OnePlus 5 – The Flagship Killer

OnePlus 5 - The Flagship Killer 4

OnePlus made it to the smartphone market with the “Flagship Killer” slogan and they have been pretty much delivering the products that have proven to be killers against the flagships. The Chinese manufacturer is a show stopper for huge smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung and Apple. The perfectly designed smartphones with an amazing android experience, which is the just the right combination of simplicity and useful features.

The company recently released their flagship phone which they are calling the OnePlus 5, after skipping the OnePlus 4 because the number 4 is considered unlucky in China. Lucky or unlucky, let’s have a glance at how the overall performance of the OnePlus 5 is and why it is one of the best and smart option to buy in 2017.

Performance

Starting off with the performance, which is definitely the biggest selling point for every OnePlus device. The OnePlus 5 offers a choice between a 6GB and 8GB RAM variants, combined with a 64GB and 128GB storage. The snapdragon 835 handles all the processing on the phone and is faster than expectations.

The OnePlus 5 is running the Android Nougat 7.1.1 with the oxygen skin. Without any doubt, it is one of the closest things to Stock Android and without any exaggeration, it is one of the best Android experience available on a smartphone in the market. The extra RAM keeps things extremely smooth with no signs of jitter or lag. Placing the OnePlus 5 against a Samsung Galaxy S8 or the iPhone 7, one can clearly see how fast the OnePlus 5 performs.

Display

The display may sound like a disappointment to a few and is one of the reasons why people would think twice about getting the OnePlus 5, if they already own a OnePlus 3T. The OnePlus 5 comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, which is exactly the same as that of the OnePlus 3T. Almost every android enthusiast would have been expecting at least a 2K display if not 4K. However, the display doesn’t feel cheap at all, the only time when someone would actually feel the difference is with Virtual Reality.

Design

There has been a lot of controversy around the design of the OnePlus 5 which is clearly inherited from that of the iPhone 7 Plus. One the front we have a fair size of bezel on the top and the bottom, which is a disappointment after considering how awesome the infinity display on the Samsung S8 looks. On the rear, one can see the dual cameras at the upper left corner and a flash besides it. The OnePlus logo is right in the middle of the phone. There are two choices in terms of color, the midnight black and the slate grey

The front of the phone is almost similar to that of the previous version the OnePlus 3T, however, the back looks like a rip off from iPhone 7 Plus and the Oppo R11. This is a huge turn-off considering the fact that the company has been doing great in terms of design with the previous smartphones.

Camera

Camera is the one of the most used piece of hardware on a phone and therefore it has to be one of a kind, well you are in luck here. The rear cameras on the phone are 16MP and then an addition 20MP Telephoto shooter, both the cameras are just way too good. The issue however is that there is no Optical Image Stabilization during video recording which is clearly visible once you compare it to the iPhone 7 Plus or the Samsung Galaxy S8.

The secondary camera is also 16MP, so if you are a selfie lover, you may find the OnePlus 5 to be a great a buy.

Battery

The Chinese manufacturer has been offering huge batteries ever since their first smartphone and they have maintained it within their latest flagship as well. The OnePlus 5 has a 3,300 mAh battery non-removable battery which is smaller than that of the OnePlus 3t. The battery life still out performs that of the OnePlus 3T based on the power efficient Snapdragon 835 and lasts for 18 hours without a problem.

The good news is, even if you use your phone too much and tend to fall short on battery life then you can simply plug in the charger and within 30 minutes you will charged for a whole day, thanks to the dash charging. The dash charging is so fast that you will never notice anything with the battery life.

Conclusion

The OnePlus 5 gives a pretty tough time to the flagships that are available in the market. We do agree that the phone lacks some key features such as Optical Image stabilization during video recording and higher resolution display. However, considering the fact that the base model costs $379 is enough of a reason to purchase the phone.

Also, keep in mind that the smartphone offers an amazing Android experience, the battery life is outstanding (a positive point for the 1080p) and a solid camera.