The OnePlus 12 is a new flagship smartphone that OnePlus introduced to the Chinese market earlier this month. Prior to the smartphone’s January 23 release date worldwide, OnePlus has another launch scheduled for the first week of January. The company will launch the OnePlus Ace 3 smartphone in China on January 4. It will be less expensive than its flagship rival, just like its predecessor, but it will still have a lot of amazing features.

Create and Present

The Ace 3’s design is reminiscent of the OnePlus 12 (review), with the circular camera module of the former having watch-style engravings. On the right side of the curving edges will be the power button and volume rocker, while the left side will include an alert slider.

A 6.78-inch, slightly curved screen with a crisp 1.5K resolution, a maximum brightness of 4500 nits, and a seamless refresh rate of 120 Hz will be located on the front of the device. You can effortlessly operate the screen with damp hands thanks to its “rain touch” feature and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. Additionally, the smartphone sports a very small fingerprint reader.

The bezels are likewise thin, measuring only 1.94 mm for the bottom bezel and 1.36 mm for the side bezel. Dolby Vision will be supported by the screen. The device will weigh 207 grammes and size 163.30 x 75.27 x 8.8 mm overall.

Specifications and effectiveness

The flagship chip from the previous year, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, will power the smartphone’s internal components. Up to 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB of USF 4.0 storage will come with it. The gadget’s performance metrics have been made public on Geekbench and AnTuTu. It has received 5164 points in the multi-core test and 1723 points in the single-core test on Geekbench. AnTuTu scores of 2,110,808 placed the smartphone above the 2 million point mark, which is really amazing.

It won’t be difficult to power up because 100W rapid charging is supported. The phone will run ColorOS 14, which is based on Android 14, and will bring three significant software updates to customers. This means that for four years, you will have constant access to bug fixes and security updates, as well as new Android versions up to Android 17.

Additionally, a teaser has shown that the device would feature Dolby Atmos audio technology and include a super linear stereo dual speaker unit, guaranteeing excellent sound. Regarding connectivity, the gadget will have multidirectional NFC, Wi-Fi7 compatibility, and a 360-degree antenna for improved signal coverage. It will also have the B1I + B1C + B2a three-band Beidou system and L1 and L5 dual frequency GPS for improved accuracy.

Snapshot

Although it is disappointing that OnePlus opted not to forward with its purported plans to integrate a 32-megapixel telephoto camera on the Ace 3, the camera configuration remains highly competent. A 50-megapixel primary camera with a 1/1.56-inch IMX890 sensor and OIS stabilisation is rumoured to be included. A 2-megapixel macro and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor will be included with the primary sensor. Additionally, OnePlus has released several camera samples of the Ace 3 in ultra-wide, portrait, and regular modes.

Cost and setup

The OnePlus Ace 3’s cost and configuration data were leaked by a prior China Telecom listing, despite the information not being officially confirmed. Three versions of the Ace 3 are listed: the entry-level 16GB+1TB model, priced at 3999 CNY (~$560), 16GB+512GB, priced at 3699 CNY (~$520), and 12GB+256GB, priced at 3299 CNY (~$460). Star Black, Moon Sea, and Sand Gold are among the available colours.

For the international market, the OnePlus Ace 3 is anticipated to be rebranded as the OnePlus 12R. On January 23, it will be on sale worldwide alongside the OnePlus 12.