OnePlus 5T review: 18:9 screen adds 1+ to capable mid-range flagship device

China-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus, after coming up with a few affordable flagship devices, has now set a new benchmark by launching two flagships in a year. The company recently launched the OnePlus 5T, a flagship smartphone that breaks away from OnePlus’ 5.5-inch display culture in favour of an ultra-wide 6-inch 18:9 aspect ratio screen.

In a way, OnePlus has indeed repeated itself in its upgrade experiement – the company had last year launched the upgraded flagship OnePlus 3T soon after coming up with the OnePlus 3. This time, the OnePlus 5T has come within five months of the OnePlus 5 launch.

But how worthy was the OnePlus 5 for an upgrade? And is the OnePlus 5T even a worthy upgrade of the predecessor? Business Standard reviewed the OnePlus 5T and compared its features with the OnePlus 5 to assess the upgrade quotient. Here are our observations:

Display
OnePlus’ choice of the future-ready ultra-wide 18:9 aspect ratio screen in the OnePlus 5T is a welcome move. However, continuing with a fullHD resolution seems to limit the otherwise perfect display. Competitors have long been offering quadHD screens in their flagships. With the new ultra-wide format screen in the OnePlus 5T, the quadHD screen resolution might have been a real upgrade.

The OnePlus 5T display offers good sunlight legibility, contrast ratio and saturation. It covers almost the entire front with minimal top and bottom bezels. Also, the screen is no more prone to ‘Jelly effect’, which had been seen in some OnePlus 5 units.

Camera
Camera is another area where the OnePlus 5T carries some tweaks from the previous version. The OnePlus 5T still sports a dual camera set-up – 16+20 megapixel. But, the 20-megapixel telephoto lens is now replaced by a new 20 MP camera of 27mm focal length and f/1.7 aperture – similar to the primary 16 MP camera.

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OnePlus 5T to cost more than predecessor, skip wireless charging feature

OnePlus 5T, the upcoming flagship from the stable of China-based smartphone maker OnePlus, is going to cost more than predecessor OnePlus 5, CEO and co-founder Pete Lau hinted in a tweet. The smartphone will be unveiled on November 16 in New York.

The tweet hinting a higher price for OnePlus 5T than OnePlus5 came after some reports that the company was planning to price the new flagship at the same level as the previous one.

The OnePlus 5T is also going to skip the wireless charging feature, as the company believes its proprietary Dash Charge technology is better. On November 8, OnePlus Global Director and co-founder Carl Pei had shared a blog post explaining why the upcoming flagship was better off without the wireless charging feature.

Pete Lau 

✔@petelau2007

Cost of smartphone components is rising, but phones are also getting better. OnePlus users will appreciate what's coming.

In a previous blog post through the company’s official forum, Pete Lau explained why OnePlus decided to retain the 3.5mm audio jack in its upcoming flagship smartphone. The audio jack and no wireless charging are the only things confirmed about the upcoming device.

According to reports, the OnePlus 5T might sport a 6-inch Optic AMOLED screen in the 18:9 aspect ratio with FHD+ resolution. Just like other smartphones with ultra-wide screens, the OnePlus 5T is reported to sport a fingerprint scanner on the back to allow the phone to accommodate a big screen on the front with small bezels.

Recently, in a photo post uploaded on Twitter by Evan Blass, a famous tipster known for sharing inside information from technology space, the upper front side of the still unconfirmed OnePlus 5T was revealed.

OnePlus 5T leak hints slim bezels, 18:9 screen: Here's speculations roundup

TECHNOLOGY NEWS - China-based smartphone maker OnePlus is reportedly working on the next iteration of its current year flagship OnePlus 5. Dubbed as ‘OnePlus 5T’, the upcoming smartphone’s image render has been leaked by Evan Blass on Twitter.
In a photo post uploaded on Twitter by Evan Blass, a famous tipster known for sharing inside information in the technology space, the upper front side of the still unconfirmed OnePlus 5T is revealed. Based on the image, it can be assumed that the phone will sport super slim bezels on sides and marginally slim bezels on top compared to its predecessor.
Based on earlier reports, the OnePlus 5T is also believed to sport a big 6-inch Optic AMOLED screen in 18:9 aspect ratio format with FHD+ resolution. Just like other smartphones with ultra-wide screens, the OnePlus 5T is reported to sport a fingerprint scanner on the back that will allow the phone to accommodate a big screen on the front with small bezels.
Recently, an online technology information portal, Android Authority, released OnePlus 5T’s purported picture render that showed the phone from an angle revealing the almost similar build but with a new widescreen and no fingerprint scanner on the front.