OnePlus 5T review: Why this Android is worth a buy

We are nearing the close of 2017, a year that has seen some great Android phones hitting the market. If there is one handset maker that has captured people's attention in recent times, it has to be OnePlus - be it with its OnePlus 3T that debuted around the same time last year, OnePlus 5 or the most recent OnePlus 5T. This Chinese firm's devices have won people's hearts with their gorgeous designs, excellent cameras and great performance. With the 5T device seen as a hot commodity, it will certainly annoy those who recently picked up a OnePlus 5. But the fact is OnePlus keeps going from strength to strength; its 5T phone is super-powerful with strong specs and good value for money. Here's our review.

At first look, it becomes clear that the OnePlus 5T is a definite refinement of the OnePlus 5, the company's most popular product to date. The seamless aluminum unibody of the Midnight Black colour 5T is both functionally and visually slim, creating a phone that is not only comfortable to hold but extremely durable. The 5T marks the introduction of a 6-inch Full Optic AMOLED display with an 18:9 aspect ratio to deliver a more immersive viewing experience, all the while keeping a form factor similar to that of the OnePlus 5.

Switched on, the 6-inch Full Optic AMOLED display shows bright colours and provides a great video experience. Probing further, the 5T features a new Sunlight Display that adapts automatically to harsh light to facilitate a great viewing experience. In addition to enhancing the visual appearance of the device, the larger display helps to improve the overall user experience. Users can calibrate their screens based on their viewing preferences across four different modes, including default, sRGB, DCI-P3 and adaptive. OnePlus has moved its famously fast ceramic fingerprint sensor, which unlocks the phone in under 0.2 seconds, to the back of the device.

On the camera front too, the OnePlus 5T is a device with a difference; it comes with key improvements that enhance camera performance even in low light. The new flagship features the same main camera as that of the OnePlus 5, but boasts an improved secondary camera equipped with a large f/1.7 aperture for superior low light photography. With Intelligent Pixel Technology- first implemented on the OnePlus 3T's front camera - the secondary camera of the 5T merges four pixels into one, reducing noise in low-light environments and enhancing clarity.

Additional software improvements have also been added to Portrait Mode to improve noise reduction. This is accomplished through new multi-frame algorithms that compare different frames of the same scene to filter out inconsistencies and improve the overall clarity of portraits. In actual usage, the 5T device allows you to capture all your memories in crisp clarity and in vivid colours. Its 16-MP front camera is certainly superior compared to even higher-priced Android phones; it is an obvious effort to tap the growing number of selfie enthusiasts. Sum total, the OnePlus 5T has a fantastic camera with equally adept camera software and its various modes.

The OnePlus 5T offers a smooth experience through a combination of powerful hardware and intelligent software that work seamlessly together. With upto 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM, the OnePlus 5T can run a large number of apps in the background without a single second of lag, allowing users to switch between apps with ease. The device's dual-lane storage, based on UFS 2.1, ensures faster app loading and read/write speeds. It also takes advantage of one of the most powerful and energy efficient platforms on the market, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. The Adreno 540 GPU boosts graphical performance, so users can play demanding games smoother than ever before.

OnePlus' operating system, OxygenOS, offers a refined Android experience that is faster, cleaner and more customisable than other Android experiences. Newly added to OxygenOS is Face Unlock, which allows OnePlus 5T users to unlock their phone just by looking at their device. On the battery front, there is Dash Charge that was first introduced with the OnePlus 3; it is an extremely fast charging solution; a quick half-hour charge gives the OnePlus 5T enough power for the day.

My takeaway: the OnePlus 5T is a smooth and exceedingly fast phone with no screen lagging. Movies and video can be played in good quality with its sharp high-definition display. It is one of the best Android phones you can buy in the market.

• Estimated street price: Rs 32,999 (64 GB), Rs 37,999 (128 GB)