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#7DayReviewChallenge Alvie’s OnePlus 5T Review Nov 21, 2017

Alvie · Nov 21, 2017

Alvie , Nov 21, 2017 :

NAVIGATION
Unboxing ● Design/Display ● Camera ● Performance
Dash Charge/Power Consumption ● OxygenOS ● Conclusion

Disclaimer: As I am sure many of you know, I have 'won' this phone from The Lab - OnePlus 5T Edition contest. In order to be allowed to keep the phone, the only requirement is for me to review the device honestly. Any opinions here are my own, and haven't been swayed to any particular direction.

DAY 1: Unboxing

Video Unboxing

Written Unboxing

Since receiving a notification of the scheduled delivery date, I was incredibly excited. Being shipped from Poland, it surprisingly only took a day as it made its way to Germany, before finally traveling over the sea to little old UK. As soon as I finished college, I rushed my way home to unbox the OnePlus 5T.

Looking at the box itself, it remains almost identical the the box of the OnePlus 3 and 5:

In fact, it almost is indistinguishable from the OnePlus 5, until you look at the sides where it says, "OnePlus 5T" and "Dual Cameras. Clearer Photos" respectively:

When you first open the box the OnePlus 5T revealed in all its stunning glory:

Underneath this all, we have a lot more to see! Inside the red rectangular box, we find: a quick start guide (which I don't use ), safety information, a SIM ejector tool, and what is perhaps the one of the most important things in any unboxing ... Drum Roll Please... Stickers! All of this is contained in a dark translucent TPU case which is very flexible and is a nice thing to have as it should provide adequate protection against normal everyday use.

Here is a picture of everything included:

One little thing I liked, that changed from the previous versions, is that the OnePlus logo is now the right way up in the UK Dash Charge Power Adapter. It's a tiny thing as I don't really look at it much but it's still nice to have:

I also had a chance to unbox a case and share it here, so as a throwback to the OnePlus One and Two, I chose the sandstone protective case. This case, while not thick or most shock absorbing, is definitely really grippy and has a nice feel in the hand as it doesn't add any 'bulk'. It's more about drop prevention rather than drop protection so hopefully I won't drop it

Also, I'd greatly appreciate your feedback on this review, so if you have any comments or criticism let me know so I can improve!

Make sure to watch this thread / bookmark this page to see it, when it comes as it'll be updated here

Alvie · Nov 22, 2017

Alvie , Nov 22, 2017 :

DAY 2: Design / Display

NAVIGATION
Unboxing ● Design/Display ● Camera ● Performance
Dash Charge/Power Consumption ● OxygenOS ● Conclusion
In terms of design, the OnePlus 5T is weirdly similar and simultaneously dissimilar to the OnePlus 5 before it: the OnePlus 5T shares almost exactly the same body as the 5, but it is entirely discernible from its predecessor for some changes we will talk about soon.

First of all, lets talk about what remains the same. The port layout for the 5 and the 5T are exactly the same bar from the fingerprint sensor:

The Camera, Microphone, and LED Flash remain at the back (top-left)

The Alert Slider, and volume buttons remain on the left hand side (as with the OnePlus 5 and 3)

The SIM card slot and the power button remains in the exact same place too.
Unfortunately, there is no MicroSD card slot - but for me the 128GB option is more than enough.

At the bottom we can see the speaker grill, the USB Type C port for Dash charging (will talk more about this at a later date) and a 3.5mm headphone jack which is nice to see

Now lets talk about something that we hear a lot on the forums. Clicky buttons. As funny as it may seem, the little individual thoughts to detail are what make a device feel premium. The tactility of the buttons is really nice as it gives you a sense of satisfaction every time you click it.

One of the things that is unique to OnePlus is the Alert Slider - and I love that it has stayed with us since the OnePlus 2. It has a 'diamond' pattern running across it for really good grip, and whenever you change the position of the slider - it also has a nice click

The Horizon Line

Similarly to the OnePlus 5, the aluminium back of the 5T is very smooth to the touch and makes the device feel incredibly premium. The horizon line (see picture) above also helps the device have a beautiful sleek look. The full metal body that covers the phone should be familiar to not only OnePlus 3(T)/5 owners but also iPhone (<7) owners. A downside to this though is that the phone itself is quite slippery so I would recommend using a case (the one included should be fine) or a skin. In addition to that, the phone cannot be used to wirelessly charge - but it's not a feature I am interested in.

Now, time to talk about the changes!

One of the smaller changes, I'd like to talk about is the camera bump. It is slightly larger on the 5T due to the secondary camera being different and perhaps fixing the jelly scrolling issue by placing the screen module up there (I haven't verified this - it's just a guess).

5T (left) vs 5 (right): Camera bump is more pronounced (slightly exaggerated by use of a skin on the 5)

The fingerprint sensor has moved from the front to the back, and I have mixed feelings about this. I, personally, find it useful to have the sensor on the front for when my phone is on the table. There had to be a compromise in order to have a tall near-bezelless display on the front, and that was to move the fingerprint sensor to the back. The back most certainly isn't the worst position of the phone - it is a natural resting place for your index finger to be when holding the phone.

The back of the 5T: Fingerprint sensor

Finally, it is now time to talk about the main difference compared to any other OnePlus flagship before it: the display!

The OnePlus 5T rocks an Optic AMOLED Screen (same technology in the 3[T] and the 5) but it differs in the screen resolution and aspect ratio. While all previous OnePlus flagships had 5.5" 16:9 1920x1080 (FHD) displays, this is the first time we've seen something different. Now on the front of the screen we have a 6.01" 18:9 2160x1080 (FHD+) display. This means that both displays still have a pixel density of 401 PPI, which I would have liked to see improved, but it is alright for now. Also, as mentioned previously, it has the same form factor as the OnePlus 5 but the bigger screen means that the bezels are almost gone! It looks so much more modern now and feels like it belongs in 2017:

At this point you may be thinking "all the other flagships from other companies have 1440p+ displays", and you'd be correct. However, OnePlus' display comes really close to that as the quality of the screen is excellent.

As it is an AMOLED display, when there are black pixels - those individual pixels are 'turned off' which gives a level of contrast no IPS or TN panel can achieve. This also helps a little with battery life. Whites are clean and blacks are pitch black. Not only that, the screen also has a wider range of brightness compared the the 5: it can get dimmer (for when you're using it in a dark situation) and it also gets brighter which helps a lot in sunny days. The 'sunlight display' feature may have also helped here.

Another feature I use on the 5T is the 'Night mode' which works in harmony with the Ambient Sensor - I have set Night mode to automatically change when Sunset and Sunrise so my circadian rhythm isn't off sync with the rest of the world. It makes quality of sleep a lot better and reduces eye strain.

My night mode settings: Automatic between Sunset/Sunrise and quite strong

Lastly, for a little bit of prettiness we have rounded corners!

In my opinion, the screens on the Samsung Galaxy S8/Note8 are still better due to the 1440p displays that can get brighter; OnePlus is getting closer to that quality but is compromising here to save battery life (and probably costs too).

Overall, the design of the 5T is one that is familiar but still manages to feel astonishingly premium due to the materials used and the attention to detail. The screen in my opinion, is one that is incredible and beautiful due to it being an modern 18:9 AMOLED - but can still improve as its competitors have better brighter and higher resolution displays.

Alvie · Nov 22, 2017

Alvie , Nov 22, 2017 :

Day 3: Camera
(and Audio at the end)
Apologies for the late camera review, hopefully it was worth it!
ALL IMAGES HERE ARE AUTO MODE AND UNEDITED UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE

NAVIGATION
Unboxing ● Design/Display ● Camera ● Performance
Dash Charge/Power Consumption ● OxygenOS ● Conclusion

For a lot of people, the deciding factor for which smartphone they choose is the camera. Understandably so, we're living in a day and age where we share our thoughts and feelings using pixels on a screen rather than some writing on a piece of paper. When we have an experience, we can send it off for the entire world to experience it with us.

The OnePlus 5T still has dual cameras, but the implementation is very different. While the 5's secondary camera was a telephoto lens allowing for 2x lossless zoom, the 5T's secondary camera is one optimised for low light. This brings some advantages as well as disadvantages from the 5.

The megapixel count on the cameras are still 16MP and 20MP respectively, but megapixels aren't everything. Both lenses have a very wide f/1.7 aperture allowing a lot of light to enter, and a standard focal length of 27.22mm. While the 20MP sensor has a lower pixel size (1μm vs 1.12μm), it is the one used for low-light and does a good job by using 'Intelligent Pixel Technology' where 4 pixels are merged into 1.

Shots taken under normal conditions
Any camera will shine best under normal lighting conditions! The OnePlus 5T is no
exception. In daylight, the quality of the pictures taken are absolutely astonishing.

Browns of the tree and the greens of the leaves are represented accurately. There is also a lot of detail in the texture of the trunk of the tree.

The veins of the leaves are all visible with great clarity. the foreground is nicely in focus and the background remains blurred (without portrait mode). Again, the colours are well represented.

This picture is a kinda low light - HDR scenario but I included it here because I don't think it's dark enough to be in the low light section. You can see the high dynamic range of all the colours in the sky here and overall it's a beautiful image with it not being too overexposed or underexposed.

All images above, in my opinion, are very sharp and crisp. Moreover, colour representation is generally very accurate. Cameras often struggle with the colour red but the OnePlus 5T also does a very good job here:

The red is also accurate here as well as the green *This image is a portrait mode image

Under good lighting conditions, I have found no artifacts such as noise/grain. In addition to that the pictures are not oversaturated as we often see in flagships by OnePlus' competitors. Overall clarity, sharpness, and accuracy is really great for any smartphone, and is made better considering that it costs around $500.

Portrait mode
OnePlus claims that it is due to the dual camera setup that allows portrait mode to work so well to create a bokeh effect. While I'm not entirely sure if both cameras are still used for this effect or if its purely software, it still looks astounding. As the secondary camera is no longer a telephoto lens, we can see that there is no longer any cropping:

As you can see above, edge detection works very well between both phones.

Again here edge detection is well but slightly confused between the leaves in the background and the one in the foreground.

There are often cases where you may not want to use Portrait Mode though. The wide aperture lens already has somewhat of a depth of field effect, so you may want to decide for yourself which is better:

Portrait mode on

Portrait mode off
I like this picture more as it doesn't rely on edge detection and there are beautiful bokeh balls towards the top right of the image

In general, Portrait Mode works fantastically and allows you to take images that will make people question if it was taken on a DSLR! However, often there are times where standard mode can take similar shots (depending on spacing between subject and background) so keep that into consideration.

Shots taken under harsh lighting
Under harsh lighting, where light is directly on the sensor or reflected into the sensor, things start to get a little interesting.

In the picture above you can see an intense lens flare towards the left where the sunlight is hitting the sensor. Not only that, but this seems to have confused the 5T a little and perhaps is the reason why the right edge of the tree is blurred.

Let's take another look at the same tree, but this time from an angle where the sun is directly facing the tree.

All in all, this is a very good shot with a 'large-ish' range of colours. The sky is detailed as well as the tree in the foreground. Here we see no lens flare but there is indeed some parts where the image has been over exposed/blown out.

Shots taken in low light
Low light shots blew me away compared to the OnePlus 5! The 5T only activates its secondary camera with 'Intelligent Pixel Technology' when brightness levels go below 10 Lux, so you may not always see it in effect until this does happen.

This is the shot taken on the OnePlus 5:

The OnePlus 5's output is very dark and you can see that there are trees there but not any detail. The sky is very grainy and the leaves are dark so they blend in to the background.

Now this is the shot taken on the OnePlus 5T:

Here the sky is also grainy, but there is so much more detail on the trees and the leaves are distinguishable from the background.

The difference shocked me, so I went back to check a few times if I accidentally put it in manual mode and changed the exposure or something, but no - I didn't!

The improvement in low light is definitely worth the removal of the optical zoom of the OnePlus 5, in my opinion. I rarely use the zoom lens (if I need to, I will get physically closer to the subject) so while this may not be worth it for me, it may be important for you depending on if you may ever need to use zoom.

Zoom
As mentioned earlier, the second camera of the OnePlus 5T no longer uses a telephoto lens. This means in pictures where you zoom in, the quality is not as good as the OnePlus 5's:

OnePlus 5's 2x zoom

OnePlus 5T's 2x zoom

On the face of it, you may not notice the difference between the two cameras. But if you zoom into the building in the background, there is a noticeable difference.

With the 5T's camera there is less detail in the trees and the building looks 'cartoony'

As you can't really tell much of a difference until you zoom in a lot, I wouldn't say I will miss the zoom feature much.

OnePlus have also used a software algorithm, which they are calling Clear Zoom that 'enhances clarity of photos when zoomed in'. With the lack of a telephoto lens, this statement is true but still doesn't match the level of the OnePlus 5.

Another example of the OnePlus 5T's 2x zoom vs OnePlus 5's 2x zoom

Cropped in onto the squirrel:

We can see that Clear Zoom does a decent job at trying to retain quality, but the OnePlus 5 still wins here as you can see more detail in the squirrel's fur and it doesn't look like an oil painting.

As a conclusion for the camera portion of the review, I would like to reiterate that the OnePlus 5T's camera is honestly really good but has a few shortcomings. Under good lighting conditions: sharpness, clarity, accuracy, saturation, etc are really good - meaning you will get a really good picture from the phone. The Portrait mode still works amazingly well even with a different camera setup and can get you pictures that look like they've come straight out of a DSLR. Low light shots have been improved but has had to make compromises on zoom quality in order to achieve this. Overall, it is an amazing camera for the $500ish price and gets really close but not exactly at the level of its vastly more expensive rivals.

However, if OnePlus truly was focused on ultimate lowlight performance it would be nice to see the return of Optical Image Stabilisation alongside the already existing Electronic Image Stabilisation. Perhaps next time?

BONUS! Here are some more shots that I liked:

^ Manual mode but only changed focus distance, everything else is Auto

I also often put pictures on my Instagram @alviemahmud (shameless plug)
-----
Audio
And a little bit on Audio for @eye842 and anyone else

The speaker on the OnePlus 5T is a mono speaker on the bottom of the device. I would have preferred to have seen a stereo front facing speaker setup here because it is easy to cover the speaker when holding the phone. You may have to shift your hands or cup around the speaker.

However, the audio outputted can get really loud and retain quality at high volumes. For a mono speaker, the sound is still very clear and highs/mids/lows are quite distinguishable. When watching videos, no audio latency issues have occurred for me.

In terms of how they perform with earphones (which they can do because of the 3.5mm headphone jack!) , I have briefly tried them out with OnePlus Bullets V2. The DAC built in is of good quality and I don't hear any static/electrical artifacts. While I haven't tried them with more powerful headphones, I expect they'll work well still.

While recording audio, I have noticed that audio is general clear but wind can affect it quite a bit. There are 3 mics that do help with background noise cancellation a lot though.

Alvie · Nov 22, 2017

Alvie , Nov 22, 2017 :

Day 4: Performance

NAVIGATION
Unboxing ● Design/Display ● Camera ● Performance
Dash Charge/Power Consumption ● OxygenOS ● Conclusion

In day to day use, most smartphones seem to act exactly the same as each other, so it is usually very difficult to compare them to one another or say one is better than the other. This is why we have benchmarks. However, I personally do not think that benchmarks are a good way of showing performance as it isn't necessarily the same as real world performance but I will include a couple to make sure everyone is satisfied . In order to give my opinion on the performance of the OnePlus 5T, we have to look a little beyond the average day to day use and be a little 'nitpicky'.

On paper, the OnePlus 5T is no slouch - and neither was the OnePlus 5 which shares more or less the same specsheet. With the Snapdragon 835 mobile platform, Adreno 540 GPU, (up to) 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, as well as (up to) 128GB worth of Dual Lane UFS 2.1 storage.

Not only that but 4 cores of the SD835 run at 2.45GHz rather than 2.35GHz as seen in other phones.

Geekbench 4

As you can see above, the 5T and the 5 perform exactly the same when it comes to benchmarks due to having the same specifications.

AndroBench (Storage Benchmark)

The OnePlus 5T just about beats the OnePlus 5 in terms of read speeds, but the 5 pulls ahead in write speeds. Overall, the performance should be similar.

Now that we have the benchmarks out of the way, let's talk about actual performance.

Everyday usage / Load times
In terms of everyday usage, the phone is very snappy. So far, I have not had any touch latency issues at all. Whatever app I open whether it be a game, a social media app, web browser etc, opens instantly. As the benchmarks above show the OnePlus 5T to have similar scoring, I expected load times to be same too. Actually, load times have improved slightly going from the 5 to the 5T. This surprised me, but I definitely wouldn't have noticed the difference unless I was comparing them side by side.

Other than the the bloat-free software, and awesome hardware combines to make an experience that is smooth and responsive. I have only encountered one hiccup so far but otherwise no app crashes and no hanging.

The one hiccup I had was a weird glitch in the Minecraft load screen. I'm pretty sure this is on Microsoft's side but I also had it on the OnePlus 5 since servers were released on Pocket Edition. Fortunately, it doesn't actually appear within the actual game so it isn't too much of an issue but a minor annoyance.

Gaming
In terms of gaming, the OnePlus 5T does not disappoint. I have played a few games on here such as Minecraft, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Asphalt 8: Airborne, and Clash Royale. All of these games played very smoothly with no visibile drops in frame rate and never crashed at any point. Furthermore, these all played in the 18:9 aspect ratio of the phone - which was nice to see!

Asphalt 8: Airborne is perhaps the most intensive game on the list, but even here I can see no issues. The visuals were stunning and the gameplay was smooth.

You can see the large draw distances, as well as a lot of detail in the clouds and water. The lighting is pretty accurate and overall it looks absolutely amazing on the device.

Wi-Fi

So far I haven't had any issues with WiFi, it works exactly as expected on my 80/20 fibre connection with low latency. The above speed test was done about 3m away from the router on the 5GHz band.

Multitasking
With 8GB of RAM onboard, multitasking is no issue for the OnePlus 5T. With a lot of tabs open in Chrome, I can switch between them without it needing to reload at all. To test out if apps stay in RAM for a while before getting kicked out, I opened an email app, Instagram, WhatsApp, Asphalt 8, Minecraft, Chrome (2 tabs) and YouTube. Switching between them, I did not see any loading screen twice and it should be more than enough for even more memory intensive apps to be stored in RAM on top of what I had tested!

I also tested out having two apps side by side. For example, Chrome and YouTube worked absolutely perfect with both being displayed on the screen at the same time:

It is nice to see this feature work seamlessly so I can save time and 'work' more efficiently

The performance is one of the reasons why OnePlus has been doing so well since the OnePlus One - the OnePlus 5T is no exception. It is amazing to see an SSD like performance on a smartphone that costs around $500 allowing for blazing fast load times. Gaming is also breathtaking by the use of the latest hardware available from Snapdragon. Also, one of the reasons why some other smartphones (even the high-end flagships) do not perform so well is because of bloatware and skins. I love the fact that OxygenOS has stayed close to stock Android and is free of bloat which allows for the ultimate performance!

Alvie · Nov 22, 2017

Alvie , Nov 22, 2017 :

DAY 5: Dash Charge/Power Consumption

NAVIGATION
Unboxing ● Design/Display ● Camera ● Performance
Dash Charge/Power Consumption ● OxygenOS ● Conclusion

Dash Charge
Dash Charge is one of the best thing about OnePlus phones. My first phone from OnePlus, was the OnePlus 2. This charged at 5V2A max. While 5V2A wasn't slow (in my opinion), it wasn't fast either. About a year after I upgraded to the OnePlus 3, the difference was incredibly surprising - I'm glad it has returned through the years but I do have some minor nitpicky issues with it (at least in my opinion they are minor). In fact, I actually really do like Dash Charging. So much so that I wear a T-Shirt with DASH CHARGE written on it!

I would agree with OnePlus' claim of a days power in half an hour. Often, I end my day with 30% to 40% remaining, which means a days worth of power is around 60% for me. The Dash Charging solution, being one of the fastest out there, can indeed charge 60% of the 3400mAh battery in roughly half an hour. Usually I do charge my phone overnight, but sometimes I unplug it before - if I happen to be awake and see that the charge has already gone close to 100%.

In general, it takes me a little over an hour (around 1 hr 20 mins) and if I am using it while charging it doesn't affect that value much and only increases it to around 1 hr 40 mins.

The thing that is great about Dash Charge's method of charging quickly is also one of the worst things about it. It uses high current charging with 5V (whereas Qualcomm/Samsung use adaptive voltage and current) to charge up the device quickly. Most of the power conversion happens in the power adapter itself (rather than in the phone) so the device itself remains cool and charging doesn't slow down much when using it. However, this also means that you're tied down to only using OnePlus' own cables for Dash Charging due to safety, and if you misplace it, the only place you can get a replacement is from OnePlus itself rather than just buying any cable from a shop / online store. (O2 in the UK might have it in stock actually) In the case of not using it, the maximum charge rate goes down from 5V4A to 5V2A:

As you can see here the charge rates more than halves without the use of a dash charge cable
Above shows charge rate minus the discharge rate and so 2A and 4A aren't seen exactly.

All in all, Dash Charging is a great solution for fast charging as it keeps the device cool (meaning it will have a longer life), charges the quickest I have seen personally out of any other smartphone technologies, and is very safe. However, as it only works with Dash Charge cable, it would be nice to see if other cables could use it - perhaps using a Dash Charge certified type thing like Apple's MFi so there's a large variety and available to order from Amazon for example.

Furthermore, I am not sure if it is due to Dash Charge that the OnePlus 5T still needs to use USB 2.0. I don't transfer things much between my phone and my PC but USB 3.1 would have been so much faster. Also, Google is pushing OEMs to use USB-PD (power delivery) which OnePlus doesn't use but I think OnePlus' current solution is safe enough, at least for now.

Side note, I'd also like to see a OnePlus Dash Charge Powerbank (Oppo has a VOOC power bank so it should be possible) but I think in a previous AMA it was confirmed that they have no plans for it

Power Consumption
As mentioned previously, I often end my day with around 30% to 40% of juice left in my phone. This means I can get a day and a half (or even more) from a single charge. I would consider myself as a Light/Medium user. I play games every now and again, and do general stuff such as browsing the web, watching YouTube, reading my Twitter/Instagram feed, checking emails, and take pictures. I generally keep the brightness settings between 20% and 60% also, and only increase it when showing other people something on my phone (i.e. picture/YouTube video)

Depending on my usage, which varies day to day (especially on weekends where I have a lot more free time), I get around 5½ hours of Screen On Time to a little over 6½ hours:

This is absolutely incredible! For a phone with a thickness of 7.3mm and a battery of 3400mAh, this level of screen on time is actually really good. It makes me curious about what the screen on time would have been if they filled in the space of the camera bump with battery, but I am still very happy with this result.

Also, with the OnePlus 5 there were rumours of a ROM with Energy Aware Scheduling (EAS) that can dramatically increase Screen On Time - I wonder if that will ever come to either the OnePlus 5 or 5T.

To conclude this portion of the review, OnePlus has done a lot right with the battery. It offers amazing power consumption and screen on time, as well as the ability to charge really quickly! My only issues are with the fact that is proprietary so it is difficult to source a cable/adaptor, and it looks like it perhaps causes the USB version to be limited at USB 2.0.

Alvie · Nov 22, 2017

Alvie , Nov 22, 2017 :

DAY 6: OxygenOS

NAVIGATION
Unboxing ● Design/Display ● Camera ● Performance
Dash Charge/Power Consumption ● OxygenOS ● Conclusion

If you're coming from an Android phone that isn't made by OnePlus, Google, or Motorola, then OxygenOS is a breath of fresh air! Before owning a OnePlus phone, I used to have low-end Samsung phones and they were full of bloat making it difficult to navigate around the device easily and install more than a couple of apps, due to the amount of space there own apps would take up.

For those of you that have been with OnePlus since the beginning, you will know that before OxygenOS, the OnePlus One used CyanogenOS. CyanogenOS, now succeeded by LineageOS, is a firmware (ROM/Android Operating System) that used a close to stock Android interface (literally built on top of AOSP) and also offered a lot of customisability on top of stock Android.

OxygenOS ended up replacing Cyanogen due to some licensing disagreements between another device in India, so OnePlus began working on their own ROM and refined it over the years. Fortunately, OnePlus has done a really good job with OxygenOS. It is still one of the closest you can get to stock Android, and where it differs is in places where OnePlus has added in optimisations or extra customisations.

A place where OnePlus has added extra features is in Gestures. Most gestures, I do not find myself using - particularly the Screen off gestures (because they force the device to always listen out for these gestures). However, it is great that they are there as there will be people who find them useful. Last I checked (quite a long time ago), the options were Draw O to Open Camera, V for Torch Light etc but now they have been reworked so they can do any action you choose or open any app.

I did find myself using, and liking, the fingerprint sensor gestures. For example when taking selfies, it is useful to be able to long press on the sensor to take a picture as it means you don't have to fumble around to press the button on the front and get a shaky image. Also, being able to swipe down to bring the notification shade down is a welcome addition. I would also like to see a swipe up from the app drawer though.

Face Unlock, is another great software feature, and works absolutely amazingly. In my experience it is usually instant and I haven't been able to fool it with a picture of myself on another device. It's a decent alternative to the front fingerprint sensor and is only let down in the darkest of rooms. (It can work in dark rooms if you turn the brightness up a bit first)

With AMOLED phones, you can save a little bit of battery by using the colour black a lot (as those pixels get switched off) so I use dark mode with Pink as the accent colour. However, I would have liked to see more colour options here by use of a colour wheel/slider so I can change it to red (my favourite colour ) Or it would be amazing to see a theme engine such as Substratum - but I don't think it's very likely.

I have chosen pink as it is the closest to red, but would like to see more options

OxygenOS also offers a lot of other smaller features, such as Gaming DO NOT DISTURB (which allows you to block notifications while gaming or what ever else from a Quick Settings toggle), Night Mode (which filters out blue light to make it easier on your eyes), and Reading Mode (which turns the display black and white for an e-Paper reading experience). As mentioned in a previous review, I do use Night Mode which adjusts automatically depending on time of day. When I do game, if I find myself being bombarded with notifications, I turn on Gaming DND and is nice to see that OnePlus are thinking of the little things as well.

A software feature which I didn't find useful is Smart Wi-Fi Switcher. I'm pretty sure it's off by default but I tried it out. I have a 2.4GHz network, 5GHz network, and a 2.4GHz extender. In my personal experience it would always connect to the slowest network, so I'd recommend leaving it off.

Another feature, which I am not sure if it is unique to OnePlus but I've not seen on other phones, is the ability for alarms to go off even if the device is switched off. I'm not exactly sure how it works but it seems like it will be useful for the days where I plug my phone in to charge overnight whilst it's switched off, and forget to turn it back on.

Also, OnePlus now have something called Parallel Apps - which allow you to have multiple social media accounts logged in simultaneously. In some apps, it matters more than others. Twitter/Instagram/Facebook already allow you to easily switch between accounts, but this should make it easier for apps that can't have multiple accounts, such as Snapchat.

Other optimisations which are pretty cool include the fact that the software caches apps that you use the most to speed up loading times, and Pocket Mode which makes sure you don't accidentally press things whilst your phone is locked.

On the software front, there's another really cool thing! And that's that if you don't like OxygenOS for any reason, OnePlus allows you to unlock your bootloader and root your device or change the firmware without it voiding your warranty (unless you damage the phone due to something you gave root access i.e. overclock the CPU etc) . I don't know of any other manufacturer that does this so massive kudos to OnePlus

There's a disappointing thing with OxygenOS at the moment though. In a recent AMA, OnePlus has confirmed that there will be no Project Treble support (a feature where it makes it easier for developers to keep up to date with Android). Also, the 5T didn't launch with Oreo so Google cannot enforce OnePlus to use Treble. The lack of Oreo isn't much of a big deal to me right now, as I'm sure we will see it very soon but it would've been nice to see Project Treble alongside it.

Overall, OxygenOS is a great, clean version of Android that offers a great level of customisation. There's a lot of features that are genuinely useful, and others that are kind of 'meh'. One of the best things here is that if you didn't like OxygenOS or if you needed extra functionality you can modify/root/flash firmware without it voiding your warranty. Unfortunately, the 5T didn't launch with Oreo and it will not be getting Project Treble which saddens me a little.

Alvie · Nov 22, 2017

Alvie , Nov 22, 2017 :

DAY 7: Conclusion
NAVIGATION
Unboxing ● Design/Display ● Camera ● Performance
Dash Charge/Power Consumption ● OxygenOS ● Conclusion
Woah! Has it been seven days already?! I hope this review will also benefit the readers make an informed decision, and I'd like to thank you all for reading this far. Also, I'd like to thank everyone else who made this possible, that includes: @Crystal Z. @David Y. (and @meatandy for coming up with the original idea of a community review).

I was using the OnePlus 5T as my daily driver over the past week, but also had my previous OnePlus 5. I acclimated to using the 5T rather quickly.

I love the fact that OnePlus is keeping up to date with the latest trends, even if it does mean a faster phone cycle than usual. The 18:9 aspect ratio of the phone makes it look a lot more modern. Now, whenever I look at my OnePlus 5, I call it a "chunky monkey" - I don't know why so don't ask haha

Also, this (in the UK at least) is the first OnePlus phone that kept the same pricing as its predecessor. And it is still lower than the competition so I have to praise OnePlus for this. Hopefully, they have reached a pricing that they can keep to over the next couple of years.

The cameras are very good, but still leave a little to be desired. It isn't as sharp or as well detailed as some of the others on the market but I don't know of any other smartphones at this price point with a camera system this good. There's apparently some updates that will improve it further soon and hopefully fix the 'oil painting effect' visible when zooming in to the image.

The design of the phone, has remained all metal, which I like to see as it makes the device feel expensive and premium while not being able to break as easily as glass for example. The software, in my opinion, is one of the best out there. OxygenOS is much cleaner and performs better than other implementations (sorry @sfomin, I'd say it beats TouchWiz [TouchWis ??? ]). The hardware used alongside with the software, allows for the best performance - where OnePlus has also done really well in since the One.

When it comes to battery, Dash Charge is one of the safest and quickest ways to do so. I always have great SOT and usually get around a day and a half of usage from a single charge.

My only gripes with the 5T are quite minor but would like to see OnePlus start to improve on them other their next phones. (see next image below). The most major thing I'd like to see is Project Treble support, so that it makes it easier for developers and OnePlus to be able to update the software to the latest version. If you haven't already signed the petition, please do so here:

https://www.change.org/p/carl-pei-w...-ask-oneplus-to-support-project-treble-in-oos

So would I recommend this phone? My answer to this depends on a lot of factors. So first of all you'd have to ask yourself a few questions.

If you're on a budget but want a great phone, then definitely choose the OnePlus 5T.

If you want a clean Android experience without any bloat, choose the OnePlus 5T.

If you want to be able to customise your phone to your liking, even if that may involve rooting/flashing firmware or whatever else, choose the OnePlus 5T.

If you want the absolute best camera experience for a smartphone, look elsewhere but if you don't mind a little less quality and want to save money then choose the 5T. Or buy the 5T, and use the money you save towards a DSLR/CSC.

If you want the best available screen on any smartphone, look elsewhere but still consider the 5T if you want to save some money.

If you want a modern looking phone that doesn't break the bank, choose the OnePlus 5T.

To the average person, I would definitely have no problems recommending the 5T especially due to its affordability and bang for the buck. As you can see above there are only a few scenarios where I wouldn't recommend it, but even then there are some 'workarounds' that allow me to recommend it. And if I had to give it a rating, it would be 9/10. To describe the OnePlus 5T in a sentence: The OnePlus 5T is an astonishing feature-rich smartphone with an even more astonishing price tag.

______
Also, if you want a more opinions on the OnePlus 5T, check out the other Lab reviews (these people are awesome and are from all different corners of the world! It's nice to see that a side benefit of the Lab, was that I could make new friends from countries I've never been to):

https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/the-lab-oneplus-5t-reviews-roundup.687913/

Rizla · Nov 22, 2017

Rizla , Nov 22, 2017 :

Your images ain't working.

Crystal Z. · Nov 22, 2017

Crystal Z. , Nov 22, 2017 :

Rizla said: ↑

Your images ain't working.
Click to expand...

working here

BeingIncog · Nov 22, 2017

BeingIncog , Nov 22, 2017 :

nope, not working!

Rizla · Nov 22, 2017

Rizla , Nov 22, 2017 :

Crystal Z. said: ↑

working here
Click to expand...

All I can see is IMG tag.

Lancelot_69 · Nov 22, 2017

Lancelot_69 , Nov 22, 2017 :

Alvie said: ↑

Disclaimer: As I am sure many of you know, I have 'won' this phone from The Lab - OnePlus 5T Edition contest. In order to be allowed to keep the phone, the only requirement is for me to review the device honestly. Any opinions here are my own, and haven't been swayed to any particular direction.

Video Unboxing

Written Unboxing
Since receiving a notification of the scheduled delivery date, I was incredibly excited. Being shipped from Poland, it surprisingly only took a day as it made its way to Germany, before finally traveling over the sea to little old UK. As soon as I finished college, I rushed my way home to unbox the OnePlus 5T.

Looking at the box itself, it remains almost identical the the box of the OnePlus 3 and 5:

In fact, it almost is indistinguishable from the OnePlus 5, until you look at the sides where it says, "OnePlus 5T" and "Dual Cameras. Clearer Photos" respectively:

When you first open the box the OnePlus 5T revealed in all its stunning glory:

Underneath this all, we have a lot more to see! Inside the red rectangular box, we find: a quick start guide (which I don't use ), safety information, a SIM ejector tool, and what is perhaps the one of the most important things in any unbox ... Drum Roll Please... Stickers! All of this is contained in a dark translucent TPU case which is very flexible and is a nice thing to have as it should provide adequate protection against normal everyday use.

Here is a picture of everything included:

One little thing I liked, that changed from the previous versions, is that the OnePlus logo is now the right way up in the UK Dash Charge Power Adapter. It's a tiny thing as I don't really look at it much but it's still nice to have:

I also had a chance to unbox a case and share it here, so as a throwback to the OnePlus One and Two, I chose the sandstone protective case. This case, while not thick or most shock absorbing, is definitely really grippy and has a nice feel in the hand as it doesn't add any 'bulk'. It's more about drop prevention rather than drop protection so hopefully I won't drop it

Also, I'd greatly appreciate your feedback on this review, so if you have any comments or criticism let me know so I can improve!

Up next: Design/Display

Make sure to watch this thread / bookmark this page to see it, when it comes as it'll be updated here
Click to expand...

Nice video, need to fix images but a good start to your review. Look forward to seeing more of the reviews from you.

SJBoss · Nov 22, 2017

SJBoss , Nov 22, 2017 :

well... hmm I just skimmed through it,
you seem excited and that's entertaining to the reader

smartbuddy · Nov 22, 2017

smartbuddy , Nov 22, 2017 :

Phone looks beauty, sandstone back is cool as always... nice unboxing video, keep up the good work.

Fc København · Nov 22, 2017

Fc København , Nov 22, 2017 :

Alvie said: ↑

Disclaimer: As I am sure many of you know, I have 'won' this phone from The Lab - OnePlus 5T Edition contest. In order to be allowed to keep the phone, the only requirement is for me to review the device honestly. Any opinions here are my own, and haven't been swayed to any particular direction.

Video Unboxing

Written Unboxing
Since receiving a notification of the scheduled delivery date, I was incredibly excited. Being shipped from Poland, it surprisingly only took a day as it made its way to Germany, before finally traveling over the sea to little old UK. As soon as I finished college, I rushed my way home to unbox the OnePlus 5T.

Looking at the box itself, it remains almost identical the the box of the OnePlus 3 and 5:

In fact, it almost is indistinguishable from the OnePlus 5, until you look at the sides where it says, "OnePlus 5T" and "Dual Cameras. Clearer Photos" respectively:

When you first open the box the OnePlus 5T revealed in all its stunning glory:

Underneath this all, we have a lot more to see! Inside the red rectangular box, we find: a quick start guide (which I don't use ), safety information, a SIM ejector tool, and what is perhaps the one of the most important things in any unbox ... Drum Roll Please... Stickers! All of this is contained in a dark translucent TPU case which is very flexible and is a nice thing to have as it should provide adequate protection against normal everyday use.

Here is a picture of everything included:

One little thing I liked, that changed from the previous versions, is that the OnePlus logo is now the right way up in the UK Dash Charge Power Adapter. It's a tiny thing as I don't really look at it much but it's still nice to have:

I also had a chance to unbox a case and share it here, so as a throwback to the OnePlus One and Two, I chose the sandstone protective case. This case, while not thick or most shock absorbing, is definitely really grippy and has a nice feel in the hand as it doesn't add any 'bulk'. It's more about drop prevention rather than drop protection so hopefully I won't drop it

Also, I'd greatly appreciate your feedback on this review, so if you have any comments or criticism let me know so I can improve!

Up next: Design/Display

Make sure to watch this thread / bookmark this page to see it, when it comes as it'll be updated here
Click to expand...

Great video my dream phone

Crystal Z. · Nov 22, 2017

Crystal Z. , Nov 22, 2017 :

Rizla said: ↑

All I can see is IMG tag.

Click to expand...

@Alvie can you check?

Alvie · Nov 22, 2017

Alvie , Nov 22, 2017 :

Rizla said: ↑

Your images ain't working.
Click to expand...

Lancelot_69 said: ↑

Nice video, need to fix images but a good start to your review. Look forward to seeing more of the reviews from you.
Click to expand...

Working on it. Hopefully moderators will be able to fix it or otherwise I'll have to re-upload once I get home.

eye842 · Nov 22, 2017

eye842 , Nov 22, 2017 :

Will wait for picture fix as I can't watch the video right now, checking back later.

Shivang Joshi · Nov 22, 2017

Shivang Joshi , Nov 22, 2017 :

Images aren't working. But a good start to the review [e]270c[/e]️

pkair · Nov 22, 2017

pkair , Nov 22, 2017 :

Did he almost dropped the phone on 3:37?

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#7DayReviewChallenge Alvie’s OnePlus 5T Review Nov 21, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 21, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 22, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 22, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 22, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 22, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 22, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 22, 2017

Rizla
Jelly Bean Nov 22, 2017

Crystal Z.
Global Community <3 Staff Member Nov 22, 2017

BeingIncog
Nougat Nov 22, 2017

Rizla
Jelly Bean Nov 22, 2017

Lancelot_69
Lollipop Nov 22, 2017

SJBoss
Lollipop Nov 22, 2017

smartbuddy
Ice Cream Sandwich Nov 22, 2017

Fc København
Eclair Nov 22, 2017

Crystal Z.
Global Community <3 Staff Member Nov 22, 2017

Alvie
The Lab - OnePlus 5T Reviewer Nov 22, 2017

eye842
Lollipop Nov 22, 2017

Shivang Joshi
Starting Point Expert Nov 22, 2017

pkair
Honeycomb Nov 22, 2017