8 makes it stand out from the crowd. The Honor 8 really feels premium while holding in hand.
The OnePlus 3, on the other hand, features aluminium unibody design with soft curves and sharp lines. It features anodised aluminium rear with a non-shiny finish. The Honor 8 has side profile of 7.5mm while the OnePlus 3 is slightly slimmer with 7.35mm thickness.
Both smartphones are well built phones with elegant design. However, the Honor 8 seems more luxurious on deign front. The reflective glass design of the Honor 8 looks stunning and would entice anyone to buy it. If I had to pick one out of these two based on aesthetics, I would go for gorgeous Honor 8 due to its classy glass and metal design.
Display
The Honor 8 comes with a 5.2-inch full HD display with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and 423ppi pixel density. It comes with an ‘Eye Comfort’ feature that filters out blue light to relieve visual fatigue. With the Eye Comfort enabled, the screen gets a warm yellowish tint that avoids straining of eyes.
There is a colour temperature adjusting feature as well that alters screen’s white balance, making it warmer or cooler.
The OnePlus comes with a 5.5-inch full HD Optic AMOLED display. The displays of both phones are bright and sharp with great viewing angles and sunlight legibility. However, when both smartphones are kept side by side, the screen of OnePlus 3 looks more vibrant and rich.
Camera
Let’s find out how the two phones stack up in terms of photography.
The Honor 8 boasts of a dual camera set up on the back, which is also the highlight of the phone. The phone sports bionic 12 mega pixel dual lenses on the rear. One of the lenses captures images in color while the other lens is monochrome that provides more light and sharpness to the images. There is also an 8 mega pixel front facing camera onboard for capturing selfies and making video calls. The device supports hybrid auto-focus that enables laser auto focus for short range, precise depth focus for long range and contract focus for enhanced quality images in complex lighting conditions.
It has an inbuilt dual ISP that improves focus speed and process time while capturing images. There are a lot of modes onboard like, Pro mode, Beauty mode, HDR, Night mode and Good Food, among others. We are really impressed with the detailing, clarity and color accuracy of the images taken with the Honor 8.
The OnePlus 3 sports a 16 mega pixel primary camera and an 8 mega pixel front facing camera. The primary camera is accompanied by single LED flash, PDAF, OIS and EIS. The detailing and clarity of images taken with the phone come out to be great.
Both smartphones take crisp and detailed images with accurate colors. But Honor 8 has an upper hand in this round due to its great optics as well as its excellent imaging capabilities.
Hardware & Performance
At the heart of the Honor 8, resides an octa-core Kirin 950 (16nm) processor paired with T880-MP4 GPU. The phone houses 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory with expandable storage support up to 128GB via microSD card.
OnePlus 3 packs a 64-bit quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor coupled with Adreno 530 and whopping 6GB of RAM. It houses 64GB of internal memory but lacks expandable storage.
We played a few games like Frontline Commando 2 on both the phones, which they handled seamlessly. There were no signs of lags or stutters that we noticed during our time with the phones. Both smartphones are fairly fast and handle day-to-day tasks, multitasking and gaming with ease.
Battery
Both phones pack batteries with 3000mAh capacities which easily last for a day on moderate usage. The Honor 8 comes with 9V/2A fast charging technology which charges from 0 to 47 percent in just 20 minutes. It also offers 2 hours of phone-call time or 6 hours of offline music listening with just 10-minute charge. The OnePlus 3 supports Dash charge technology which is claimed to charge the phone up to 60 percent in just 30 minutes.
Software
The Honor 8 runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1 over its top. There is no app drawer and all the apps are located on the home screen. It comes preloaded with several apps like Magic Tag and BetaClub. It offers features like One Hand UI and Floating Dock. One hand UI feature minimizes the screen view and can be enabled by sliding finger across the navigation bar. The floating dock feature provides easy access to various functions like Back, Home, Recent Tasks and more.
The OnePlus 3 runs Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 operating system wrapped under Oxygen OS 3.1. It comes with features like OnePlus Shelf feature, Doze mode and app permissions to name a few. It also offers several features like screen-off gestures and customizable buttons that give users more control to personalize their smartphone experience.
Although the interface of both smartphones is smooth and clean, yet the Honor 8 offers a more intuitive and feature rich UI compared to the OnePlus 3.
Price
The Honor 8 carries a price tag of Rs. 29,999 while the OnePlus 3 costs Rs. 27,999.
Verdict
Both smartphones pack top of the line hardware in an attractive body. Both devices look similar on paper and fight neck to neck in almost every department. However, there is no denying that the gorgeous glass and metal design of Honor 8 looks more visually appealing. It also has an upper hand in camera department. Honor 8’s commendable camera capabilities make it the best camera smartphone in sub-Rs. 30,000 price range. Honor 8 also offers expandable storage up to 128GB via microSD card. Sadly, OnePlus 3 lacks expandable storage support.
If I had to pick one out the two, I would go for the Honor 8 for its stylish design, excellent camera, expandable storage support and efficient UI.
