10 Features That Make OnePlus 5T a Budget-Friendly Smartphone Option

The smartphone market in 2017 has been overrun with new entrants that ditched the physical home button, reduced bezel sizes around the screen, and put user content front and center. However, most of those devices—including the Apple iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8—come with a high price tag. Not so the newest contender in the market: the OnePlus 5T. In addition to a revamped design, the OnePlus 5T offers several compelling features, including solid power, a dual-lens rear-facing camera and fast charging—as well as a budget-friendly price. So for those seeking a high-end handset not from Apple or Samsung, this eWEEK slide show details why you should check out the OnePlus 5T.

The OnePlus 5T has taken design cues from the market’s leaders. For example, like the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone, the device doesn’t have a physical home button. This allows OnePlus to reduce the size of the bezels at the top and bottom of the screen, though the display is flat and not curved. Other than that, the screen is thin and lightweight.

The OnePlus 5T smartphone has a 6-inch screen featuring a 1080p resolution. The device’s thin bezels mean the handset has an 18:9 aspect ratio. According to OnePlus, the screen also offers 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which should help it sidestep some damage.

Like other high-end Android-based smartphones, the OnePlus 5T comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. According to OnePlus, its Snapdragon chip has eight cores and has clock speeds up to 2.45GHz.

There’s a dual-camera array on the rear of the OnePlus 5T smartphone. The main camera is a Sony IMX 398 featuring 16 megapixels. It has an f/1.7 aperture. The secondary rear camera is a Sony IMX 376K with 20 megapixels. It, too, has an f/1.7 aperture. The cameras can record video in 4K and are supported by dual LED flash.

The OnePlus 5T relies on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It’s an interesting choice, considering Google is currently offering Android Oreo to users. Those hoping for a standard Android version won’t find it in the OnePlus 5T. Instead, OnePlus slaps its OxygenOS skin atop the operating system. That software comes with a variety of streamlined features aimed at making users more productive.

The OnePlus 5T comes with a 3,300mAh non-removable battery—and Dash Charge, a feature that will give users all-day battery life after just 30 minutes of charging. “Overnight charging is no longer necessary,” OnePlus says about the 5T.

The OnePlus 5T is designed to be a “true world phone” that comes with dual SIMs. Users can input two SIM cards and connect to two networks at the same time. In addition, the OnePlus 5T offers support for 35 network bands, making it useful in most countries around the world.

In addition to the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, the OnePlus 5T ships with a variety of high-end components, including the Adreno 540 GPU. Users can configure the OnePlus 5T with either 6GB or 8GB of onboard RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. One other note: The handset comes with three microphones with noise cancellation.

Those desiring a high-end smartphone at a budget price should consider the OnePlus 5T. The handset starts at just $499 for the version with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The model featuring 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is $559.

OnePlus is a China-based boutique smartphone vendor that made a name for itself as a creator of high-end handsets at a reduced price. While OnePlus hasn’t been able to break out from the pack dominated by Apple and Samsung, its products have generally been well-received.