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For £499, the OnePlus 5T looks like it has everything you'd expect from a phone that costs hundreds of pounds more. There's a 6in AMOLED display, Snapdragon 835 processor, dual camera setup, fingerprint scanner and new facial recognition technology. Is the OnePlus 5T as good as it gets for a mid-range smartphone, or is it just too good to be true? Let's find out.
With the OnePlus 5T available in black, white or red variants, I must admit I was somewhat relieved to be sent the black model – a red phone isn't quite my cup of tea. There's also a choice when it comes to RAM and internal storage: the 5T can be had with 6GB RAM/64GB storage, or 8GB RAM/128GB storage, though neither supports microSD cards. I was sent the latter configuration, though the former does save you an extra £50.
Specification
Dimensions
156.1*75*7.3mm
Weight
5.7 ounces (162g)
Material
Anodized Aluminum
Operating System
OxygenOS based on Android 8.0 Oreo
CPU
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 (Octa-core, 10nm, up to 2.45GHz)
GPU
Adreno 540
RAM
6/8 GB LPDDR4X
Storage
64/128 GB UFS2.1 2-LANE
Sensors
Fingerprint, Hall, Accelerometer, G-sensor, Electronic Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, RGB, Sensor Hub
Ports
USB 2.0, Type-C, Supports USB Audio Dual nano-SIM slot, 3.5mm audio jack
Battery
3,300 mAh (non-removable), Dash Charge (5V 4A)
Buttons
On-screen navigational support, power button, volume rocker, Alert Slider
Audio
Bottom-facing speaker
3 microphones with noise cancellation
Supports AANC
Dirac HD Sound®
Design
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Compared to the OnePlus 5, the 5T has a much more modern and trendy design. The thick bezels and 16:9 aspect ratio are gone in favour of a bezel-less design with a taller, 18:9 aspect ratio screen. This puts the total screen-to-body ratio at exactly 80% which is quite impressive.
The black aluminium body is also fairly lightweight for a phone this size, with the whole device weighing just 162g. To put that in perspective, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro is 178g, and the iPhone 8 Plus is 202g – despite both of those phones having smaller screens.
In terms of ergonomics, the curved corners and the tapered edges of the 5T make it a real joy to hold. It is easy to use one-handed thanks to the new, slimmer body and the aluminium is very soft to the touch. It can be a bit slippery though, so a case or skin is recommended.
Elsewhere, the right-hand edge of the phone is home to the power button and the SIM tray (which supports dual nano SIMS but no microSD card). The left-hand edge houses the alert slider and volume rocker, while the 16MP selfie camera and earpiece speaker are at the very top of the phone. The USB-C port, downward firing speaker and 3.5mm jack sit proudly on the bottom edge.
On the back of the phone, the 16MP and 20MP cameras protrude slightly from the main body of the phone. Below the cameras sits the fingerprint scanner and a discrete OnePlus logo.
On the whole, it's a sleek and modern design. It's nothing revolutionary – in fact, the 5T is really OnePlus' playing catch-up to the new bezel-less trend which has taken over – but it's definitely an improvement over the OnePlus 5.
Display
For a £500 phone, the 5T is doing very well to cram in a 6.01in AMOLED panel. Its ‘only' a 2160×1080 resolution, when its more expensive rivals have 1440p panels, but it still gives 401PPI which I think is sharp enough unless you're holding the phone about 2cm away from your face.
In any case, it's undoubtedly a fantastic display for the money. Colours are rich and vibrant, while the AMOLED technology ensures blacks are inky and deep as well.
In the settings, there's even the option to manually set a colour balance as well, should you feel the out-of-the-box calibration is too warm or cold.
Lastly, screen brightness is also impressive – I had no issues using the 5T outdoors, and the phone also gets pleasantly dim when using it at night.
Overall, I think the 5T's display is undoubtedly the best around at this price – an AMOLED panel for £500 is not to be sniffed at. I'd go as far to say that it even outstrips the panel on the more expensive Mate 10 Pro, so if the screen is an important factor for you, the 5T is definitely a winner here.
Performance
As expected from a phone running off the Snapdragon 835 processor, with 8GB RAM no less, the 5T is an absolute speed demon. It blitzed through our synthetic tests – second only to the iPhone 8 Plus in Geekbench 4 – and proved a dream to use in the real world as well.
Day to day, I had zero issues related to performance. Switching between open apps was always smooth and snappy, while opening new apps from cold didn't take much time either.
Other impressive aspects of the 5T's performance include the fingerprint scanner and facial recognition. OnePlus claims the scanner can read your fingerprint and unlock the phone in 0.2 seconds, and I'd say that's about right – it is absolutely rapid, and proved very reliable as well.
The facial recognition, however, is arguably even more impressive. To set it up, I only had to let the phone scan my face for a couple of seconds, and then as soon as I pressed the power button, the screen turned on and almost instantly the phone had unlocked and put me on the home screen. Not only is the process very fast, it also worked very well in low-light situations, and having my glasses on or off didn't seem to matter.
Software
At the time of writing, the 5T runs Oxygen OS 5.0.3, based on Android 8.0 Oreo. It's a very stock experience but with just a few minor tweaks to help with the overall usability of the phone.
My favourite of these added features is the ability to hide the nav bar which allows you to really make the most of the large 6.01in display. You can also tinker with the layout of the home buttons and set extra functions to long presses or double-taps.
There's also gesture support, with a swipe down on the fingerprint scanner revealing your notifications panel, and a three-finger swipe will also take a screen-shot.
Another great feature is what OnePlus calls ‘parallel apps'. This isn't new, but it allows for two instances of the same app to be installed on the phone – great if you have a second SIM or manage two social media accounts.
I can't say how far OnePlus will be supporting the 5T with new updates – it was, after all, a bit disappointing to see the phone launch with Android Nougat – but as of now, the software experience is really great.
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.The OnePlus 5T is undoubtedly an excellent smartphone.
It sports a modern and trendy – if not ground-breaking – design, while its aluminium body feels strong and is impressively light considering its size.
The 6.01in display is the phone's best feature in my opinion – it's a really punchy AMOLED panel, with a great range of brightness and the ability to fine-tune the colour balance in the phone's settings. For £499, it really does not get better than this.
Factor in the fabulous performance of the Snapdragon 835, the lighting-fast fingerprint scanner and facial recognition technology, plus the clean and intuitive software, and surely the 5T is a hands-down flagship killer?
It's very close, but it's let down by the camera. I just don't think it's good enough to compete with the likes of the Mate 10 Pro, the iPhone 8 or the Pixel 2 – and those are the companies OnePlus is targeting with the 5T. If buy a high-end phone, you expect a good camera and the OnePlus 5T is falls short in that area.
For someone who wants a really fast, clean Android phone, the OnePlus 5T is still a very impressive device considering its asking price. I'd happily use one as my daily driver if camera quality wasn't such a big factor for me. If it's not a big factor for you, though, I don't think it gets much better than the 5T.
You can buy one from OnePlus HERE.
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Pros
- Very fast.
- Modern design.
- Fingerprint scanner and facial recognition are really good.
- Clean software with a few useful tweaks.
- Dash charge is great.
Cons
- Camera is disappointing.
- Storage not expandable.
KitGuru says: The OnePlus 5T is undoubtedly the price-to-performance king at the minute. If it had a better camera, it would be hands-down the best deal on the market right now.
