The OnePlus 3 smartphone is excellent value. Courtesy OnePlus
The OnePlus 3 smartphone is excellent value. Courtesy OnePlus

OnePlus 3 review: Proof great smartphones don’t have to cost the Earth



The new OnePlus 3 once again proves that a great smartphone needn’t cost the earth. It’s not quite up there with the iPhones and Galaxy S7s of this world, but it’s a great all round performer and fantastic value at Dh1,599.

The 3’s form factor has come on leaps and bounds from last year’s solid but unspectacular OnePlus 2. Gone is the polycarbonate body, replaced by a curved, brushed metal back that looks and feels like a far more expensive handset, even if the rear camera lense protrudes a little too much for my liking.

It’s not quite iPhone 6S and Galaxy S7 calibre, but the 3’s design certainly gives the likes of the HTC 10 and LG G5 a run for their money.

The 3’s 5.5 inch Optic Amoled display is where one or two corners have been cut to keep the price down, although there’s little to complain about. True, the likes of the HTC 10 and the just launched, similarly priced, recently launched Alcatel Idol 4S pack a higher pixel density. But the 3’s display still does the job admirably, the deep reds and blacks of the Ghostbusters trailer rendering beautifully.

There are no such shortcuts in the camera department; the 16MP rear facing camera, while not the equal of benchmarks like the Galaxy S7 or LG G5, takes images with good colour and contrast, while the selfie camera has been upgraded to 8MP from the OnePlus 2’s 5MP.

Above all, the OnePlus 3 has the zippy, powerful feel of a premium device, thanks to its Snapdragon 820 processor and a massive 6GB of RAM. The cherry on cake is the 3’s fingerprint reader, which is every bit the equal of its more expensive peers.

Retailing for Dh1,599, the OnePlus 3 goes for just over half the price of the iPhone 6S and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. While it doesn’t quite hit the heights of those two flagships, the OnePlus 3 is outstanding value for money, given its great design and performance, and is right up there with the best mid range smartphones on the market.

q&a far from typical marketing

John Everington expands on the new OnePlus 3:

OnePlus? Remind me who that is again?

A relatively new manufacturer, having launched its first phone, the OnePlus One, in April 2014. The OnePlus 3 is the company’s fourth device, following on from the OnePlus 2 and the OnePlus X.

I don’t see their smartphones on sale in Sharaf DG and Jumbo Electronics.

OnePlus eschews the typical retail model by selling only online, either via its own website, or approved local distributors – souq.com in the case of the Middle East.

That sounds good. But I couldn’t see the OnePlus 3 on souq.com the other day.

OnePlus’s media people told me that the handset was temporarily sold out, and that new stock would be arriving soon. This could be down to the phone’s runaway popularity in the Middle East, or it could be because souq.com has only being given lim­ited stock.

Any other details I should know?

The 3 runs Marshmallow, the latest version of Android. Its inbuilt 64GB memory is pretty generous, although that’s no doubt in part to offset the lack of an SD card slot.

Of course, if the OnePlus 3 really wants to compete with premium handsets like the ­iPhone, then surely it must come in rose gold …

Well, it is available in “soft” gold. So that’s close. And you never know, the OnePlus 4 might even come in pink.

jeverington@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Results

6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)

7.05pm Maiden Dh150,000 1,400m I Winner One Season, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar

7.40pm: Maiden Dh150,000 2,000m I Winner Street Of Dreams, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

8.15pm Dubai Creek Listed Dh250,000 1,600m I Winner Heavy Metal, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

8.50pm The Entisar Listed Dh250,000 2,000m I Winner Etijaah, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson

9.25pm The Garhoud Listed Dh250,000 1,200m Winner Muarrab, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

10pm Handicap Dh160,000 1,600m Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000