OnePlus 5 review: Doing the math

Synthetic benchmarks

The OnePlus 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 835 chipset, and comes in two different trim levels: one with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and the other one with a higher 8GB/128GB. We have the latter - lucky us. OnePlus has fitted the 5 with LPDDR4X RAM for improved power efficiency over regular LPDDR4. Storage is UFS 2.1.

Update (June 22): In light of revelations that the OnePlus 5 is altering the behavior of its CPU cores (locking the LITTLE cluster at max frequency) when it detects a benchmark app, we figured we should mention it in the performance section of this review. While it's obviously a cheap trick that puts marketing ahead of consumer trust, it's also not giving the OP5 a huge advantage over the competition.

We ran the usual set of benchmarks on the OnePlus 5, starting with GeekBench, to see how the Kryo cores handle some intense CPU loads. Okay, we did have a general idea - after all, it's not the first S835 phone we've had at the office. Anyway, the 5 posts virtually identical numbers to the Xiaomi Mi 6 and HTC U11 in the single-core portion of GeekBench 4.1. The S835 Galaxy S8+ and the Xperia XZ Premium are a notch lower, but the Exynos Galaxy S8 outperforms them all (if only marginally).

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S8
  1991
• OnePlus 5
  1932
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  1929
• HTC U11
  1919
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  1836
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  1832
• LG G6
  1767

The Exynos variant of the Galaxy S8 tops the OnePlus 5 in multi-core applications as well, but remains second behind the Mi 6. The other Snapdragon 835s post lower numbers with the Xperia XZ Premium in particular scoring below its paygrade.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 6
  6719
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  6656
• OnePlus 5
  6604
• HTC U11
  6393
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  6301
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  5460
• LG G6
  4175

Next we turn to Basemark OS II 2.0 for a comparative numerical representation of the OnePlus 5's overall performance. Well, it's good, the best of the Android world, actually. The iPhone 7 Plus still manages a couple hundred extra points, but both flavors of Galaxy S8s have been beaten by the latest OP.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3796
• OnePlus 5
  3601
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  3547
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  3376
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  3319
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  3174
• HTC U11
  2970
• Huawei P10 Plus
  2940
• OnePlus 3T
  2678
• Google Pixel XL
  2281
• LG G6
  2126

The OnePlus 5 defeats the iPhone 7 Plus in Antutu and ends up on the top of the chart. 3000 points may sound like a lot, but in fact that's less than a 2% advantage over the HTC U11 and Xiaomi Mi 6.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• OnePlus 5
  180331
• HTC U11
  177343
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  177326
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  174987
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  174435
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  168133
• OnePlus 3T
  165097
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  144223
• LG G6
  143639
• Google Pixel XL
  141186
• Huawei P10 Plus
  126252

In the graphics department, the OnePlus 5's Adreno 540 GPU is the powerhouse we've come to expect it to be, posting top fps numbers in GFXBench. In onscreen tests its FullHD resolution allows it to pull ahead of QHD rivals like the S8 and U11, and the older Snapdragon 821 inside the Google Pixel XL and LG G6 falls way behind the pack.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  60
• OnePlus 5
  60
• HTC U11
  60
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  59
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  57
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  50
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  50
• OnePlus 3T
  49
• Google Pixel XL
  47
• LG G6
  41
• Huawei P10 Plus
  28

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  56
• OnePlus 5
  56
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  56
• OnePlus 3T
  48
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  47
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  36
• HTC U11
  35
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  34
• Google Pixel XL
  30
• LG G6
  24
• Huawei P10 Plus
  19

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 5
  41
• HTC U11
  41
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  41
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  39
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  39
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  39
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  36
• OnePlus 3T
  33
• Google Pixel XL
  32
• LG G6
  26
• Huawei P10 Plus
  19

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  42
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  41
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  41
• OnePlus 5
  40
• OnePlus 3T
  33
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  23
• HTC U11
  19
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  18
• Google Pixel XL
  17
• LG G6
  12
• Huawei P10 Plus
  12

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S8
  25
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  25
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  25
• OnePlus 5
  24
• HTC U11
  24
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  23
• OnePlus 3T
  20
• Google Pixel XL
  19
• LG G6
  16
• Huawei P10 Plus
  12

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 6
  25
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  25
• OnePlus 5
  24
• OnePlus 3T
  20
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  13
• HTC U11
  13
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  12
• Google Pixel XL
  11
• Huawei P10 Plus
  9
• LG G6
  8.5

Basemark ES 3.1, the OpenGL 3.1-based benchmark, doesn't paint the OnePlus 5 in such a favorable light, positioning it towards the bottom of the Snapdragon 835/Adreno 540 pile. The 20-core Mali GPU of the Galaxy S8's Exynos chip is the clear winner here. Well, that and the iPhone 7 Plus, of course.

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  1517
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  1189
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  861
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  842
• HTC U11
  836
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  817
• OnePlus 5
  796
• OnePlus 3T
  641
• Google Pixel XL
  626
• LG G6
  541

Unsurprisingly, the OnePlus 5 scores excellent results in all benchmarks, be it CPU or GPU targeted (and consequently in the compound ones too, duh!). Top-class chipset, heaps of RAM, speedy storage - any other outcome would have been a surprise.