Bottom Line:
OnePlus 7 “The Flasgship Killer” by OnePlus is an incredible value at just $489.99. It took me 8 long years to finally find that one “smartphone” which is affordable and has the best of tech. The OnePlus 7 aims to offer a flagship experience at a fiercely competitive price.
So this is it! “The OnePlus 7 Review”. With all the hype around the OnePlus 7 Pro, this is that one device that we almost forgot. On the other hand, the people who are considering to buy the OnePlus 7 has this serious doubt on whether the OnePlus 7 is just another minor improvement over the OnePlus 6T. The answer is – “YES and NO”.
Like we already know, the OnePlus 6T was an amazing smartphone. Being the straight successor, the OnePlus 7 has this abundant responsibility of living up-to the legacy of OnePlus 6T from the last year. Even though it feels like a pretty small update, there is still a lot to talk about this device. From the camera, the Beautiful glass design, the brilliant 60 HZ display to the big battery. Although it looks the same as the OnePlus 6T, it just has this burden of being “outstanding”. Anyways in this “Full Review” let’s talk about the OnePlus 7 Pros and Cons.
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OnePlus 7 Specification:
| Model | OnePlus 7 |
| Display | 6.18-inch full-HD+ (1080×2280 pixels) display, 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 19:9 aspect ratio. |
| Processor | Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 |
| RAM | 6GB/8GB |
| Internal Storage | 128GB /256GB expandable via microSD (400GB) |
| Software | Oxygen OS 9.5 – Android Pie |
| Primary Camera | 48MP f/1.7, 4-axis OIS & 5 MP depth sensor, Dual-LED dual-tone flashlight |
| Secondary Camera | 16MP, same as OnePlus 6T |
| Battery | 3700mAh + 20-watt fast charging |
Let’s talk Design of the OnePlus 7!
Starting of with the design, the OnePlus 7 has this beautiful glass back. It looks and feels extremely elegant. Even though it looks great you might have this feeling of being extra cautious. I had this high adaptability factor of shifting to a 6-inch smartphone as a daily driver. This was a pretty hard decision for me, considering that I have been always the “small phone guy”. In-fact I’ve waited long enough for the OnePlus X2 iteration, which I am not seeing to happen any soon. So further couldn’t wait to jump into the OnePlus ecosystem. Till now no regrets!
Just adapting to a larger phone was quite hard. In-fact the device is extremely slippery with its glossy mirror back. Further to add-on the OnePlus 7 has a Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the back and Gorilla Glass 6 over the display. While even the OnePlus 7 Pro has only a Gorilla Glass 5 Protection. So that’s a Plus One for the OnePlus 7. “Plus One – OnePlus”, did you see what I did there?!
Just like the OnePlus 6T, the alert sliders are retained back on the OnePlus 7. If you look closer you can notice a small difference in size of the sliders when compared to the ones on the OnePlus 6T. So you have these three basic functions with the alert slider, the silent or the Do Not Disturb mode, the vibration mode and finally the normal mode. Also you get to do some small changes to hows these alert sliders function from the settings menu. Unlike the OnePlus 7 Pro, the OnePlus 7 retains the teardrop notch. Although you can still hide the notch if you don’t want it. Up there you’ve the front-facing camera, proximity sensors, bigger and better earpiece.
A better display!
Even though the OnePlus 7 holds the Optic AMOLED 6.4″ Display just like the OnePlus 6T. I was straightaway able to notice some major leap in color reproduction. It’s bright and has this nice depth to it. Although could’ve been more vibrant. This was all cool, until my dad had to get his Samsung J7 (Which is indeed a Budget Smartphone) near it. Damn! The AMOLED Displays on the Samsung devices are just extremely bright. Anyways coming back, the display on the OnePlus 7 is decent bright and is effectively viewable under sunlight.
The OnePlus 7 casts a Full HD+ Display with 402 Pixels per inch. Although the screen on the OnePlus 7 Pro is on a whole new level. Make no mistake, the OnePlus 7 still has beautiful display and in-fact one of the best displays when compared to other smartphones under the same price range. When the OnePlus 6T first came out, it definitely had the fastest in-display fingerprint scanner but that’s not case anymore. The scanner on the OnePlus 7 is not the fastest. It is pretty decent and gets the job done. I would rather recommend you to opt for the face unlock instead, which is extremely impressive. Also note that the Optic sensor is upgraded to a larger sensor which results in up-to 38% faster unlock speed over the sensor embedded on the OnePlus 6T.
Also Read, Kospet Optimus Pro Review – Smartwatch without a Phone? Damn!
Damn! The Speed
The most important aspect that makes this smartphone great, is not the price but the “speed”. The OnePlus 7 packs the latest processor, lot of memory and a big 3700mAh battery. Under the hood the OnePlus 7 comes with the Snapdragon 855 chip-set, paired to either a 6 or 8 gigs of RAM. If you game a lot on your smartphone, then probably the OnePlus 7 is a better option than the OnePlus 7 Pro. This is for a lot of reasons! You won’t have these accidental touches due to the curved edges like you might have the OnePlus 7 Pro. Also to add-on the Performance Benchmark scores on the OnePlus 7 slightly outperformed the OnePlus 7 Pro. This is because of it’s Full HD+ screen and on the other hand, the scores were a little low on the OnePlus 7 PRO due to its Quad HD+.
Also Read, Best Xiaomi Mijia Products You Wish You Knew Earlier!
Camera! Meh.
Probably if we talk about a crazy upgrade over the OnePlus 6T, then it is 48MP camera!
Unlike the OnePlus 7 Pro, the “just” OnePlus 7 drops the ultra-wide sensor and casts only a dual camera setup. On the rear, the device has a a 48MP main sensor and a secondary 5MP depth sensor. In-fact the main 48MP sensor is the same as the one on the OnePlus 7 PRO. The sensor has an aperture of f/1.7 and optical image stabilization. While the 5MP sensor which offers the depth-of-field effect has only Electronic Image Stabilization. This combination helps you to shoot some brilliant portrait shots. In the normal camera mode, the OnePlus 7 uses the Pixel-Binning technique which helps to merge several pixels to create one image of higher clarity. Luckily it doesn’t end there. You can shoot a Native 48 MP Picture by choosing the option from the PRO Mode in the camera app. The colors on the photos shot are super vivid and bright.
The videos shot on 60 FPS were just so beautiful. You can also shoot 4k Recordings at 60 FPS and slow motion 1080p videos at 240 FPS. I am able to see that the OnePlus has been working lot lately on its camera. The efforts of improvement are clearly seen on the OnePlus 7. The exposure is balanced and the depth of black is highly pleasant. Also the camera didn’t fail to perform in low-light conditions. It did struggle but definitely not bad. Despite the improvements on the rear camera setup, the OnePlus 7 still holds the same 16-megapixel front camera found on the OnePlus 6T. Cut-short the camera is absolutely good on the OnePlus 7. Hey! You get what you pay for.
What! Oxygen OS is better than Stock Android?
Now coming to the Software. I’m hug fan of the Smartphones having the Android One Program or anything that runs the native Stock Android. But guess what! the Oxygen OS 9 has just turned out to be my favorite ROM so far. It somewhat takes the essence of Googles Stock Android and makes it even better. No wonder that the minds behind this OS were the ones who got us the Paranoid Android ROMs in the past. Some important features on the OnePlus 7 Pro are the Game Mode, which enhances the performance and boosts your network for some flawless gaming. The Zen Mode which disable all distractions for 20 minutes. There is also a Quick Reply feature that helps you to type effortlessly in Landscape.
Under the OnePlus Laboratory found in the settings menu. There is an experimental feature called as DC Dimming which is an alternative method to adjust the screen brightness by changing the circuit power of the screen. It is also said that this feature helps in smoother scrolling and some optimizations to improve the fingerprint sensor. The most important feature is the RAM Boost. Which actually Increases your RAM utilization according to the task you’re performing. This feature makes the RAM utilization much smarter by splitting the RAM to heavy apps. This is why you might find the Games to load much faster on the OnePlus 7.
All of these features are not super new to the OnePlus, but some that are worth mentioning. The icons are well designed and the user interface is extremely minimal which is the reason you get a fluid experience on this smartphone. Underneath the Oxygen OS 9 there lies a patent Algorithm probably the 4th-generation AI which makes the internal hardware smarter, and offers this super stable experience. Also which once again compliments the flawless gaming experience.
Battery Performance: OnePlus 7 Review!
When it comes to battery life, its absolutely brilliant. It took me almost 27 Hours to drop from 100% battery life to 15%. That’s almost a day and 3 hours to run out of 85% juice. The testing was in-fact done with my Smartwatch and a truly wireless earbud connected. With some frequent music and browsing. This is really good for a 3700mAh battery. This level of optimization is due to a lot of reasons. The AI, the OS and the 7-nanometer architecture of the chip-set. It helps to make the device 45% faster than the OnePlus 6T and further makes it 20% less power consuming.
I really can’t find a reason how did this brilliant smartphone fall off the radar.
Conclusion: Should you buy the OnePlus 7?
Now let’s just talk about the “OnePlus Ecosystem”. Probably the OnePlus is the Earth’s most user-centric company ever. They listen to their users and keeps trying to better and better. In-fact it is such a pleasant to see a company appreciating the testers on their smartphone. This greatness of OnePlus shall be well appreciated. Talking about some noticeable drawbacks – despite the OnePlus 7 having a glass back, it still lacks the support of wireless charging. Another major drawback is that the device is quite heavy and I hate the camera bump on the back. Also you don’t get the Type-C to 3.5 MM headphone jack adapter in the box.
Seeing the brighter side. It also said that, since the OnePlus 7 doesn’t have a motorized camera it might slightly be a bit resistant towards water when compared to the OnePlus 7 Pro. Being the small phone guy I did feel that the OnePlus 7 Pro was kind of bigger while the “JUST” OnePlus 7 to be far more convenient to handle. Seeing what it offers and what it is being priced at, I find the OnePlus 7 to be a deal breaker. I probably don’t know how people missed this amazing device. Maybe it’s not marketed really well or maybe OnePlus didn’t want people to get deviated from their Flagship – OnePlus 7 PRO. The OnePlus 7 aims to offer a flagship experience at a fiercely competitive price and definitely turns to be a Flagship killer.
