The Chinese smartphone business is filled with all kinds of models, but most of them are relegated to the country, with few breaking out to the west. The OnePlus range is an exception, they have made a real name for themselves with their smart designs, high end specs and affordable prices. I used to have a OnePlus way back, a few phones ago at this point, but the quality was far higher than I expected, and it seems they have only gotten better over time. I missed out on the 3 and 3P, so my comparisons are going to be purely theoretical there, but I can compare it to the latest iPhone, which I have gotten to tool around with in the past, and it is very favorable.

In terms of specs we are looking at the cream of the graphical crop, so if that is a primary concern for you, this is a fine option. The display is 1080p, and crystal clear, but it is lagging behind a bit on the highest end competition, my day to day phone, an old Nexus 6, has double the resolution for example, and that is a far from cutting edge build. The CPU is spooled up nicely, and the OnePlus is using two different ones, a slower one for normal use and a faster one for more demanding tasks. It saves on battery life, and you’ll find that the vast majority of the better builds on the market have gone for this solution. Size wise we are looking at 5.5″ on the diagonal, putting it closer to the Phablet form factor than the phone, but it is still feels manageable in the hand, my aforementioned Nexus 6 is a 5.9″ build, so this smaller handset actually feels very comfortable in my hand.

So let’s dig into the review proper, see what OnePlus got right with this one, and a few areas that could do with improvement for their next build.

OnePlus 5 Smartphone Design and Build Quality

OnePlus are relative newcomers to the scene, releasing their first build in 2014, in that time they have released 5 further builds, with the OnePlus 5 being the most recent. That turnaround it common in China, it’s where most of the parts designed by the other big phone companies are manufactured after all, and while that means the in house R&D is a bit lacking, the price point of the builds tends to be far lower than equivalent models from other firms. The issue I find with most Chinese builds is the quality of the warranty, being so small allows most of them to get away with things that big companies simply do not. OnePlus is big enough now to offer a comprehensive warranty on all of their builds, so not only are we getting the benefits of a western firm, but we also get those sweet prices indicative of the Chinese firms.

So let’s have a look at the build, ignoring the specs for a moment or two. A phone these days is more than a mini computer, it is also an accessory. I would hardly call myself a fashionista, but I would be lying if I said that the color palette on my phone wasn’t bought to match my desktop. What we have here is a finely designed piece, it comes in three colors, Midnight Black, Slate Grey and Soft Gold, though that last one is limited so good luck finding it. They come in gloss or matte finishes, and I am very taken with the matte finish. It’s a look that crops up every now and then, and I think it looks great. The screen real estate is impressive, a full 5.5″. It is not a bezel-less build, which seems to be the “it” thing being pushed, but there is very little wasted space. I don’t get the Bezel-less push, I mean, it requires extra software integrations to get it to work right and you end up cleaning your phone far more often, no need. Overall they did well, the design is both functional and stylish.

The OnePlus range uses their own version of Android, called OxygenOS, and the current version is 4.5.10, which is based on Android 7.1.1. It does the job, and you get native access to the Android store, but I would still recommend you flash in a new one when you get the time. I like customizing everything, and tweaking the settings of the hardware to get the most performance out of them, especially when I run more demanding games on my handset.

The quality of the hardware is far beyond what one would expect. We have the dual CPU chipset that is popular these days, a low power draw CPU and a higher power draw CPU. It’s to maximize battery life, with the lower end CPU spooled to 1.9GHz, and the high end one clocked at 2.45GHz. Those numbers mean less these days than they used to, but they are still a good at a glance benchmark for quality. The GPU is the most impressive thing to my mind, an Adreno 540, their top of the line GPU in that range. Won’t be for long, considering the turnaround time of these, but for now if you are looking to run Gamecube games on the go there are few out there that can match that. You’ll not get much time on battery running full burn for long, about three hours or so, but in idle it’ll go way past the day, so with standard use you’ll get a little over a day. There is a nice fast charging function, OPPO, the parent company of OnePlus, integrated their Dash Charge tech, which will get you about a day of normal use on a thirty-minute charge, no not too bad.

The phone comes in two different memory variants, and I advise you go for the higher end one, the 128GB flash and 8GB RAM, rather than the 64/6 build. 6GB of RAM is just not enough these days, and there is not card slot, something I miss on the Nexus 6 I can tell you, so erring on the side of caution is best. No RAM on mobile devices impresses me in terms of clock speed, with few breaking the 1k mark, but this one uses the LPDDR4X RAM, which has a lower power draw.

The Camera function of smartphones is not something I concern myself with on a day to day basis, but I get that for most it is the key thing. And companies have been sticking better and better cameras in their builds for a long time now. OnePlus were criticized for the camera on the OnePlus 3 et al., with it being blown out of the water by pretty much every other build in that price point. They have addressed those issues well here, with a dual camera set up, a stabilized 16MP Sony Exmor IMX398 for more conventional shooting and a high end 20MP Sony Exmor IMX350 with a telephoto lens, able to add a depth of field effect to images. The pictures I have taken with it are lovely, and all you shutter bugs out there would be well served by it. The front mounted camera is 16MP, so great for video calls and selfies. The listed 1.6X optical zoom is a bit of an exaggeration, and independent tests show only a 1.33X optical zoom. It also supports 4k video recordings, but due to the 1080p screen you are going to need to view them on another device if you want the full image clarity.

Now, there are a few issues with the build, the scrolling effect is my biggest pet peeve. There is a jelly effect that comes with the screen type used. It looks a little funky, and OnePlus claims that this is a feature, but I am not sold on it. Doesn’t take too long to get used to, but it is something I feel you need to know going in. There is also the fact that OnePlus’ released numbers regarding the benchmarks are a bit misleading, they OC’d the hardware to get them, leading to temperatures of around 50 Celsius. It’s still a beast, but not that big a beast.

Overall this phone has nearly everything you could want. Hardcore hardware, an excellent aesthetic design, cameras that are on par with, or better than, the latest iPhone and a battery life that will last you well over a day. In this day and age there is little else we can ask for.

OnePlus 5 Smartphone Smart Phone Pricing and Warranty

Now we get to the price, and in a quirk of fate, the OnePlus 5 is in the same ball park as the iPhone 7. One of the side effects of being a big name I’m afraid, so we are looking at $687.99 depending on the retailer. I have found it on sale, 35% off, so right now you can get the phone for $453.99, which is a bargain. Considering the specs of the build it would be impossible to find a comparable model in that price point.

The warranty is as impressive as I expected. We are looking at a full year of coverage, limited coverage, but still. That covers any faults that occur through normal use of the phone as well as factory problems. I tend to lean on the argument that any fault that happens within the first year of purchase should count as factory faults. I mean, if you use it as it is intended then it should not break, right? You may have to press the point, but you should be fine. You get 15 days from receipt of purchase to send it back for a replacement free of charge as well. They have an in house repair shop on hand to help with any damages not covered by the warranty.

The base price is a bit steep for me to be honest. One of the benefits of going with a Chinese firm is usually the price, but OnePlus have grown beyond that it seems, they are one of the big players, and that means you get the high price, but also the high end customer support. They could do better there, but right now it is well worth it. The discounted price point I found makes it so. If I were in the market for a new phone right now, this is the one I would get.

OnePlus 5 Smartphone Smart Phone Conclusion

So, we have a build that looks great, offering options in that regard, comes with the highest of high end specs, and a damn fine camera. The screen could be a higher res, but that is hardly a deal breaker. The price in general is not ideal, but right now it is the best on the market, from a dollar:quality ratio. The warranty is far from amazing, holding onto their origins a bit there, but it is better than the vast majority of Chinese warranties. Overall a great piece of kit.

As stated, where I in the market for a new phone right now, or anytime over the next 20 days or so, then the OnePlus 5 would be the one I would go with.

Current OnePlus 5 Discounts & Coupons

Click on the links below to use the coupon codes:

OnePlus 5 64G Gold (Item: PZ0076G-US-64)
Coupon：HYPGR64 ($26 discount)
Time: Aug. 30th — Sep. 30th

OnePlus 5 128G Grey (Item: PZ0076GY-US-128)
Coupon：HYPGR128 ($30 discount)
Time: Aug. 30th — Sep. 30th

The post OnePlus 5 Smartphone Review appeared first on Gazette Review.

Design

The OnePlus 3T has exactly the same design present on the OnePlus 3. While it’s not a radical new design, it’s still aesthetically pleasing, with an edge-to-edge glass panel covering the front, and metal all around the back. It looks a lot like the HTC One, but manages to keep just enough of the OnePlus 2 look to make it unique. While there’s a new Midnight Black color, the OnePlus 3T currently being sold by GearBest is the Gunmetal color. Across the front of the phone is the large 5.5″ display. It’s not groundbreaking by any means, and the screen-to-body ratio isn’t impressive either, but it’s a solid panel. Below the screen is the home button, which also functions as a fingerprint scanner. It’s one of the fastest fingerprint scanners I’ve ever used, and it’s seriously wowing.

As with all android phones with a hardware home button, the home button is flanked by back and recent apps switcher capacitive buttons, which are interchangeable via the settings app. The 3400mAh battery built into the OnePlus 3T is actually 100mAh larger than the 3300mAh battery inside of the OnePlus 5, but battery life is considerably better on the 5, due to software optimisations and the differing SoCs. As with the OnePlus 2,3, and 5, the OnePlus 3T has the vibrate switcher. This switcher is similar to the switcher on the iPhones, which changes whether notifications make a noise or stay as vibrations. Overall, the OnePlus 3T is a well-designed phone, and while it’s not too out-there, it’s still very good looking.

Build Quality

OnePlus has never had a problem with build quality, and the OnePlus 3T is no exception. It’s well made, and the materials used to make it are premium. It feels good in the hand, and there are no build quality problems. The only problem I have with the OnePlus 3T’s design would be the fact that the metal back is extremely slippery, and it wasn’t uncommon to suddenly lose grip while using it in the rain, or with wet hands. I’d recommend buying a case, such as an Otterbox case, to protect the phone from slips and drops, and to make the phone easier to grip.

Features

The OnePlus 3T largely stayed with the same design philosophy as the OnePlus 1 and 2. It took top-of-the-line hardware, and stuck it in a phone for as low price as possible. However, that does mean that there’s a lack of special features, like Samsung’s eye tracking software, and hovering screen, or Apple’s 3D touch. In my opinion, the most outstanding feature of the OnePlus 3T Dash Charge. Since the phone has such a large battery, at 3400mAh, normal charging would take almost half a day to charge it from 0-100%. Thanks to Dash Charge, the OnePlus 3T is capable of charging from 0-50% in just half an hour. That’s an impressive feat, and faster than even the iPhone 6s and 7, which both have tiny batteries compared to the 3400mAh monster in the OnePlus 3T.

Another standout feature of the OnePlus 3T is the fingerprint scanner. It’s extremely fast, and it’s also very accurate. While you might think that fingerprint scanners are fast enough, the fingerprint scanner on the OnePlus 3T is in a league of its own. It’s much quicker than the scanner on the iPhone 7, and also much more accurate, so there are less false negatives. It’s also on the front of the phone, so you can still unlock the phone easily even if it’s facing up on a table. From this lack of features, it’s clear that OnePlus has focused on the internal hardware of the phone, as opposed to the flashy new features, like the ones present on the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Display

As with all of OnePlus’s other phones, the OnePlus 3T has a large 5.5″ AMOLED panel on the front. It’s a fairly large and detailed display, but at 1920×1080, it doesn’t hold up against the 4K displays of today’s flagship phones. Still, at such an affordable price, it’s excusable. Although it’s not the most detailed display, it definitely makes up for it in brightness and viewing angles. As with most AMOLED displays, the display is visible at almost all viewing angles, but it’s also very vibrant and rich, something you don’t always find on non-AMOLED displays. Brightness is also excellent, and it’s easy to read, even outside. Sadly, the phone doesn’t employ the latest bezel-less display technology, like the Samsung Galaxy S8, or the Xiaomi Mi Mix, which has a huge 6.4″ display. Overall, the display on the OnePlus 3T is superb, only lacking the bleeding edge 4K resolution.

Hardware

Hardware is, and always has been the focus of OnePlus’s phones. From the OnePlus One all the way to the OnePlus 5, they’ve all excelled in the hardware department, and brought about numbers you wouldn’t have dreamed would be on a phone, such as having 3GB of RAM in 2014. The OnePlus 3T is no exception, and it’s even more focused on hardware than all the previous phones, since it’s a similar to an “S” variation of the previous phone, which usually is only hardware differences. The OnePlus 3T is an exceptionally powerful phone, with a powerful SoC and a huge amount of RAM. The Snapdragon 821 chip inside of the OnePlus 3T is paired with a whopping 6GB of RAM. While it’s overshadowed by the OnePlus 5’s 8GB, it’s still an impressive amount.

Keep in mind that 6GB is the same amount as the special variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8, and 2GB more than the 4GB present on the normal Samsung Galaxy S8. The Snapdragon 821 chip itself has a very powerful powerful CPU and GPU, namely the Adreno 530. The CPU is a quad core arrangement with 2×2.35 GHz Kryo and 2×1.6 GHz Kryo cores. Together, they provide good performance while also maintaining good battery life. In benchmarks, the OnePlus 3T performs a little worse than the OnePlus 5, but it’s not noticeable in real life usage. The OnePlus 5 scores 1963|6687 (Single Core | Multi Core), and the OnePlus 3T scored 1890|4364. Most of the difference here is made up by the multi-core score. Overall, even though the OnePlus 3T is an older device, it still performs admirably.

Hardware – Camera

Unlike the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 3T doesn’t have a dual camera setup. Instead, it has a single 16MP rear-facing camera which does all the shooting. This means that you lose the false bokeh effect of the OnePlus 5, but it’s still almost as good as the camera on raw photo quality. Low light performance is also good, but not quite as good as the low light performance of the OnePlus 5, due to the lower aperture of f/2.0 vs f/1.7. Aside from that, the camera is excellent, and the vivid yet natural colors show brilliantly on the AMOLED display. It’s wonderfully detailed at 16MP, and the autofocus is very fast. While the camera is great at taking photos, if you want the best in mobile phone photography, splash out and buy the OnePlus 5.

The OnePlus 3T also shoots video, and it does it very well. It’s capable of shooting 4K video at 30fps, or 1080p video at 60fps. While it’s standard issue for all flagship phones in 2017, a 4k30fps/1080p30fps camera on a mid-priced phone like this is a refreshing change. Video quality is good overall, with similar properties as the photos taken by the camera. Overall, the camera is excellent, especially in good lighting.

Connectivity

The OnePlus 3T version being sold by Gearbest is the Global version, which has more LTE bands than the local Chinese version. This is very useful, since with older OnePlus devices, it was common to have to fall back on a 3g connection, even if there was 4g available. As well as cellular connection, the OnePlus 3T comes with an array of all the usual connectivity options, including WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

It’s nice to see that the OnePlus 3T has USB Type-C, since it’s the latest standard, and it’s reversible. USB Type-C has only recently seen widespread adoption, whereas iPhone users have had reversible connectors since the iPhone 5.

Performance

The OnePlus 3T is still in what I call the “flagship speed status”, where the processor and GPU are in front of the performance curve, so they’re more powerful than the OS can demand in terms of visible slowdowns. This means that there’s absolutely no slowdowns whatsoever, and the phone runs perfectly fine. The OnePlus 3 is nearing the end of it’s flagship speed time, so expect the OnePlus 3T to follow suit soon. Even so, the OnePlus 3T is an extremely fast device, with heaps of RAM and power to spare. All manner of 3D games run perfectly fine, and everything from browsing Facebook to playing MC5 is buttery smooth. Multitasking is also a dream, thanks to the huge 6GB of RAM.

Operating System

All OnePlus devices, since the beta for the OnePlus One, have run Oxygen OS. The OnePlus 3T also runs Oxygen OS, and it’s one of the best custom ROMs out there today. While many Chinese manufacturers design over-the-top UIs around stock android, OnePlus keeps it simple. Unlike the likes of MIUI and Emotion OS, stock android is left mostly untouched, and untainted. That isn’t to say that OnePlus is being lazy – there are a few key features which make Oxygen OS better than stock Android, like the draw. Everything which OnePlus has added follows the same design language that stock Android does, so nothing sticks out. If you’re really not a fan of the draw, you can completely replace the home screen with Google Now Launcher, which will almost return the entire phone to stock, since not much else is touched.

Headphone Jack

The OnePlus 3T, unlike the iPhone 7, has a headphone jack. Even though the internals are much stronger and faster than many Android phones out there today, the OnePlus 3T still miraculously has space for a headphone jack. It’s not a bad one either, it sounds about on par with most other flagship phone 3.5mm jacks. It’s a real godsend on Android phones, since if you’re against wireless headphones, you’d need to buy a USB-C equipped headphone, or use a finicky dongle. Even so, I’d recommend you buy Bluetooth earphones, since they provide so much freedom over the wired sort, even if it means you have to charge them every night.

Battery Life

While it has a larger battery than the OnePlus 5 at 3400mAh vs 3300mAh, the OnePlus 5 has noticeably better battery life, thanks to an updated chip as well as optimisations. Even so, the OnePlus 3T has very good battery life, and is enough to last someone like me a whole day. I use my phone a lot, with a mixture of Facebook, Snapchat, and Messenger, as well as a bit of gaming and Reddit. If you’re a light user, you could be able to stretch the battery life to between 1.5-2 days, but I wouldn’t depend on it. The battery life on the OnePlus 3T is a considerable upgrade from the OnePlus 3, which had a paltry 3000mAh battery. Sadly, the battery on the OnePlus 3T isn’t user-replaceable, so after a few years, the battery life will worsen, and you may want to get the battery replaced.

Options

The OnePlus 3T comes in a variety of different colors – Gunmetal, Soft Gold, and now Midnight Black. I’d stay away from the Midnight Black color, as it looks like a wannabe OnePlus 5. My favorite is the Gunmetal version – it looks clean and inoffensive. The OnePlus 3T only comes in two RAM|ROM configurations, and that’s 6GB|64GB and 6GB|128GB. I prefer the 6GB|64GB version which should be more than enough storage for any normal user, but if you have a ton of stuff on your phone, you may want to purchase the 128GB version. It’s also a dual SIM phone, so you can use it for both home and work. However, unlike many other dual SIM phones, you can’t use an unused SIM slot as a micro-SD card slot, so there are no expandable storage options.

Wrap Up

The OnePlus 3T, though older than the OnePlus 5 is very nearly just as good, and much cheaper too. Even though it’s not quite as fast, it’s still one the fastest devices around. It’s a fast, good looking, cheap phone, and an all around stunner. You won’t get the flashy features of the OnePlus 5, and battery life isn’t the best, but for your money, you couldn’t hope for a better phone than the OnePlus 3T. If you’re looking for a phone around this price range, the OnePlus 3T is a no-brainer – the iPhone SE comes a close second, but it’s a completely different phone, with a screen about half the size.

If you’d like to purchase the OnePlus 3T at just $399.99, purchase it at GearBest.com:

The post OnePlus 3T Review – Great Value For Money appeared first on Gazette Review.

Design

Since OnePlus seems to be terrible at keeping secrets, we saw the design far far ahead of schedule. The OnePlus 5 bears a jarring resemblance to the iPhone 7 Plus, with the same antenna lines, overall shape, and dual camera setup. Though it is similar to the iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 is a great looking phone, so the OnePlus 5 looks good too. The OnePlus 5 is also the thinnest phone that OnePlus has ever made, though I’d rather it be a bit thicker for a larger battery. A feature unique to both the iPhone 7 and the OnePlus 5 is the silence switch. While most other Android phones have done away with it, OnePlus has kept it. I find it insanely useful, as I can quickly change the ring/silent without looking.

The design is fairly conventional. It has a normal screen-to-body ratio, and it doesn’t try to be the future concerning design. It takes a regular approach to a smartphone, which saves money on design. Though it’s not that futuristic regarding design, it’s still on the bleeding edge in performance, and that’s the most important part. Overall, it’s a good looking phone, and it feels good in the hand. It comes in Midnight Black and Slate Gray, and I personally favour the Midnight Black.

Features

The OnePlue 5 packs an impressive set of features for its price. As standard, there’s an ultrafast fingerprint scanner at the bottom, doubling as a home button, flanked by two touch-sensitive capacitive buttons. A standout feature of the OnePlus 5, carried over from the OnePlus 3T is Dash Charge. Since the battery on the OnePlus 5 is a relatively large 3300mAh, Dash charge allows it to charge from 0-75% in just half an hour. That’s an impressive feat, and it’d be immensely useful for situations like coffee shops. As with any Android smartphone, the OnePlus 5 has it’s array of connectivity options.

Hardware – Power

The OnePlus 5 is the fastest Android phone on the market right now. It has a Snapdragon 835 processor with up to a whopping 8GB of LP-DDR4 RAM, which is the same amount of RAM as my MacBook Pro. Those specs alone ensure that the OnePlus 5 will stay at the top of it’s game for many years to come. There’s also a 6GB/64GB (RAM/ROM) version, but if you’re buying a super powerful phone, you might as well get the top one.

While all of the internals in the OnePlus 5 are already very powerful, OnePlus decided to give it a little boost in benchmarks, to artificially increase the scores it gets. It’s a little dishonest, but the real speeds are so good there’s no reason to discredit the phone on that. The take away point here is, the OnePlus 5 is the fastest Android phone out there, so you don’t need to worry in the slightest about power.

Hardware – Camera

The biggest new feature of the OnePlus 5 is obviously the camera. In fact, the first ever official public unveiling of the design of the phone stressed “Dual Cameras. Clearer Pictures”. Instead of one simply being a telephoto lens, it has taken the iPhone 7 Plus of attempting to create a DOF (depth-of-field) effect on portrait shots. A reason why you never see blurred backgrounds on shots taken on phones is because of the fact that the small cameras (and therefore, apertures) are unable to make that effect. With the help of these dual cameras, and OnePlus’s own algorithms, OnePlus hopes to change that. While OnePlus doesn’t have the research or manpower equivalent to that of Apple, it’s algorithms still do a very good job, though they aren’t as polished as Apple’s.

Interestingly, the sensor on the 2x telephoto lens has a higher megapixel count (20MP) than the normal sensor (16MP). What the telephoto lens lacks is the aperture. The normal lens has an impressively low F-stop at just 1.7, vs 2.6 for the telephoto. The front facing camera is also impressive, at 16MP and F-2.0 aperture, but the main killers here are the dual rear cameras. Overall, pictures taken with the OnePlus 5 look great, even in low light conditions. Video is fairly stock standard here, nothing too fancy. It can take 4K video at 30fps, and 1080p video at 60fps. I’ve mentioned this many times before, but I’m going to hold off on buying a phone until I can get 4k video at 60fps, though that could prove to be a long time.

Display

The OnePlus 5 has a large screen, at 5.5 inches. While that used to sound absolutely huge, it’s dwarfed by the Xiaomi Mi Mix (6.4 inches!). It’s still a respectable screen, but it’s still not as sharp as many Android screens are, at only Full HD (1920×1080) resolution. Although it isn’t bad at all, if you’re planning to use your phone with a VR headset, a higher resolution display is a must. The display itself is beautiful, and it displays colours with accuracy and vibrancy. Like the iPhone 7, it can display the DCI P3 color gamut, which is a welcome addition. Viewing angles are great, and overall, the screen feels right at home on a flagship device.

Operating System

Like all of OnePluses previous phones, the OnePlus 5 runs a custom ROM over stock Android. OnePlus has designed its own custom ROM called Oxygen OS, and it’s fast and fluid. While Xiaomi likes to fill the OS with as much uniqueness as possible, OnePlus has kept Android stock, and all modifications made by OnePlus have all followed Material Design Rules. With Oxygen OS, you get a “draw” with all of your oft-used apps, among other useful things. Compared to stock Android, it’s definitely an upgrade. If you don’t like the modifications, it’s okay, as most of them are unobtrusive and can be turned off, and all of them follow googles own design principles.

Headphone Jack

Although the OnePlus 5 takes after the iPhone 7 Plus in design, what it doesn’t copy is the headphone jack, or rather, the lack of one. The OnePlus 5 retains the “legacy” headphone jack, so you can keep listening to the music you love through good old-fashioned wired headphones. OnePlus sells its own set of “bullets”, but personally I haven’t tried them, so I can’t comment on their sound.

Battery Life

The OnePlus 5, on paper, has pretty weak battery statistics. For its body size and power, it has only a 3300mAh non-removable battery. It’s also a downgrade from the OnePlus 3T, which had a 3400mAh battery. Even so, real world battery life is impressive, and it easily got me through a full day. This all-day battery life for me was good, but since it is a non-removable battery, battery life will make the phone lose it’s stamina over time. Against the likes of the Xiaomi Mi Mix and the Xiaomi Mi Note 2, and their 4000 mAh+ batteries, the OnePlus 5 can’t compete, but compared to most phones, the iPhone in particular, it’s respectable. In fact, it seems to do better in battery tests than it’s predecessor, the OnePlus 3T, even though it had a bigger battery.

Performance Options

The OnePlus 5 is the most expensive phone OnePlus has ever made. Even in its base configuration, it’s a full $40 more expensive than the OnePlus 3T, which was $40 more than the OnePlus 3. That’s a shame, but as OnePlus matures as a company, they ought to increase their prices a little. However, if you’re shelling out the cash for the OnePlus 5, I’d recommend that you’d go all the way and get the 8GB/128GB (RAM/ROM) version. For the extra $60, you’re getting another 2GB of LP-DDR4 RAM, and another 64GB of UFS2.1 2-LANE storage. This ensures that you won’t ever run out of storage on your phone, and if you’re a power user, the extra RAM will help. The benefits of the extra 2GB of RAM may not be apparent now, but a year or two down the road, it may make a world of difference. It’s only another $60, and it’s a good amount of kit for that price.

Wrap Up

The OnePlus 5 is the best, most expensive phone that OnePlus has ever made. It doesn’t have too many special features, and stick to a conventional design, but what it does, it does well. Its dual camera setup is great, and the performance is second to none. Although it’s creeping into real flagship prices, it’s still a good all around phone at a good price. If you’re looking for the fastest phone out there at any price, this is it.

The post OnePlus 5 Review – Pure Speed appeared first on Gazette Review.