OnePlus is experimenting with its launches this year. For the first time in its history, OnePlus announced two flagship-grade models, the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro in May 2019. Then in September 2019, it released the OnePlus 7T alongside the OnePlus TV in India with no mention of the 7T Pro. Now we know that the 7T and 7T Pro are getting a global launch on October 10.
While the two models are yet to debut internationally, the OnePlus 7T is already available in India. And I have been using the OnePlus 7T for the past week. So, here’s my first impressions of the new model.
OnePlus 7T Hands-On: Design
The OnePlus 7T brings on a familiar design on the front but there are some significant changes at the back. Gone are the dual cameras and the pill-shaped camera housing from the OnePlus 7. The new model brings in a circular camera module that houses three camera sensors inside. There’s no doubt that this camera arrangement stands out from the crowd. In fact, I had a few people immediately recognize the OnePlus 7T, all thanks to this weird camera module at the back.
At first glance, the OnePlus 7T’s Glacier Blue might look similar to the Blue shade on its predecessors. However, let me be clear here, the Glacier Blue color on this model is quite different from what we’ve seen before. This Blue changes its shade like a chameleon and you’ll often be surprised by how dark and light it gets under different lighting conditions.
For example, if you look at the image above, it looks like the OnePlus 7T comes in a soft light blue shade. You might feel there’s a bit of a gradient finish as well. But then, look at the image below. See how dark it gets when the lighting gets low? Honestly, when you are using the phone indoors, the OnePlus 7T has such a dark tint that you might even call it frosted blue or gray. That’s how dark it can get.
It’s like the phone has two different colors when you are using it indoors and outdoors.
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- Same Phone but different colors.
Can you imagine all these pictures are of the same Glacier Blue color variant?
The built quality of the OnePlus 7T is pretty solid. You have tactile buttons, a smooth polished metal back, a glass camera housing that doesn’t get scratched easily and gorilla glass 5 protection on both sides. You get volume buttons on the left and the power button and alert slider on the right. The bottom part of the phone is pretty crowded featuring a USB Type-C port, dual SIM card slots, and a speaker grill.
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- OnePlus 7T is its most recent flagship
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- Alert slider and power button are on the right
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- Bottom portion of the OP7T is pretty crowded
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- Camera Bump is significant
Overall, the phone has a symmetric design language, except for that totally random single antenna band at the bottom that separates the SIM card slot. The OnePlus 7T isn’t the most beautiful phone that I have seen lately, but the design definitely grows on you. And if you are someone who likes your phones to stand out, the 7T definitely won’t disappoint.
OnePlus 7T Hands-On: Display
The OnePlus 7T has one of the most beautiful displays in its price segment. The phone features a 6.55-inch 90Hz Fluid AMOLED panel with a small waterdrop notch on top. The high refresh rate display is definitely pleasing to the eyes and translates to a better browsing and gaming experience. For Rs. 37,999 ($534), I don’t think you’ll find a better display panel on a smartphone.
If you are coming from a non-notch smartphone, it might take some time getting used to the notch. But it’s not something that’ll bother you in the long run.
OnePlus 7T Hands-On: Hardware & Software Impressions
Snapdragon 855 Plus and 8GB of RAM with OxygenOS on top is the perfect recipe for a smooth UI experience. Just as expected, the OnePlus 7T handles everything with ease and there won’t be a single app that’ll trouble the device.
I’ll talk more about the hardware performance in my review but know that the OnePlus 7T is one of the fastest smartphones in the market today. The phone handles even graphic intensive games like Call of Duty Mobile very smoothly. I have spent hours playing COD Mobile and I haven’t had a single hiccup so far. Even the thermals are pretty well controlled.
Editor’s Pick: OnePlus 7T receives OxygenOS 10.0.3 update; brings improved photo quality
So apart from that gentle notification from the UI saying that “you’ve been using your phone for too long”, nothing else will come in between you and your long hours of gaming and entertainment. You can check out the complete specs of the OnePlus 7T here.
As for the battery, it has been pretty good so far. The 3800mAh isn’t exactly very large but the OnePlus 7T should last an entire day on a single charge. Not to mention, Warp Charge 30T is really fast and you can top up your smartphone in no time at all! I mean you can charge your phone up to 70% in just over 30 minutes! That’s really cool!
OnePlus 7T’s camera is also on par with its predecessors. The wide-angle and macro cameras are really my favorites as you can do a lot with those lenses. Portrait mode could use some fine-tuning but overall, the OnePlus 7T’s cameras won’t disappoint you. I’ll share more details about the phone’s camera in my detailed review soon.
The first OxygenOS 10 build did have a few bugs but things have improved after the first update that was rolled out a few days back. I’m expecting OnePlus 7T’s UI to get even better in the upcoming updates.
Overall, the OnePlus 7T is turning out to be a worthy upgrade to the OnePlus 7. The phone has all the bells and whistles that you want in a flagship device (except for wireless charging) and it brings the best of the OnePlus 7 Pro at an affordable price point.
So what do you think of the OnePlus 7T? If you have any specific questions, please share them via the comments section below. I’ll try to answer each one of them personally.
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