OnePlus 5T: The Morning After
- Paul Thurrott
- Nov 23, 2017
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37
Sometimes a deal seems too good to be true. And you start looking for that one flaw, the gimmick that betrays how you’ve been had.
That is not the case with the OnePlus 5T.
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Two opposing qualifiers before I get all giddy on you. First, we’re only 24 hours into this, and we need to put what I’m about to write in perspective. But on the other hand, I’m not exactly known for irrational exuberance, and I test enough hardware that something has to be truly impressive for me to freak out over it.
The OnePlus 5T is truly impressive.
Here is a $500-ish flagship smartphone that meets, and in some cases beats, the $1000-ish market leaders. That isn’t just the sweet spot of value, it’s the answer to a riddle that’s bedeviled me in this age of ever-more-expensive phones. Is it possible to deliver flagship specifications at mid-tier prices and do so without some deal-killing compromise.
I think about this stuff all the time. As I wrote back in April in A Tale of Three Smartphones, “I am all about value, and from a morally responsible standpoint, I am no fan of the throwaway culture that has emerged in the wake of the iPhone … as a reviewer, as a human being, I have a hard time, often, recommending very expensive devices when I know that many readers cannot even afford them to begin. Heck, I can’t afford them either.”
Since writing that article, in which the OnePlus 3T played a role, OnePlus has released two flagship phones, the OnePlus 5 in June and then the OnePlus 5T this past week, just six months later. That’s a blistering pace even for the smartphone industry, and there’s a discussion to be had there, I guess. But let’s stay focused. Because the OnePlus 5T is fricking awesome.
How do I even begin to explain this without seeming to babble like an excited child on Christmas morning?
Compose yourself, Paul.
Here’s the skinny: For roughly half the price of a Google Pixel 2 XL, OnePlus provides roughly the same phone.
There are some differences, of course.
The OnePlus 5T’s 6-inch 18:9 display runs at “just” 2160 x 1080, but it is deep and rich and nicely detailed. And in a variety of lighting conditions, it is as vibrant as that of the Pixel 2 XL. I have a hard time telling them apart.
Sans cases, the two devices are likewise very similar: The seem to weigh almost identically in the hand, but the OnePlus 5T is clearly the thinner of the two.
My early camera tests have surprised me: The OnePlus 5T camera system appears to work quite well, and while it is perhaps falls just short of the excellent Pixel 2 XL camera, it works well in low-light situations. My side-by-side camera tests have, so far, resulted in a toss-up. Some photos are better on the Pixel 2 XL, some are better on the OnePlus 5T.
My gut feeling on the camera is that the Pixel will prevail. But I also feel that the OnePlus 5T camera is good enough for virtually anyone. It is a stunning achievement that, again, must be put into perspective by noting the relative prices of these devices.
Not everything about the OnePlus 5T is perfect, of course. It comes with a headphone jack, which is preferred, but it has only a single mono speaker, which is unacceptable in 2017. I’m sure it’s difficult figuring out how to route sound on these new-age near bezel-less displays. But even Google has figured it out.
From a hardware design perspective, overall, OnePlus 5T gets the clear nod. You’d think that two black slabs with the same basic design couldn’t be all that different, and you’d be right, from a high level. But it’s the little things. The OnePlus 5T feels better in the hand, thanks to its elegant metal construction. It’s prettier, with more elegantly curved corners. And it’s slightly less wide.
But it’s not just the hardware.
The Android-based Oxygen OS that OnePlus supplies with its devices is closer to the “pure Android” ideal than is the version of Android that Google itself supplies on its Pixel phones. It is also more customizable out of the box, meaning that it includes more tools, in Settings and elsewhere, that let you change things like system fonts and icon shapes, and more more capabilities, like parallel apps.
That is the very essence of open. It is the very ideal of Android, though you don’t get it from Google. It’s … incredible. And it will require a lot of exploration. You can really meld this thing to your needs, and do so without investigating any third-party apps.
Some have criticized OnePlus for shipping this device with an OS based on Android 7.1.1 when Android 8.0 Oreo has already arrived. But the firm explained this ably during the OnePlus 5T announcement, I think, noting that it prefers to ship a solid OS upgrade a few months after a major Android update to shipping a buggy upgrade—cough, Apple—and then having to patch it incessantly. And those who do wish to jump right to Android 8.0 Oreo can do so this month anyway: The open beta starts any day now.
I also love the community that OnePlus has built around its ecosystem. And one might argue that it is this community, whose announcements and forums can be accessed through the Community app on the phone, is a key strength. That app? Yeah, it’s customizable too, so you can access information about the devices and topics that matter most to you.
Anyway. It’s early yet. I know. But I am drawn to this device, attracted to this beautiful thing which can be had without a second mortgage. It’s the Nexus dream I’ve often expressed, and that Google has abandoned, alive and well in this other home. I wrote previously that OnePlus “gets it,” and this device confirms it, already. After just a day. It’s obvious.
So I’ll keep testing it. I’ll wait to see whether the OnePlus 5T lets me down in some major way, requires some caveat. But I don’t think it’s going to happen. No, it doesn’t support Project Fi, which is a tough one for me personally. But that doesn’t impact most people. And when you add up the capabilities here and cross that with the pricing … It just doesn’t seem possible. And yet here it is.
More soon.
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Conversation 37 comments
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#220201"><em>In reply to lilmoe:</em></a></blockquote><p>"and both use custom parts"</p><p><br></p><p>This will mean more and more each year. Apple is way out in the lead with this custom chip stuff right now. It will begin to make a huge difference. There will be custom features that require specific OS and hardware that work together.</p><p><br></p><p>Samsung is the only one that can also do this right now on the Android side but they do not make the OS. Google needs to do this.</p><p><br></p><p>If they don't in a few years Android will be seen as the "OK" smartphones with a "good enough" hardware/ software and Apple will be seen as the clear technology leader with features that simply can't be matched by a Android solution. Face ID, which is way better on the iPhone X is an example of this.</p>
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Bats
<p>Here's a question: If the Pixel 2 XL was on $450-500 would it be worth getting that phone over the OnePlus 5T? Right now, that's the price for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday special going on for Verizon if you go switch to their Unlimited Plan. </p><p><br></p><p>Look, the OnePlus 5T is a good phone. It's a like a top of the line Lexus to Pixel's Mercedes. The consensus around the Android Community is that OnePlus 5T is no where in the class of the Pixel.</p><p><br></p><p>I see where Paul is trying to go here, but like I've always said….I always felt that Paul steers you in the wrong way. Paul called the Samsung Galaxy phones a great phone, but he never really used it to truly experience TouchWiz? Then he goes off to write that the Galaxy phones are just sooooooooooooo premium, that they can overprice their phone. LOL…this is a guy who tells everybody that the Xbox One is the better gaming console despite the sharing issues, the Xbox Live Gold membership to pay for Netflix and other apps, the cable pass-thru, etc…. LOL…then mostly everyone buys the PS4. Or how about when Paul convinces you to buy a Windows Phone and it fails….and your investment shrivels down the toilet. Or how about when he tells you how GREAT the Microsoft Band is and then …. *poof*…..it disappears, only to be followed by Windows Phone later. This is a guy who buys digital media from all the virtual stores and then goes out to look for a solution where they can all be consolidated to one platform for ease of use. LOL…remember his "Woku?" Wouldn't it just be easier to buy all media from one reliable place, rather than buy one movie from Amazon, one from Apple, one from Microsoft, etc…..? BOY, I could go on forever? Paul is the guy who tells people that Xbox One with Kinect, costing $399 gives far better value than the $299 PS4, because you get a Kinect with it. LOL! And Paul thinks that he has the capability to write articles such "OnePlus gets it?"</p><p><br></p><p>The point of all this, is that Paul analysis and review of products is often skewered. This is a guy who review products from his own eyes and not from the viewpoint of people from the real world. </p><p><br></p><p>Another thing? Didn't Paul order the OnePlus 3 and stated that he loved it….after he complained about the Pixel? Then……he goes back to the Pixel?! HUH???</p><p><br></p><p>I clearly don't understand this guy? With all the stuff he has gotten wrong, I can't see how anyone can get any value being a premium member? </p><p><br></p><p>I would love to see Paul go out of his Microsoft bubble….not even,……but his own bubble and participate in general tech roundtable discussions and present his thoughts and argument with other tech people and hear what they say about it. </p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#220385"><em>In reply to MoopMeep:</em></a></blockquote><p>First off COD is simply trash. I just finished the single player game on the Xbox One X. I was hoping for the glory days of COD (MW). The SP was pretty good. Heavy on the rails (scripted) but defense quality and it looked amazing on the X. The MP game is simply HORRIBLE.</p><p><br></p><p>The PS4 version is not better, in fact the X version is better than the PS4 Pro version in may ways. Sony paid Activision to get stuff early. Early as in 14-30 days earlier. After that it is the same content on both. </p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft used to pay Activision for years to do the same thing. COD games on the 360 had the same early content advantage and Battlefield games were on the PS. They have essentially swapped now. Battlefield games get early content on the Xbox and there are Battlefield Xbox versions.</p><p><br></p><p>Battlefield games are 100x better than COD games these days. BF1 MP is 1000x times better than that joke COD MP.</p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#220271"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p>"Xbox One is the better gaming console despite the sharing issues, the Xbox Live Gold membership to pay for Netflix and other apps, the cable pass-thru, etc…. LOL…then mostly everyone buys the PS4."</p><p><br></p><p>What sharing issues are you talking about? I know people that game share with each other and they each get to play each others games, even on MP. Fantastic feature really.</p><p><br></p><p>Who buys a PS4 and not PSN to use Netflix?????????? Answer no one. </p><p><br></p><p>I never use those media apps on either the PS4 or the Xbox One because my TV's have those apps, or my Apple TV's have those apps plus other stuff I get from the Apple world.</p><p><br></p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#220275"><em>In reply to FalseAgent:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't get it. It is not even on the latest version. Without Google and its OS/Store/Apps it would be nothing.</p>
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Stooks
<p>iPhone X.</p>
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wocowboy
Premium Member<p>The reason the 5T ships with Android 7.1.1 is because Google requires that all phones shipping with Oreo will henceforth be required to comply with the Google Treble program that provides timely security updates to ALL those devices. By shipping with Nougat, OnePlus is not required to comply and they publicly said they will not be complying with the Treble program. This is unacceptable and adds to the Android fragmentation situation. I know Paul has tried desperately to claim that fragmentation is not a real problem, but it really is, as hundreds of millions of users' data, identities, and security is at significant risk every day because their phones do not receive updates at all, or only once or twice during the "life" of the device, which is just simply unacceptable imho. </p>