OnePlus 7T is here and the phone is a major upgrade over the OnePlus 7 that was released just a few months ago. Every year, OnePlus releases two new phones- the standard flagship killer and the 'T' version of the same phone a six months later. However, this year, things were a bit different as we got to see a total of four OnePlus phones (five including the McLaren Edition) launching in a span of just six months. OnePlus took on the likes of Samsung, Huawei, Google and Apple with the OnePlus 7 Pro earlier this year and the phone received good response across the globe. But the OnePlus 7 stole the show because of the sheer value for money it offered. And now, the OnePlus 7 has a successor in the form of OnePlus 7T with several major new upgrades. Even on paper, the OnePlus 7T looks like a significant step up from its predecessor, and in real life, it's the same. Read onto know more about the OnePlus 7T in detail.
What the OnePlus 7T Does Better
Starting off with the design, the OnePlus 7T looks dated and very identical to the OnePlus 7 and even the OnePlus 6T which is now 11 months old. But the 7T offers very thin chin and the waterdrop notch on top is also very small and blends into the display. That being said, it lacks the full-screen display like the OnePlus 7T Pro. Similar to the OnePlus 7 Pro, the 7T also offers packs 90Hz refresh rate, but the panel itself is a 6.55-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED one. There's an under-display fingerprint scanner which is more accurate and faster than the one present on the OnePlus 7. The quality of the display itself is fine and the 90Hz refresh rate is the icing on the cake. Notably, the OnePlus 7T is currently the cheapest OnePlus phone with a Fluid AMOLED (90Hz refresh rate) display.
Underneath, the OnePlus 7T has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, clubbed with 8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of internal storage. Yes, even the base variant of the OnePlus 7T now offers 8GB of RAM, something which we did not see it coming. To recall, the OnePlus 7 came in a 6GB+128GB variant and it was priced at Rs 32,999. Performance on the OnePlus 7T is very much identical to the OnePlus 7 and you won't notice any major differences even while playing games like PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty Mobile.
OnePlus has also improved the stereo speakers on the 7T and they sound better than the OnePlus 7 series. It packs a slightly bigger 3800mAh battery and there's now support for Warp Charge 30T which is capable of charging the device from 0-100% in just one hour.
Similar to the OnePlus 7 Pro, the OnePlus 7T also rocks triple camera setup on the back. The Chinese company has added a primary 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor, 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 12MP telephoto lens. For the unaware, the OnePlus 7 arrived with just two cameras- 48MP primary sensor that works in tandem with a 5MP depth sensor. OnePlus has got the versatility factor covered with the 7T, but what about the real-life performance; Well, let's find out.
The primary camera captures images with a great amount of details, even the photos shot using wide-angle and telephoto lens come out really good and pleasing to eyes. Even the lowlight shots are pretty decent for a phone that costs just under Rs 40,000 and the NightScape improves the performance marginally. As for the Portrait shots, it's a hit and miss as the software fails to detect the subject at times and the resulting image is something which we expect it to be. On the brighter side, OnePlus now allows the 7T users to capture Portrait photos even using the wide-angle sensor. The OnePlus 7T even has a Super Macro mode which allows users to get a lot closer to the subjects. The Super Macro images shot on the OnePlus 7T appear really pleasing to the eyes, but focusing on the subject is a bit challenging even for the Pro photographers.
Video recording is also decent on the OnePlus 7T; The phone allows users to shoot 4K videos at 60fps and 1080p videos at 60fps. There's a Super Stable mode as well which combines both Electronic Image Stabilisation and Optical Image Stabilisation, but the quality is limited to 1080p. For 4K videos, OIS kicks in, but the footage is not as smooth as the 1080p one shot on the same phone.
Other advantages for the OnePlus 7T include- UFS 3.0 storage and excellent call quality. The phone comes with Airtel VoWi-Fi service enabled, and if the telco rolls out the new service in your location, you can make voice calls through Wi-Fi as well.
OnePlus 7T Doesn't Stand Tall on These Fronts
Surely, the OnePlus 7T has a lot of advantages going for it, however, it has got some flaws as well. Firstly, the battery life. OnePlus may have added a slightly bigger 3800mAh battery compared to the OnePlus 7, but the battery life combined with 90Hz panel is strictly average. It's not that bad and delivers screen-on-time of around five hours with moderate usage. If you push the phone to its max with mobile data turned on, the screen-on time will come down to less than four hours, which is not at all an impressive figure to talk about.
Next up, we have the software. For the first time ever, I have faced a lot of issues with a OnePlus phone. OxygenOS is the best third-party Android skin we have right now, Period. Nevertheless, it's not optimised on the OnePlus 7T. First of all, I received the device with pre-released software, and later on, OnePlus rolled out a major update which was supposed to fix all the issues and offer better stability.
Even after the update, I've faced issues with apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube and even the company's own OnePlus Switch app. Apps freeze while using and all I have to do is force close them and restart. In addition, the device became warm even with basic usage at times, but restarting the phone fixed this issue every time it happened. Yes, it's built on top of Andriod 10 and the OnePlus 7T is the first phone in the world to come out with the latest iteration of Android out of the box. However, it seems like OnePlus rushed at releasing the phone with Android 10 out of the box. We're pretty sure that OnePlus will fix all the issues with forthcoming software updates, so it's not a major flaw at all.
Other cons of the OnePlus 7T include the lack of 3.5mm headphone jack and wireless charging.
OnePlus 7T Review: Verdict
The OnePlus 7T is not just a 'T' upgrade to the OnePlus 7 because it's a new phone altogether. And I feel sad for the users who brought the OnePlus 7 just a few months ago. But to not disappoint the OnePlus 7 users even more, the company has priced the OnePlus 7T at Rs 37,999. The 7T comes in two variants- 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB priced at Rs 37,999 and Rs 39,999, respectively.
In every aspect, the OnePlus 7T is a great phone- the phone looks beautiful even though it has the good-old notched display, the performance is top-notch, there are very good versatile cameras this time around and the pricing from the company is just on point. The battery life on the 7T could have been better, but OnePlus will definitely make some software optimisations to improve it in the coming months.
With the OnePlus 7 now retailing at Rs 29,999, the OnePlus 7T at Rs 37,999 is a pretty good buy for those who're looking for a phone under Rs 40,000. Yes, there are other options in the similar price range like ROG Phone 2 and even the iPhone XR (during the festive sales), but the OnePlus 7T is a practical phone than the two. The iPhone XR is a different smartphone altogether, but if you're looking between the 7T and the Asus ROG Phone 2, then it's the former all the way.
