Dash Charge Remains OnePlus 3T’s Most Underrated Feature

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 4 May 2017

Dash Charge Remains OnePlus 3T's Most Underrated Feature

Every year, we see a bunch of Android flagships being launched with some new technological breakthrough. Last year, Samsung’s Galaxy S7 started the trend of waterproofing in flagship smartphones, while the Moto Z showed how modular phones of the future will work. In a bid to outdo each other, Android OEMs end up quickly copying such features to their next flagship handset. However, there is one feature that still remains exclusive to an excellent Android smartphone launched last year: OnePlus 3‘s Dash Charge.

While almost all major Android OEMs now offer fast charging support on their devices, none of them come close to the charging speeds offered by Dash Charge. For example, the OnePlus 3T is able to go from 30 percent charge to 70 percent in just 30 mins, which is simply not possible on the Galaxy S7 edge with its fast charging tech or with USB-PD on the Pixel XL.

Not only that, unlike Quick Charge and other fast charging technologies on the market, Dash Charge is able to rapidly charge the OnePlus 3 (and 3T) without actually heating up the device. The technology has been devised in such a way that its the charger that heats up instead of the phone which helps in increasing the lifespan of the battery. Even better, Dash Charge’s quick charging times hold up when the device is being used whilst charging as well. This is not possible on other Android phones and fast charging technologies currently available in the market.

OnePlus 3T Dash Charge

If you are contemplating between buying a OnePlus 3T and any other smartphone, you should definitely consider the fact that you will miss out on Dash Charge on other smartphones. For someone who travels a lot or is always on the move, it makes sense to buy the OnePlus 3T just because how good Dash Charge is.

Dash Charge is not new per se. The feature is similar to Oppo’s VOOC charging technology which the company has been using in its devices for over a couple of years now. And the technology is not without its own issues too. Unlike Quick Charge and USB-PD, Dash Charge requires you to use the bundled USB cable and charger to enjoy the faster charging speeds. If you use any other cable or charger, you will not be able to enjoy Dash charging speeds on your OnePlus 3/3T. Additionally, using the Dash Charger to charge other USB-C devices can lead them to act a bit weird. My Pixel XL, for example, simply stopped booting when I charged it once using the 3T’s Dash Charger.

Nonetheless, despite its cons, Dash Charge remains one of the most underrated features of OnePlus 3T. It’s a feature that I wish was available on every other Android device — or for that matter, any consumer device — out there. It is a feature that will literally change the way you use and charge your OnePlus 3/3T. While Quick Charge and USB-PD on my Galaxy S7 edge and Pixel XL had changed my smartphone charging behaviour for good, Dash Charge on the OnePlus 3T takes it to a whole new level. My work involves frequently changing phones and while I will use phones that are better than the OnePlus 3T, there is no doubt in my mind that I will miss Dash Charge on all of them.

Have you experienced Dash Charge yet? How impressed have you been with it?