OnePlus 5T review – almost matches iPhone, Samsung and Sony’s best, and at half the price
Latest smartphone from Chinese handset maker doesn’t quite have the bells and whistles of the top brands’ flagships, but there’s little difference and the 5T costs less than half as much as top-end Apple, Samsung, Sony and HTC models
Since 2014, Shenzhen-based OnePlus has made a big name for itself, its models always well reviewed, it is probably the best loved Chinese phone brand for Android fans in the West. The company produces handsets with clean software and mostly the same internal specs as flagship smartphones from Samsung, HTC and Sony, but at half the price or less.
Review: OnePlus 5 is the best smartphone you can buy, bar none
The catch was that users often had to compromise a little in terms of style: the first two OnePlus phones were bulky and had a rugged back that was practical but not sleek; the more recent 5 (released in June) was an excellent device but had dated bezels compared to other top Androids.
With the 5T, the company has just about nailed it.
Design and hardware
The OnePlus 5T features – stop me if you’ve heard this before – a 6-inch, 18:9 OLED display sandwiched top and bottom by thin bezels; a Snapdragon 835 processor; dual cameras and a fingerprint reader on the back, all in a sleek unibody package.