The OnePlus 3T is easily the most value for money smartphone today, but the Samsung Galaxy A7 is an able alternative.
It sometimes feels wrong to compare smartphones to the OnePlus 3T (review). The Chinese OEM's excellent smartphone is somewhat like the class topper, who keeps the telling teacher arrange tests. It breaks barriers in terms of the specifications it offers and belongs to a price range where it’s just too difficult to resist. But then, the 30-40k bracket has a pretty impressive collection of devices nowadays, the most recent of these being the Samsung Galaxy A7 (review).
To be absolutely honest, we found some glaring flaws in the Galaxy A7, but it seems like a very able alternative to the OnePlus 3T, thanks to the overall user experience. Hence, a comparison is in order.
Design
We said in our review that the OnePlus 3T’s design is impeccable, with the right ergonomics and looks. However, we do feel that the Samsung Galaxy A7 looks strikingly better, especially the black variant. The glass and metal design on the A7 feels more premium, despite its affinity to fingerprints. Looks can be subjective, but in all fairness, the curved back and seamless design of the Galaxy A7 is better, at least in our opinion.
Having said that, build quality is pretty much at par in this case. Here though, we have to give OnePlus a slight edge. That’s because the latter has a metallic casing, which is obviously sturdier than glass. The Galaxy A7 just offers more to break. So, despite its excellent looks many would want to put a case over it, thus negating its design.
In essence, while the Galaxy A7 is definitely the more premium smartphone in terms of design, both phones are built well and with extreme precision. There are no noticeable cracks or flaws in terms of design. For premium phone lovers, the Galaxy A7 is the choice, but you will need to be careful.
Display
With a 5.7 inch display, the Samsung Galaxy A7 plays in the phablet territory. On the other hand, the OnePlus 3T’s 5.5 inch display is weaved into a more 'regular phone' form factor. Interestingly, this is one of the rare times that we’ve had the chance to compare two AMOLED panels. OnePlus calls it an Optic AMOLED panels, while Samsung continues with the Super AMOLED monicker.
In terms of colour reproduction, the two displays do extremely well. The OnePlus 3T, though would please those looking for more balanced colours, while the Galaxy A7 is better suited for those who like slightly oversaturated colours. Both displays have a hint of oversaturation, being AMOLED panels, but OnePlus has tuned the colours to achieve more balance.
That said, we’re inclined towards the Samsung display here, since it looks more colourful. In terms of pixel densities, the OnePlus 3T brings 401ppi against 386ppi pixel density of the Galaxy A7. We found that these numbers do not really make noticeable difference in regular usage, at least in this case. In fact, some people found the Galaxy A7’s display to be sharper and brighter.
Simply put, the Galaxy A7 is a better phone for watching videos or movies. Its display is bright and more colourful. The phones are evenly matched in terms of sunlight visibility and brightness.
Performance
To the brass tacks then, and performance is where you find a major difference between these smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy A7 runs on the Exynos 7880 SoC, with eight Cortex A53 cores and a max clock speed of 1.8GHz. On the other hand, the OnePlus 3T runs on the Snapdragon 821, and we all know what the credentials of this one are. (Scroll down for benchmark comparison)
There’s a very interesting takeaway here. While the Galaxy A7 is evidently and noticeably the weaker performer, both phones achieve 30fps frame rates on games. That means games like Asphalt 8 are easily playable on the two smartphones. This is important, since it goes to show that a regular user may not find much use for the Snapdragon 821 than any other.
However, the OnePlus 3T takes the victory here, with better UI performance. We saw visible lags and stutters on the Galaxy A7’s animations and UI transitions. Apps took longer to open on this smartphone too. Noticeably, the camera app loads a lot faster on the OnePlus 3T than the Galaxy A7. Overall, one gets far more pleasing and snappy performance on the OnePlus 3T than the Galaxy A7.
OnePlus 3T Frame Rates
Samsung Galaxy A7 Frame Rates
OnePlus 3T FPS Stability
Samsung Galaxy A7 Frame Rates
The more powerful SoC clocks higher temperatures on the OnePlus 3T, but neither phone generates enough heat to be worried. The OnePlus 3T crossed the 38 degree mark on about 25 minutes of gaming, while the Samsung Galaxy A7 remains below the 37 degree mark.
Battery
The Snapdragon 820’s raw power, though, comes at the expense of battery life. In terms of power consumption, the Galaxy A7 is the superior. This, when combined with the OnePlus 3T's slightly smaller battery, makes for evidently lower battery life on that device. Where the OnePlus 3T can last a work day (which is still reasonable), the Samsung Galaxy A7 reaches nearly 24 hours of regular usage.
The graphs below show battery drain during gaming, while the PC Mark battery test returns 11+ hours for the Galaxy A7 and just over 8 hours for the OnePlus 3T.
OnePlus 3T Battery Drain and Temperature
Samsung Galaxy A7 Battery Drain and Temperature
Bottomline
We’re leaving the camera comparison out for another day, making this one suitable for those looking at anything other than that feature. From the comparison, it is evident that the OnePlus 3T is the more powerful device, but Samsung’s Galaxy A7 is an able alternative. It is the better choice for those looking for longer battery life and a more premium design. However, the OnePlus 3T remains faster and the better overall performer.
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Prasid Banerjee
Trying to explain technology to my parents. Failing miserably. View Full Profile
