The best OnePlus 3 features you might not know about

The OP3 cat is out of the bag and there’s a veritable ton of information floating around – price, specs, availability and so on – but behind the glitz and glamor of the big unveiling, here’s a nod to some of the less obvious, but equally cool, features of the OnePlus 3.

Ambient display

Ambient display, active notifications, whatever you want to call it, the OnePlus 3 has this much-sought-after feature. Simply wave your hand across the proximity sensor at the top of the OnePlus 3 screen and your notifications will appear in ghostly black and white. This energy-sipping feature has become a staple of devices equipped with AMOLED screens and the OP3 isn’t one to be left out.

Camera shortcut

No phone – I repeat, no phone – should be without a quick shortcut to the camera via a hardware button. Shooting photos from the hip is how many of us capture the majority of those fleeting moments these days, so being able to quickly fire up the camera app is essential. Fortunately, the OnePlus 3 camera features a rapid-fire shortcut: just double tap the home button from an on or off screen.

Contactless payments

Yes, yes, I’m sure you know the OnePlus 3 has NFC already, but it’s not just about being able to pair Bluetooth devices with NFC more easily. Because the OP3 has a NFC chip inside it means you will be now able to use it with Android Pay. Perhaps OnePlus was right to leave the feature out in the OnePlus 2, claiming not enough people were using contactless payment systems to make it worthwhile at the time, but that is no longer a problem with the OP3.

Night Mode

While Google has had numerous issues bringing a Dark Mode to stock Android, OnePlus has had it for ages. But even if you’re already familiar with OxygenOS, you may not know that OnePlus’ interface now gives you not only a Dark Mode with customizable accent colors (which is surprisingly cool), but on the OP3 you also get Night Mode. Night Mode throws an orangey cast over your display to be easier on the eyes at night and allows you to dictate its intensity.

Dash Charge is actually VOOC

If you remember the issues OnePlus had last year with its USB Type-C cables you might not be too excited at the prospect of pumping vast amounts of energy into your shiny new phone with a turbo-charging tech you’ve never heard of. Well, rest easy, The OP3’s Dash Charge is actually just a rebranded version of OPPO’s excellent VOOC fast charging standard. It uses a 4A current with the regular 5V voltage, so it should stay a lot cooler than other fast-charging phones and it keeps working at full capacity even when the screen is on. Just make sure you use the adapter and cable in the box.

Honorable mention: 3.5mm headphone port

I know this isn’t exactly a special feature, but considering the rampant hate going on right now for the Moto Z with its absent 3.5 mm headphone port, OnePlus certainly made the right choice where the headphone jack is concerned. This could have easily become the OnePlus 2 NFC drama of this year, but OnePlus has craftily managed to sidestep that kerfuffle by offering the possibility for both fancy new USB Type-C headphones as well as the traditional method.

What is your favorite OnePlus 3 feature? What feature do you wish it had?