OnePlus 7T Review: Even Better

The OnePlus 7T is essentially the OnePlus 7 Pro with a few key details changed, just a smidgen. Today we're taking a peek at how well the OnePlus 7T stands up to the OnePlus 7 Pro as well as the rest of the market. This phone launches for approximately $600 (around $50 more than the base cost of its predecessor, the OnePlus 6T released one year ago.) We'll see where those extra few ten-dollar-bills went, and we'll give a final verdict before this whole thing is through.

If you look to the OnePlus 7 Pro and the OnePlus 7 (non-pro) you see what we'd traditionally expect from a lesser and greater display. The less expensive device has the display that's lesser, the more expensive the better. But with the OnePlus 7 Pro VS the OnePlus 7T, we've got something different.

The OnePlus 7 Pro has a larger display, with more pixels, and no notch. We expected this, as the OnePlus 7T is the less expensive device. But though OnePlus 7T's display is smaller and has a notch, it's brighter than the panel on the 7 Pro. OnePlus says the place we'd notice this most is in direct sunlight, where the OnePlus 7T would be 27% brighter than the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Both devices have the same 90Hz image refresh rate, so we're still playing games and scrolling through screens with the same amount of fluidity. Both displays look and feel like contenders for best smartphone display on the market at their price tier, without a doubt.

Much like what we saw with the notch on the OnePlus 6T, this phone's notch doesn't automatically dip into every screen. Default is to black out the area in which the notch resides. The transition from full screen (with notch dipping into active display) to cut-off screen for apps like Hearthstone is as natural as opening any other standard app – AKA not a big deal.

The display on this device has fewer pixels than that of a Samsung Galaxy S10 or Note 10, and a lower pixels-per-inch density of either phone family. But as OnePlus seems to have proven over the past several years of persistence with a FHD (1080p) or slight variations therein, they've got a display that's plenty sharp enough. Was that 2012 report on post-720p displays right all along?

This device rolls with stereo speakers with officially-branded Dolby Atmos sound enhancements. In the phone's audio settings are three choices for "Scenario-Based Enhancement" for Dolby Atmos sound, including Dynamic (adjusts based on content automatically), Movie ("realistic surround-sound and clear dialogue"), and Music. This system also has "Earphone Adjustment" when the phone detects that you're connected to headphones/earbuds.

Also in the mix is Auto Play for automatic continuation of music when earphones are connected, Smart Answer for Bluetooth, "Speak Caller ID", and Notification ringtone in earphones. Bluetooth absolute volume (autosync volume) is also automatically enabled for Bluetooth connections.

The front facing camera on the 7T is the same as it was with the OnePlus 6T. The bezel area (the notch, that is) got a bit slimmer this time around, but it's basically the same front-facing camera as we've used with the 6T.

The most major change in hardware on the backside camera array from the 7 Pro to the 7T is in macro photography. This new device is now able to focus as close as 2.5cm from its intended subject. When it comes to photographs of bugs, bolts, and money, this added closeness makes all the difference.

We've still got the same 48MP sensor for the main camera as the 7 Pro. The 7T has the same Sony IMX586 sensor with 0.8um pixels at 48MP, or 1.6um pixels (each 1 big pixel is the result of 4 small pixels) for 12MP photos. This main camera has OIS and EIS and uses all three cameras for some super stabilization in videos.

Above you'll see an example of the sometimes-subtle, sometimes-major improvements that are made with the OnePlus 7T's implementation of "Nightscape" – AKA intelligently-mixed long-exposure photography without the aid of a tripod. Below you'll see another example of a Nightscape photo captured with the OnePlus 7T near a restaurant with neon lights in the dark evening.

The main (48MP) sensor works with an f/1.6 aperture, while it's f/2.2 for the Telephoto lens and (also) f/2.2 for the Ultra Wide Angle lens. The Telephoto lens has a 12-megapixel sensor with 1.0um pixels, and the Ultra Wide Angle lens has a 16-megapixel sensor with a 117-degree field of view. The resulting setup – hardware and software – gives the OnePlus 7T the ability to take photos and video that are at least as good as the OnePlus 7 Pro – and in some cases better.

Above you'll see a collection of photos captured with the OnePlus 7T with the software available to the device at the time of this review's first publication date, September 25, 2019. Further additions with future software updates will be noted where applicable. Note that these photos have been resized to fit the reasonable size limits of the internet, but no other editing has taken place between photo capture and upload to the web. If anything, the process has only resulted in degradation of the quality of the photos from their original state.

OnePlus is flying high right now on a series of victories with well-marketed phones and skilled public relations initiatives. OnePlus found a sweet spot and struck a balance between highest-end Android hardware and just-low-enough pricing. This sweet spot creates a value that goes toe-to-toe with every other Android-toting smartphone in the world today – and they know it. To make this point clear, they gave themselves a visual image kick-in-the-pants.

The OnePlus in-house design department took the time to get a full visual identity rebrand here in late 2019. This redesign (or "amplification of our visual look", as OnePlus put it) was headed by OnePlus Creative Director Mats Hakansson. His design direction is sleek, striking, and purposeful.

Dark Charcoal + Light Blue, a darker Blue, White, and OnePlus Red, plus the font "Neue Haas Grotesk" take center stage. The font is very, very similar to Helvetica, but is actually a 2010 "restoration" of the original pre-digital Helvetica – which was also called Neue Haas Grotesk. It's new, it's cool, it's a smart move on the company's pathway to new growth.