[Update] OnePlus 3/3T users are reporting touch latency issues, company responds

The OnePlus 3T is shaping up as one of the great Android flagships for 2016, but despite its capable hardware, optimized software, and overall good performance, the 3T is plagued by a rather annoying issue – one that has no place in a 2016 flagship device of this caliber. By no means is it a major annoyance, but it is something that has been around at least since the original OnePlus 3, and users of the two smartphones have just now managed to get the attention of OnePlus and a response from Carl Pei.

The issue at hand is touch latency – the delay between you touching the screen and the device responding to your input. The lower the latency, the smaller the delay, the smoother and quicker the response feels to the user. However, “smoothness” and touch latency should not be confused, as the latter has no bearing on the overall performance of the device. It usually has to do with the firmware and can be easily tweaked in future updates.

Most modern top-end Android smartphones have a touch latency in the vicinity of 50ms, while some sources are claiming that the delay on the OnePlus 3/3T is almost double. Although we don't have the exact figures, we too have felt the effects of this on both flagships. Although this may not be a big deal to some, a lot of OnePlus fans begun voicing their opinion on the matter following the release of the 3T, and have gotten Carl Pei's attention. Unfortunately, his response on Twitter, while somewhat reassuring, was also unsurprisingly vague:

We hear the touch latency feedback, and will look at it soon. N has higher priority.

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) 30 ноември 2016 г.

In a separate response to his original tweet, Pei also noted that, “for its entire lifecycle, no one gave us this feedback for OP3, and nothing changed.”

The problem has actually been known for some time, although it may have never reached OnePlus in the first place. Since the 3T launched, a lot more people have been paying attention to the latency issue and have taken to the official OnePlus forums to voice their opinion. Fortunately, if the company's record of listening to its customers is anything to go by, this issue will be patched via an update sooner rather than later. The OnePlus 3, for example, didn't offer an sRGB color mode at launch, which generated a lot of complaints, but the company was quick to patch in the feature with a swift update.

The higher touch latency probably shouldn't be a deal-breaker when considering the OnePlus 3T, but is a shame to have it in an Android flagship of this caliber nonetheless. To learn all there is to know about the OnePlus 3T, wait for our upcoming review of the phone!