JOIN USOnePlus 7T: A great performer for the price
The recently launched OnePlus 7T does not get a major upgrade over the OnePlus 7 Pro that was launched earlier this year. But then, it is still the high-performance smartphone and is a potent flagship killer that the company brings out.
The first difference is the upgrade from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 to the 855 Plus in the 7T 8 GB RAM and 256 GB UFS 3.0 storage version that we tested. While the 7 Pro has a popup selfie camera, the 7T has a neatly placed teardrop notch front 16-megapixel shooter. Apart from these, the only other difference is the horizontal three-lens main camera setup.
Thirdly, the charging time is faster by 23 per cent, the company says.
Design and build quality:
OnePlus have consistently brought out stunning looking sets and this is no different. The front and back are Gorilla Glass and the frame is made of aluminium.
The top of the phone has just the microphone.
The right side has the ring-vibrate-silent mode slider switch and this is a great feature to have on a smartphone as it allows the user to quickly change from, say, ring to silent mode without having to go into the settings. Apart from this, there is the power button on the right side.
The bottom has the speaker, Type-C charging/ earphone port, a microphone and the SIM tray.
The left side has just the volume rocker button.
The front, apart from the selfie camera, features an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, unlike the 7 Pro that we reviewed, the display is not seen on the curved part. There is a black frame on the front, which also has the front firing speaker that is barely noticeable.
The rear has the three camera lenses and an LED flash. The Glacier Blue set that we reviewed looks very nice. However, it is best to use the supplied phone protection case that is supplied in the box as the back feels slightly slippery like the 7 Pro.
Overall, the design is very nice.
Display:
The OnePlus 7T has a 6.55-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400x1080 pixels, a density of 402 PPI and an aspect ratio of 20:9. This is lesser than the resolution of the 7 Pro (3120x1440 pixels, 516 PPI) but the 7T’s display did not feel inferior and still performed very well. Viewing 4K video clips was a great experience.
The 7T also gets the 90 Hz refresh rate screen and can be switched to 60 Hz.
The set has the Oxygen OS based on Android 10 and navigating is easy. One interesting feature OnePlus has added is the on-screen line almost across the entire bottom width. A flick from the bottom bezel upwards takes the user back to the home screen (gesture feature) and the three bottom on-screen buttons have been done away with.
As usual, the 7T comes with live wallpapers and it adds to the appeal of the set.
Must read | OnePlus 7 Pro review
Performance:
The main processing power comes from the octa-core, 7 nm, 2.96 GHz maximum clock speed with Qualcomm AI Engine. The GPU is the Adreno 640.
The 855 Plus chipset and 8 GB RAM is a rather powerful combination and is an overkill for light users, mostly those who use a smartphone for email, YouTube, WhatsApp and other commonly used apps.
Having said that, the processing power comes to use while playing games like Asphalt 9. And it is expected of this chipset too.
Camera:
Main rear camera: 48 MP f/1.6 with Sony IMX586 sensor with OIS and EIS
Telephoto: 12 MP f/2.2
Ultra wide angle: 16 MP f/2.2
Front camera: 16 MP f/2.0 with Sony IMX471 sensor with EIS
The main triple and selfie cameras perform extremely well. The colours look great and more than that, the detail captured is extremely good. Moreover, the bokeh is good and makes the subject stand out.
Battery and charging:
The charging time of the 3800 mAh battery has been reduced with the Warp Charge 30T now. OnePlus says that the 30T will now charge the battery from zero to about 70 per cent in 30 minutes. In our test, the battery did charge up to 74 per cent in 30 minutes and full charge took 54 minutes.
In real-world usage, a full charge will keep the phone going for almost two days with light usage.
In conclusion:
For a handset that costs Rs 39,999 (8 GB+256 GB), the 7T is value for money and lives up to the hype. So, this is a set we would recommend.
There is an option of 8 GB RAM with 128 GB of internal storage if that is enough for one’s use. This costs Rs. 37,999.
Apart from Glacier Blue, the 7T is available in Frosted Silver for the cheaper handset.
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