OnePlus 5T Review: Price to Performance King!

1. Introduction2. Design & Display3. Performance & Software4. Camera & Battery5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Camera

The 5T has done its dual-camera configuration a little different to most. It has a primary 16MP sensor, as well as a 20MP secondary sensor, and both cameras use f/1.7 lenses. However, instead of one being a wide-angle and one being a telephoto lens, the secondary camera on the 5T is dedicated to low-light performance.

On the whole, the camera has to be the weakest area of the 5T. In a well-lit environment it is capable of taking decently sharp images – however, outside of that, I think overall detail is lacking and dynamic range is also sub-par.

Low-light performance, despite OnePlus' claims to the contrary, can also be a bit ropey – detail goes out the window in dark environments and noise becomes quite apparent.

Portrait mode is pretty good, however, with a clean and overall gentle bokeh that doesn't look overly artificial. As the 5T's lenses both have the same focal length, the ‘blur' is added via software and that is the only real criticism – edge detection isn't always spot on, but it is overall very impressive.

All in all, I think the camera shows where OnePlus has cut its biggest corner to get the 5T on the market for just £499. It's not terrible, or even that bad, but when the 5T is really targeting the more expensive flagships out there, it has to be better. After all, the OnePlus slogan is ‘never settle', and with the 5T you are definitely settling on a lacklustre camera.

Battery

Despite the 5T's higher-resolution screen (compared with the 1920×1080 panel of the OnePlus 5), the battery capacity remains the same at 3300 mAh. This is a pretty standard size for a modern flagship, and it gives pretty standard performance.

On a typical day, I would get out of bed at 6:30 and get back in about 14 hours later. By that point, I would usually have 15-20% battery life left. It's easily enough for a full day – not once did I have to top up before 10pm – but it's nothing special, and you're very unlikely to get it to last more than a full day.

Dash charge, however, is a great feature where the included charger will give 60% charge in just 30 minutes. I used this a couple of times when I didn't charge my phone overnight, and it really works. Impressive stuff.

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