The OnePlus 7T is quite the upgrade over the standard OnePlus 7, sporting a larger 6.55-inch display, a bigger battery, faster charging and a new triple rear camera setup housed within a unique circular camera module. No doubt it is the finest ‘non-Pro’ OnePlus phone (offering similar features but at an affordable price) to date, but how good exactly is it? Come along as we explore the good and the bad of the device in this review.
Hardware and Design
On the front, it looks very similar to the OnePlus 7, although, the display is slightly taller than the OnePlus 6T and 7, giving it a longer 20:9 screen-to-body ratio.
In the age of curved displays, the flat 6.55-inch AMOLED display feels almost refreshing and way more comfortable for daily use. Once you try the 90Hz screen it’s easy to fall in love, simply scrolling around the phone feels weird in the best way, since most displays you use everyday are 50Hz or 60Hz. Adding it to the 7T was an excellent move.
It is also HDR10+ certified, meaning it can properly display content with more color and contrast information between pure black and pure white (in simple words, movies and TV shows look fantastic from all angles). Services such as Netflix are actively adding HDR content for consumption (the phone comes with Netflix pre-installed).
Like OnePlus other phones (6T, 7 & 7 Pro), OnePlus 7T is also wrapped in a soft-touch glass, with slightly more acute curves. Housed in this matte-frosted glass back is an all-new circular camera module, featuring almost the same set of cameras as OnePlus 7 Pro (more on this later).
The small and light form factor makes the entire device feel ever-so-slightly more comfortable in the hand. Obviously, the sizable new circular camera notch does have quite an effect on the overall balance of the phone too, making it a little top-heavy even in the palm. But still it’s easy to use with one hand, and fits snugly into a pocket – although it would’ve be better if you get a case, as its smooth finish makes it a little slippery (and there’s plenty of glass to break here).
The most notable improvement in this device was its brand new haptic motor which provides for even more satisfying buzzes and vibrations. Although it may not be of the same level as OnePlus 7 Pro but still it’s better than OnePlus 6T.
Its available in two distinct colors; Glacier Blue & Nebula Blue. We may see more color variants down the line, as with previous generations of OnePlus devices, but so far there’s no news on additional shades.
Software and Performance
The company’s motto has long been “fast and smooth,” and it’s no surprise the OnePlus 7T continues that heritage. It’s running the new Oxygen OS 10.0 based on Android 10 (Google’s latest operating system), that along with the combination of the internals, the 90Hz display, ultra-fast UFS 3.0 storage and the lightweight skin itself is what keeps this thing running so quickly.
This device features the Qualcomm’s premier Snapdragon 855 Plus processor, which is only in a couple of devices so far. The overclocked CPU is clearly focused on gaming, with a pretty significant 15 percent boost to the GPU over the 855 that powers the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro.
You’ll definitely love the Oxygen OS, OnePlus’ Android skin. It’s simple and streamlined. The company has consistently emphasized heavily on optimizing the scrolling, animations, and transitions within the interface for a smoother experience, and it shows.
Based on Android 10’s gestures, the new gesture system feel a little more thought through on the 7T, with visual upgrades of the gesture bar being a prime example of the enhancements.
New customization feature allows you to choose the shape of icons (the options include square, round, teardrop, and rectangle). What makes the OxygenOS likable is that it is void of unnecessary clutter, but still allows enough customizations to keep the feel of Android alive.
Like other OnePlus 7-series phones, the 7T handles everything you throw at it without any hiccup or issue.
Camera
The rear camera setup comprises a 48MP wide-angle camera, a 16MP ultra-wide camera, and a 12MP telephoto lens. As mentioned above, this housing feature almost the same set of cameras as OnePlus 7 Pro, with the only difference of 2x telephoto zoom lens, down from the 3x telephoto shooter in the OnePlus 7 Pro.
While the camera on the OnePlus 7 Pro wasn’t that great given its price, the 7T convincingly justifies its price tag. The camera feels like a significant improvement, it’s pretty fast to focus and shoot across all three lenses, the images are sharp (but not over-sharpened), and colors are overall great too, with some impressive software wizardry on tap to optimize your images.
The front camera clicks decent selfies. Images are sharp and have good color, and even look decent in low-light situations.
Overall, the camera system in this device is excellent. At this price range, it’s hard to beat this shooter unless you compare it to the Pixel 3a.
Battery Life & Charging
This device comes with a 3800mAh battery that’s slightly bigger than the one in OnePlus 7, and although it has a more power-hungry larger 90Hz display, the impact on battery life is minimal.
The screen-on time figure will easily reach at least 6 hours on a regular day. Beyond that will definitely depend on just how you use your phone day-to-day.
The OnePlus 7T comes with improved fast-charging tech, which the company calls Warp Charge 30T. OnePlus says it’s 23% faster than the previous version of its charging tech and claims it’ll get you from empty to 70% in just 30 minutes.
Verdict
At the moment, it’s the best ‘T’ upgrade to any OnePlus phone and an attractive proposition for those who find the OnePlus 7 Pro too bulky. The display is excellent, and performance is as good as that of the 7 Pro and the fast-charging speed is even faster.
At $599 (in the US), the 7T does not face a lot of competition with the overall package it offers. So, if you’re looking for a phone that does everything well (and is a lot of fun to us) there is nothing better for you than OnePlus 7T.