OnePlus 5T review

Android and interface

• Android 7.1.2 out the box, with Oreo arriving in 2018
• Oxygen OS overlay provides plenty of customization

The OnePlus 5T runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat out of the box. Now this is a little disappointing that despite such great overall package, the phone doesn't ship with the latest Android 8.0 Oreo.

However, giving some relief, the company has confirmed that OnePlus 5 and 5T users will be receiving Oreo OTA update in early 2018.

OnePlus has, as always, opted for Oxygen OS on top top of Android, which is very close to stock in terms of appearance and adds in some extra customization options. This is not just more flexible, but also allows you to adjust elements of the software according to your need.

Simple options include swapping in and out quick settings in the notification shade, as well as choosing which icons you want to appear, and those that you don't, in the notification bar. 

You can also swap the on-screen navigation keys around, and assign 'long press' tasks to them, giving you more shortcuts at your fingertips.

There is, as usual, a gesture section in the settings menu, where you can assign off screen actions dedicated to a particular task. Moreover, you get an option to swipe down on the fingerprint sensor to pull down the notification share, which comes very handy for a phone as tall as the 5T, as you don't need to stretch your thumb all the way to the top of the screen. 

Similar to the Galaxy S8, the OnePlus 5T also has an option to hide navigation keys to make the most out of that display. You can always swipe up from the bottom to use it. 

Then there's Parallel Apps, is a new feature for OnePlus. This enables you to clone certain apps, allowing you to log in to two different accounts. Supported apps include Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Skype and Snapchat. 

Parallel apps is an interesting option to have, and for people like us who manage between work and personal accounts, it's a blessing. It's pretty easy to enable and use, and Parallel apps have a small orange badge to distinguish the primary app from the clone.

I personally am a stock Android guy, but when it comes to custom skin, I find the Oxygen OS to be most sensible one. It allows you to set up your OnePlus 5T in a more personal way by keeping the richness of stock Android alive.

Movies, music and gaming

The immersive display of the OnePlus 5T is amazing for consuming video content without a doubt. With that extra real estate and AMOLED display panel, movies pack extra punch with bolder colors. 

While the output from the loudspeaker is highly impressive and loud, the placement is a little awkward as we always say. It gets blocked while holding the phone in landscape mode. But if you compare the audio to dual front-facing speakers such as those on Pixel 2, the 5T has a lot of distance to cover.

On a positive note, the 5T still packs the 3.5mm audio jack, which is very convenient (believe me on this) when compared to the fiddly adapter.

The 'do not disturb' mode on the Oxygen OS interface removes the risk of accidental taps on the navigation keys and also prevents notifications from spoiling your gaming experience. Although the feature is nothing new to phones, but it's still a welcome addition on the 5T.

Performance

• Flagship Snapdragon 835 chipset
• 6GB/8GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage

The OnePlus 5T has the same flagship chipset Snapdragon 835 from Qualcomm which is running inside the OnePlus 5 and most other Android flagship phones launched in 2017. The 5T comes with 6GB and 8GB RAM options having 64GB and 128GB internal storage respectively. This certainly hints about the power this phone can produce, and we've already experienced it on OnePlus 5. 

This configuration running Android Nougat with a neat OxygenOS kind of skin is an overkill. As expected, even we didn't face any performance issues with the smartphone.

Something OnePlus has never been fond of is the inclusion of microSD slot. With the brand appealing to early adopters and power users, the lack of expandable storage will be a real bugbear for some. In a market like India where majority of users are still far away from total cloud adoption, the demand for extra physical storage is not going to die.

We ran Geekbench 4 on the OnePlus 5T, and the handset scored an average of 6663 on the multi-core test. That's pretty much on a par with the OnePlus 5, which averaged 6716 in the same benchmark test, as well as rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 (6630) and Google Pixel 2 (6260).

All this concludes to a fact that this phone can effortlessly handle pretty much anything you throw at it. Gaming, multitasking and split-screen applications are all handled with an ease. We didn't find the device getting weirdly hot at any point of time, but we still have to wait and use it during the summer in a city like Delhi.

The fingerprint sensor is also as snappy as it was on the OnePlus 5. Very fast.