OnePlus has done it again. The Chinese company which promised that the 'T' version would be exclusive to only OnePlus 3T has recently announced the OnePlus 5T- a tweaked version of the OnePlus 5, which was released just five months ago. The OnePlus 5 is one among the best phones of 2017, and the 5T takes the already best phone to a new level with a bezel-less design and much-needed camera boost.
When OnePlus launched the OnePlus 5, everyone complained why the company did not opt for a bezel-less design. But little would have expected that they will launch the 5T with the same bezel-less design as a standout feature. In fact, OnePlus even admitted to the media at the 5T event in New York as 'They had no plans to launch the OnePlus 5T this year'. However, they turned the OnePlus 5 buyers into a massive disappointment as the 5T feels like a significant upgrade over the OnePlus 5.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efLn7938Ai0
OnePlus had a simultaneous event in India in New Delhi, where Vikas Agarwal, the General Manager at OnePlus India addressed the media saying that the company is leading the affordable flagship segment in the country. After the event, we were shown the 5T, and guess what, right from the first look, we thought that the current OnePlus 5 users should not look at the 5T. It's bigger, beautiful, and matches the several 2017 flagship smartphones.
With the OnePlus 5T, we get a 6.01-inch edge-to-edge 18:9 display, with a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. OnePlus used a Samsung made, Optic AMOLED display on the 5T, and it's gorgeous in our short time with the smartphone.
Thanks to the bezel-less design, OnePlus ditched the hardware capacitive keys and front-mounted fingerprint scanner for the first time. Before the launch of OnePlus 5, the Chinese upstart took customers feedback on the placement of the fingerprint scanner, and with the majority of them asked for a front-mounted scanner, they've gone with the same. Nevertheless, to make the bezels minimal, OnePlus has moved the scanner to the back of the phone. It' still the fastest one out there in the market. I've tested the scanner on the Pixel 2, and OnePlus 5T, the one present on the latter is faster.
With the OnePlus 5T, the company has introduced a new unlocking feature called 'Face Unlock,' which as the name itself suggests, uses your face to unlock the smartphone. I did not get enough time to test out this feature, but several videos on the web are already claiming it as the fastest one, in fact, faster than the fingerprint scanner.
The hardware and design pretty much remain the same. The 5T has the same overall footprint of the OnePlus 5, which is not at all a bad thing. The alert slider, volume rockers and power button are precisely placed in the same position, but as said earlier, the hardware capacitive keys are a thing of past as OnePlus made the on-screen keys a permanent way to navigate through the 5T.
It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, comes in two storage models- 6GB and 64GB variant and a premium 8GB/128GB model. The same battery of 3300mAh is present on the smartphone, along with the much familiar OxygenOS built on top of Android Nougat.
OnePlus hyped a lot about the OxygenOS at the event, which made us believe that the 5T will run Android Oreo out of the box, but that excitement turned into disappointment as it still boots Android Nougat. Nonetheless, OnePlus announced that the 5T, alongside the OnePlus 5 would receive Android Oreo in early 2018. By then, most of the smartphones such as the Nokia 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 will run Android Oreo.
Alongside the display, what's the major change in the 5T when compared to 5 is the dual rear camera system. It still uses the same 16MP Sony IMX 398 primary sensor with a f/1.7 sensor and 1.12µm pixels. However, the secondary 20MP sensor is now a Sony IMX 376K one with the same aperture of f/1.7. OnePlus says that the new sensor offers better low-light images, and yes, the 5T also has a Portrait mode. The 16MP front-facing camera remains untouched though.
That's it for the OnePlus 5T. The price of the smartphone still remains the same at Rs. 32,999 for the 6GB/64GB model and Rs. 37,999 for the 8GB/128GB variant. For sure, the OnePlus 5 users won't like the pricing, but you have to take it. We'll be receiving a review unit of the OnePlus 5T very soon. Stay tuned for the full review of the smartphone.
