OnePlus 5T review - The phone for big screen lovers

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When we reviewed the OnePlus 5 last year, it was dubbed as the flagship killer for a few good reasons and good specifications at a reasonable price. Comparing it with the iPhone 7 Plus (before the iPhone 8 series and iPhone X were released), we think the former is definitely more worth it. Then after that, the OnePlus 5T was revealed coming with an 18:9 aspect ratio body for RM2449. There are not many changes per se with the OnePlus 5, so join us to check out if the new flagship killer delivers below.

Design - My, such a big display you have there

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Many would say that the OnePlus 5T model design should have been what the OnePlus 5 is, but the thing was during that period, the Fullview design wasn't a trend yet and by the time it did, OnePlus quickly adapted this and here you have it. From our hands-on experience, the OnePlus 5T is indeed quite large, carrying a 6.01-inch Optic AMOLED display, but the overall weight is kind of light, even though it's still using the same metal material with a broader view when watching a video or playing games.

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However, for some reason, this makes the phone a bit slippery even when put on a smooth surface table. I guess they have polished too excellently to the point that it can glide on its own if you're the sweaty-palms type or with just a blow (just exaggerating). It's best you put on a phone case for it for safety purposes.

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3.5mm headphone jack port, USB Type-C and speaker grill

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It still has the three-section volume slider just like before on the left side, the order of the slide from left to right is Sound> Vibration> Mute

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Dual SIM card tray and power button are on the right side of the phone

Tech-Specs and features - Just the new Face Unlock feature..

Here are the specifications for the OnePlus 5T:

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  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
  • 6GB / 8GB RAM
  • 64GB / 128GB ROM
  • 6.01-inch Full HD+ Optic AMOLED display
  • Dual 16MP (wide-angle lens, f/1.7) + 20MP (f/1.7) | 16MP front camera (f/2.0)
  • Features Fingerprint Scanner, Face Unlock, Dash Charging, aptX HD, USB 2.0 Type-C
  • Supports 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac dual-band (2×2 MU-MIMO ), Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC
  • Android 7.0 Nougat based on OxygenOS
  • 3300mAh battery

There are two variants for the OnePlus 5T which are 6GB + 64GB and 8GB + 128GB. Both variants are using the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset and the one we have is the 6GB + 64GB. And trust me, the 6GB + 64GB is more than enough for your entertainment demands, plus a couple of useful features too on this smartphone.

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Reading Mode is also back, so users who like reading stuff on their phones can make use of the black and white feature. I think the bookworms will have a better time using this than the OnePlus 5 because of the bigger screen. Besides having such a big screen on hand, its screen brightness is just as "big" as well displaying colourful and bright details. You can adjust the screen brightness manually in the settings, of course, but the setting isn't just your typical increase-and-decrease-brightness, apparently, there are a variety of different colour settings for us to choose.

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Then there's Face Unlock, which is the trend right now whether you like it or not. OnePlus 5T's Face Unlock works just like any other recent Android phones in the market, but this one seems to do the job better. According to our boy, Jim, the OnePlus 5T is probably the only Android device that gives the fastest Face Unlock (for now). For instance, even without waking up the phone, you can Face Unlock it when the screen is blank. It's even faster when the phone is awake. So good job on that, OnePlus.

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On the other hand, instead of the previous wide angle + telephoto combo, the Oneplus 5T is just using the 16MP+20MP combo with the same aperture of f/1.7. There is really no any big difference in terms of the configuration, except that the 20MP camera sensor is more focused on shooting night photos which it does by combining 4 pixels in to 1 to reduce more noise. This however results in somewhat unusual smoothness in certain areas when you zoom in on the photo.

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The camera user interface

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The slider setting

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A lot of customization in the settings for the user

Performance - Great phone for entertainment

As a flagship killer successor, you can expect this phone to excel in performance which it does. Utilizing the Snapdragon 835 and 6GB of RAM, its performance does not falter when it comes to gaming and there are barely any heat issues. We have already mentioned that the phone gives a broader vision so this is really great, accompanied by a rather loud volume speaker. You also don't have to worry about its 4G and WiFi as we didn't really experience poor connectivity.

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AnTuTu score (just to add on, the 8GB didn't show that much of a difference for the scores)

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Geekbench score

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3DMark score, this is quite a gaming beast

Comparing to the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 5T's battery performs better, lasting up to more than a day easily and it can charge up to 100% from 30% in just 40 minutes, thanks to the Dash Charge Technology inside. But for the camera performance, well, I think it's slightly less impressive than the OnePlus 5. Not to say it's bad or something, it still does its job but just looks too digitalized for some reason. Anyway, check out our picture samples below.

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The outdoors! Auto mode

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Using the portrait mode, thanks random lady for being our model!

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Indoor shots are usually ok, nothing to complain

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Using the 20MP camera sensor, this picture's colour and light have a nice balance, but the details are somewhat fuzzy

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Using the 16MP camera sensor, auto mode

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There's always room for desserts

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Another portrait mode sample

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Details usually stand out very well, this photo taken in the aquarium is suppose to be darker than it looks

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It's quite capable of capturing moving subjects like this fish here

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Close up shot, auto

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Before zooming in -> zoom in x2

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Zoom in x4 -> Zoom in x8

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And of course, selfie lol

Conclusion – Still a good phone, but maybe not worth upgrading?

So after exploring all of the pros and cons, in the end, the team thinks the OnePlus 5T is still a pretty good phone but it may not be a justified upgrade from the OnePlus 5. Granted, it has powerful specifications, the big 6.01-inch display is great for entertainment and reading, but the camera part is a bit of a let down, given that its cameras fail to capture a better portrait mode compared with its predecessor. It's just fine if you haven't bought the OnePlus 5 though.

That being said, the OnePlus 5 is probably is its worst enemy, as RM2388 vs RM2449 is a very easy choice to make here but here's how we can help you to make up your mind between the two - if you prioritize photography over anything else, get the OnePlus 5, likewise, if you love big screen layout and better entertainment experience, then get the OnePlus 5T. Then again, it faces other competitors that have the same Fullview display, like the honor View10 (RM2099) and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 (RM2199) which are pretty value-for-money products. Aside from that, if you want the 8GB + 128GB model (RM2794), it's still considered more affordable than other flagships, such as the Huawei Mate 10 Pro (RM3099), Samsung Galaxy S8+ (RM3699), but counting in the camera capability, we will have to say that the Mate 10 Pro and Galaxy S8+ takes better pictures. We think OnePlus may have hurried too soon to jump on the bandwagon for the Fullview trend, hence the camera performance, but that's just our opinion.

So what do you think about the OnePlus 5T? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more gadget reviews at TechNave.com.

OnePlus 5T Specs & Price >