For Android

OnePlus 5T Review: The Successor Is Here

Preeti Seth
Published 2017-12-08

KEY AREA

OnePlus is out with its new flagship phone OnePlus 5T, the second flagship phone which got upgraded in less than six months. 5Ts display is in headlines for its bezel less and much wider display thus avoiding the awkwardness of being categorized a phablet. Apart from the display there aren’t any prominent changes. Although, the camera has got a  makeover to enable users to click better pics in low light. These changes make it the first smartphone with full screen display offered by a Chinese manufacturers and standout to play on the same level as its competitors.

All this raise a question was the upgrade required? To find out the answer let’s have a look at the features 5T is offering. The best part is there is no change in the price it is offered at a price $499, yet the design is much more advanced and gives tough competition to high-end phone like Galaxy S or iPhone.
FOR AGAINST
Reasonably priced Still Full HD display
Great looks

 

 No option to expand the storage capacity
Headphone Jack Android Oreo is missing
Face Scanner and Fingerprint reader Payments cannot be made using face recognition
Larger display No water and dust resistant


Specifications

Display And Design

The most discussed feature is screen size of OnePlus 5T, the new device offers 6-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, Corning Glass 5 making it scratch proof, wider and bigger with intact symmetry. Unlike OnePlus 5 it comes with a rear mounted fingerprint sensor leaving front panel with the screen and 16 MP front camera. No work is done on making the phone less slippery both phones are same on this part.

OnePlus 5T comes in black color with an aluminum body and rounded edges. You cannot experience much difference when it comes to display and resolution. Both use the same Samsung panel for display and a resolution of 1080p. The only difference is in the pixel count as the screen is increased it is now 1080 X 2160p. Even the placement of buttons is same, the power button is located on the right with the SIM card tray and volume controls are in the left. You can find USB TYPE C, speaker and 3.5 mm headphone jack at the bottom of the phone.

Must Read: Can You Trust Your Smartphone?

It even has a different screen calibration mode called “Adaptive mode” in addition to the AMOLED screen, this changes color calibration according to the content of the display. Overall the display is same as OnePlus 5.

Price:

OnePlus 5T launch price: from £449, $499, AU$599

Performance, Camera And Battery Life

When we talk about the performance, software and hardware all seems to be a carbon copy of OnePlus 5. Therefore, there won’t be much to talk about them in detail. Both OnePlus and OnePlus 5T are powered by Snapdragon 835. OnePlus 5T comes in 2 variants of 6GB and 8GB RAM with 64GB and 128GB storage capacity.  The phone works fast when it comes to loading apps, playing games or doing any multitasking. HD videos stream smoothly without any hiccups. It also comes with a headphone socket which is the best part but the speakers may disappoint you as the sound gets distorted when music is played on higher volume.

OxygenOS is admired by the users for its customization options but nothing new is added to it in OnePlus 5T only some tweaks are done but the reading mode is amazing.

Camera:


Coming to the camera nothing is changed in the primary 16MP camera, it works well in bright light but not on a cloudy date. However, the new 20MP secondary camera works well in very little light (under 10 lux) so the camera engages automatically in such situations user cannot switch to it manually. The zoom button only triggers the standard digital zoom.

OnePlus 5T may disappoint you in this area as compared with other flagship phones as the camera has not got any better.

Battery Life:

Nothing is changed when it comes to the battery life OnePlus 5T has the same 3300mAh battery which is quite solid for a 6-inch display with OxygenOS. OnePlus 5T does a good job when it comes to saving power. Dash charging is a quick charging solution but if you have a wall charger and car charger you can enjoy the fast charging very ever you go. The only thing missing in OnePlus 5T is an Oreo update.

Face Unlock

With fingerprint scanner shifted to the back Face Unlock is the new feature added to OnePlus 5T. It is an exciting software addition which uses the primary 16 MP front facing camera to scan your face. The software recognizes 100 data points to recognize face, within few seconds you can register your face and unlock the device. Making it the fastest front facing camera unlocking method.

But if light falls on the camera, or there is too much flash face recognition fails to work. Obviously, it cannot beat Apple’s Face ID but it still works perfectly well if you take care of the sunlight and flash.  OnePlus also know that face recognition is not secure, therefore when you use it you will see a disclaimer warning you about it being less secure than fingerprint scanner. Due to this user cannot make payments using face recognition.

In addition to this there is a new feature called parallel apps which helps to clone the apps and run them with different accounts.

Baseline

Overall, OnePlus 5T has worked itself up into an excellent value for money smartphone. It isn’t the leading phone but it stands in line with the other flagship devices with a 6 inch screen and 18:9 aspect ratio. Surely, it hasn’t made any changes to the hardware or given extras like waterproofing or good sound quality but these things don’t make it fall. It is a fantastic phone with good battery, multi-tasking features, centrally placed fingerprint sensor for ease of access. All things considered, makes OnePlus 5T a truly decent phone to go with. The price at which is offered is an exceptional value with all the features you find in other flagship phones.

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