5 excellent reasons to buy OnePlus 5
One of the most-anticipated phones in recent times, the OnePlus 5 has largely been declared a success. It has received positive reviews with most terming it worthy of being called a "flagship" and not just a flagship killer.
Launched months after the 3t hit markets around the globe, OnePlus 5 has taken the smartphone industry by storm and represents a decent upgrade on a phone that is still regarded by many as one of the best in the market. It comes with several important upgrades over its predecessor.
OnePlus has achieved this feat by upgrading not only the phone's internals, but also its OS. The smartphone maker also announced a partnership with DxO to bring substantially improved cameras to the phone – a move that has reaped great dividends.
But should you be excited? Here are our five favourite things about the OnePlus 5.
Specs
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has been known for bringing top of the line hardware, and the OnePlus 5 is no different.
Much like the 3T, which packed high-end specs, including a full-HD AMOLED display, 6GB of RAM, 64GB/128GB of internal storage and a 16-megapixel OIS camera, the OnePlus 5 a beast if the spec sheet is anything to go by.
The OnePlus 5 comes packing Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line 64-bit Octa-core SoC – the Snapdragon 835. It is the chipmaker's current flagship and is found in phones like Sony Xperia XZ , the US variant of the Samsung S8 and the recently launched HTC U11.
The powerful octa-core Kyro processor, along with the Adreno 540 GPU housed inside the 835 SoC makes running heavy apps and games on the phone a breeze.
Dual camera
Weeks before the eventual release of the phone, its maker created quite a buzz by announcing partnership with DxO mark to bring great cameras to the phone. The move signalled the Chinese smartphone maker's intention of rivaling the picture taking prowess of phones like the Galaxy S8 and the U11 with its latest release. However, it did not stop there.
OnePlus has equipped the flagship device with above-average camera sensors to improve its picture taking prowess. The new phone features an impressive dual camera setup – touted to be the highest rated setup found on a phone. The first camera is a 16-megapixel Sony unit with an f/1.7 aperture lens while the second camera has a 20-megapixel Sony sensor with an f/2.6 “telephoto” lens.
Battery performance
The battery capacity on the OnePlus 5 has been cut down by a 100 mAh from 3400mAh pack found inside the 3T. But thanks to the power efficient 835 SoC found inside the phone, the smaller battery does not translate into real world performance loss.
Owing to the use of the 835 SoC in the phone, the OnePlus 5 rather gives about 20-30% longer battery life than the previous flagship from the company. The OnePlus 5 also has Dash Charging capabilities which can give you a full day's battery charge in just 30 minutes.
Design
In terms of the design, this is a phone that draws inspiration more from iPhone 7 Plus than the earlier phones of the OnePlus family. The phone sports a metal unibody design. There's also a fingerprint scanner housed in the home button on the front of the phone. And despite the phone's exterior also housing a 3.5 mm headphone jack, it still is the slimmest phone from OnePlus.
Not awe inspiring though, the design still stands out in a crowd.
Price
Arguably the biggest selling point of the phone is the Rs 32,999/ 37,999 price tag for the 64/128GB variants. Given its top-of-the-line specifications that feature the Snapdragon 835 SoC and up to 8GB of RAM , the phone overall is great value for money.
The phone may not be the best performer or best to look at in a market flush with great options, but what it does promise is a great overall package for almost half the price of flagships from established brands.