I'm in the market for a $400 dollar smartphone, and I've narrowed my choice down to the Axon 7 and the Oneplus 3. Which one would you guys recommend? I'm a first year college student. I don't have a smartphone, however I have an iPod touch 6th generation I've been using as my "smartphone". I watch a lot of youtube videos and do all of the other daily activities. The Axon 7 is clearly better for audio, but the Oneplus 3 seems to have a better software. Which should I choose?
The oneplus 3 will perform slightly better because of the lower resolution screen, but if you want image quality over speed, go with the Axon.
Also keep in mind that the Axon has the option for 128GB of onboard storage. If you're someone who takes lots of pictures, I would go for the Axon.
You'll probably get better battery life out of the oneplus 3 based on the lower res screen (less thinking to render each frame means lower clock speeds which means less power consumed)
Cnet says "The Axon 7 is ZTE's best to date, but the OnePlus 3 is a better phone at the same price."
I have a oneplus 3 and I'm very happy with it. Considering the specs, you'll probably be happy with either.
If you want me to tell you what to think, click the spoiler on the next line:
Get the oneplus 3 over the axon 7
Oneplus 3 would be my pick. ZTE has generally been a very budget-centric phone brand, and the quality from their previous phones would make me a bit wary. There have been a couple issues popping up here and there for the Axon 7, one of which I believe is poor antenna reception. Oneplus, coming from Oppo(a much higher end brand), would generally be my pick. I like Oneplus' software better too.
I was in the same dilemma. It was hard to choose between the Axon and the OP3. I eventually choose the OP3. There are some quirks and issues but its been the best phone. I was worried about the battery life, not an issue constantly get 5 hours of screen on time per day (I dont play games but a lot of chrome, remote desktop, slickdeals, forums, craigslist and camera)
Everything works well the phone is fast. a few issues like image stabilization in 1080P recording is spotty, Dash charge is fast and really awesome but proprietary so you need to buy the car charger. Audio on the OP3 compared to the Nexus 6P is not good at all. it will get you by but you have to cup if you want to hear anything.
Fingerprint scanner in the front should be the mandatory placement for any phone and its a top notch scanner. So quick. people dont believe its reading your print. The phone unlocks and wakes up faster than most phones wake up.
Honest, get the OP3 its a great phone and for $400 its so hard to beat.
As many other said here in the answers depends on what you value most in a smartphone. If you think that having a really high quality audio with or without headphones is more important than pure performance than go for the Axon 7. If it's the opposite go for the One Plus 3. To be honest I think the Axon 7 offers more at the same price as the One Plus 3. For the same price you get a 2K display, better camera and better audio overall (I don't think those are mandatory things in a smartphone but the sheere value of those things is undeniable). But having more stuff packed in does not always makes something better (see Samsung phones for example).
I am very indecisive about my decision. I really like the axon 7's screen and audio setup, but the oneplus 3 seems to have a much better software and better performance. I know a lot of you said to get the oneplus 3 but I'm still unsure.
If anyone is wondering, this will be my very first smartphone. If ZTE keeps releasing updates for the axon 7 and the software keeps improving then I think I might gamble with the axon 7.