When I was given a chance to review the OnePlus 5T, the latest flagship by the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, I had some mixed emotions. I had previously used a OnePlus 2, and while that phone was decent, it had one of the worst battery lives I had seen in any smartphone. I would have to charge it at least twice every day, and keep it constantly plugged to my work PC’s USB device in case the battery drained out.
When I was given a chance to review the OnePlus 5T, the latest flagship by the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, I had some mixed emotions. I had previously used a OnePlus 2, and while that phone was decent, it had one of the worst battery lives I had seen in any smartphone. I would have to charge it at least twice every day, and keep it constantly plugged to my work PC’s USB device in case the battery drained out.
Also, I’m one of those who uses a smartphone for everything. YouTube videos, accessing mail, taking photographs and editing them, playing games, using the GPS for running apps, etc, it’s only understandable that the phone battery will die soon.
But in these two weeks that I have used that phone, I’ll say that it is OnePlus’ best phone till date. It’s sturdy, fast, and has a battery that can last one full day without me plugging it at all. What’s more, it has - like several of its high-end contemporaries - the ability to recharge to 100% in around 15 minutes.
Appearance and unlocking the phone
The phone on the whole is quite sleek to look at. Of course, the limited edition Star Wars: The Last Jedi version is even better, but the regular phone has plenty to boast about. The six-inch screen can be unlocked by facial recognition or a fingerprint scanner. Also, as backup, you are advised to put a passcode or a pattern, in case someone else has to unlock your phone in times of emergency.
Both fingerprint scanner and the facial recognition features quickly respond to your touch or your face (depending on which feature you opt for) and you’re ready to start using your phone.
We had even gone for the launch of the Star Wars: The Last Jedi special edition phone. One of the key things that was mentioned there was that the phone was available in a Sandstone White colour. Earlier, all OnePlus phones were available as Sandstone Black phones.
Battery
For a smartphone, this is one of the best batteries available in the market. The battery - a non-removable LiPo 3300 mAh battery - ensures the phone runs for hours, and even alerts you of the programmes that are quickly draining the phone out, even when battery saver mode is turned off. The battery lasts a complete day without draining out. One time, it even lasted for 36 hours.
What’s more: even with 5% battery remaining, the phone doesn’t immediately go off. It lasts a good 15-20 minutes before switching off completely.
Software
The Oxygen OS, which is based on the Android platform, is more stable than the one I used on the OnePlus 2. Unfortunately, I haven’t used the other phones in the OnePlus flagship, although friends who have the OnePlus 3T have only good things to say about it, even when it comes to software stability.
On my first day of using the phone, there was a software update, but this did not hamper the overall performance of the phone. In fact, the phone actually operated a lot faster than it did when I held it for the first time.
Camera
The camera is one of the best features of this phone, although a BGR review suggests that Honor View 10 has a superior camera. But this is about the OnePlus 5T. The camera is divided into photo, video, and portrait modes. In photo, you have the option of shooting on auto or Pro i.e. manual. We used all the modes, including shooting a video on slo-mo to test how good that feature is. One thing we did discover in slo-mo was that one needs a lot of light while shooting a video, so don’t even think it will work well in the dark.
Having said that, the night mode in the camera is fantastic. Some of the night pictures we managed to capture without adding any filter on either Instagram or Snapseed. The portrait mode is what stands out here. One can have an in-depth focus on the subject, even as the background is blurred.
The regular camera even lets you shoot on macro, and some of the images we’ve managed to capture speak volumes on the quality of this camera. The front camera, however, was similar to other front cameras we have used in the past, and the images we captured were pretty standard.
Overall verdict
Priced at Rs 38,000, the OnePlus 5T has marketed itself to compete with Google’s Pixel 2, Samsung’s S8, and Apple’s iPhone X. And while it is a worthy competitor, with several loyalists opting for the Chinese phone maker, only time will tell whether the phone will give the other brands a run for their money, or enter a league of its own, where it will compete with other brands selling devices between Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000
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