OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 3T: What’s New With the Flagship Phone?

We compare the two OnePlus phones and see who comes out on top.

What does OnePlus 5 get over the OnePlus 3T? (Photo: The Quint)

OnePlus unwrapped its latest flagship phone, OnePlus 5, on Tuesday. This is the first OnePlus phone to feature dual cameras at the back, and a design language that’s got everyone talking (for various reasons).

OnePlus 5 takes over the mantle of flagship for the brand from OnePlus 3T which was only announced (and had dethroned the OnePlus 3) late last year.

While most of you would position the OnePlus 5 as a flagship alternative, we’d still consider comparing it with its predecessor and seeing what’s new with the OnePlus 5. Also, this could help you decide if this is a logical upgrade from the OnePlus 3 or the 3T.

Design

OnePlus 3 and 3T ticked every box that a smartphone should offer, including its value for money. With OnePlus 5, it feels the company has somewhat gone sideways with its design approach, giving you a phone that looks identical to the iPhone 7 Plus.

Yes, it’s not as bulky as the latter with its 7.2-mm thickness, but even then critics have been quick to point out the obvious similarities between the two, except for their brand logos.

Does that mean OnePlus 5 should be looked down upon? In today’s competitive market, OnePlus is merely going by what a consumer would like to have, so in that sense, you can finally get an iPhone look-alike that runs on Android. Unlike the Apple iPhone 7 Plus, OnePlus 5 retains the 3.5-mm audio jack, offers dual-SIM support and a bigger battery as well.

Hardware That Screams Flagship!

It’s good to see that OnePlus hasn’t gone overboard with the display, staying true to its tried-and-tested 5.5-inch Full-HD screen. Everything except for that (and the front camera) is new. Powered by Snapdragon 835 for a phone under 40K is a big achievement when you consider the others on the list are Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC U11 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium.

If that’s not impressive enough, then 6/8GB RAM options with 64/128GB storage will be more than sufficient for normal usage. In fact, we’ll go a step further and say this would probably be overkill for most of us.

You get Bluetooth 5.0, high-speed Wi-Fi, USB Type C with dash charging and a slew of other features that make the $479 price tag of OnePlus 5 upgrade-worthy. The phone’s battery gets trimmed down from 3400mAh to 3300mAh but with fast-charging, let’s hope it doesn’t bog down the phone’s life.

Dual Cameras Ahoy

OnePlus wanted its smartphone to compete with a DSLR camera, which became possible by adding two cameras at the back, Carl Peid, Co-founder of OnePlus had said.

With a 20-megapixel tele-photo lens and a 16-megapixel sensor at the back, OnePlus 5 does compete there. You also get a 16-megapixel shooter on the front. We’re yet to test the camera capability of the phone, but going by the optics on offer, we expect the OnePlus 5 to deliver impressive results.

Keep Pushing Android, Guys

Ever since OnePlus said that the OnePlus 2 will not be upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat, consumers have felt betrayed by the brand. After all, they had promised to roll out the version earlier.

So, when OnePlus 5 was announced, I was keen to see their software push, which comes with Android 7.1 Nougat out-of-box. What are the odds that OnePlus’s latest flagship phone misses the Android bus? Let’s hope they’re slim.

Worth the Money?

OnePlus 5 has been priced at $479 in the US and we’re waiting for 22 June to know the Indian pricing of the phone. As for its value, going by what OnePlus has shared till now, there isn’t much wrong with the device. High-end hardware, dual cameras, new set of features – all make this a compelling product that most of you would go for.

Stay tuned to know how much the OnePlus 5 will cost in India.