OnePlus 5T review

Full Optic AMOLED stands for a 6-inch 18:9 display

One of the two major changes the T brings to the OnePlus 5 is the display - it's now a 6-incher in a fashionably tall 18:9 ratio. OnePlus brands its displays as Optic AMOLED to signify that they're custom-built for them (by Samsung). This one is Full Optic AMOLED - like Samsung's Infinity, LG's FullVision and Huawei's FullView, 18:9 displays (or 18-ish in Samsung's case) must have a word in there to indicate that they are extra special.

This one has a 2,160x1,080px resolution, like the Huawei, but unlike Samsung, LG, and Google's top offerings, which employ higher-res QHD+ panels. At 401ppi, however, pixel density isn't too shabby, Diamond Pixels as they may be.

In our testing, the OnePlus 5T managed almost 440nits of maximum brightness, in line with current top-class AMOLEDs when in manual mode. The difference is that Samsung's own phones get a healthy boost in Auto mode, while the 5T doesn't.

Then there's the iPhone X which has all of its 680nits of maximum brightness available at your disposal, sun or no sun. For twice the price of the OP5T, admittedly.

Minimum brightness is 2.1nits - we've rarely seen a lower number. Those who are in the habit of using their phone in the dark will appreciate it.

Contrast is, predictably, infinite - blacks are truly black, blacker even than the LG V30's sort of black blacks.

The OnePlus 5T's display excels under direct light, so much so that it beats the reigning Galaxies (if only just). The iPhone X is the only one it can't match, but apparently OnePlus sourced the panel just as well. Hint, hint.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Apple iPhone X
  5.013
• OnePlus 5T
  4.789
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  4.768
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  4.658
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Motorola Moto Z2 Play
  4.459
• Oppo R11
  4.454
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy Note7
  4.247
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• Nokia 8
  4.239
• Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
  4.234
• OnePlus 3T
  4.232
• Google Pixel XL
  4.164
• ZTE Axon 7
  4.154
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  4.148
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  4.147
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  4.124
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
  4.096
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
  4.023
• LG V30
  4.022
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Apple iPhone 7
  3.964
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
  3.957
• Huawei P9 Plus
  3.956
• Meizu Pro 6 Plus
  3.935
• Lenovo Moto Z
  3.931
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• OnePlus 5
  3.914
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3.911
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.896
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Sony Xperia XZs
  3.818
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
  3.812
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  3.804
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• LG V20 Max auto
  3.798
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3.798
• Sony Xperia XZ
  3.795
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  3.767
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  3.765
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
  3.729
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
  3.725
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Sony Xperia X Compact
  3.694
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.688
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Huawei Mate 9
  3.68
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
  3.597
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3.588
• LG G6
  3.556
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.526
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.523
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
  3.523
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• nubia Z11
  3.466
• Huawei P10 Plus
  3.456
• HTC U Ultra
  3.453
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• LG V20
  3.402
• Huawei P10
  3.379
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  3.378
• Oppo R9s
  3.352
• Honor 8 Pro
  3.341
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Lenovo P2
  3.316
• Honor 9
  3.289
• Xiaomi Mi 5s
  3.276
• Nokia 5
  3.261
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  3.244
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  3.238
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  3.228
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Oppo F3 Plus
  3.218
• Huawei Mate 9 Pro
  3.206
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  3.19
• ZTE Nubia Z17
  3.159
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• HTC U11
  3.089
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Sony Xperia XA1
  3.012
• Sony Xperia L1
  2.994
• Huawei P10 Lite
  2.974
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2.95
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• Xiaomi Redmi 4
  2.92
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S
  2.913
• Sony Xperia XA Ultra
  2.906
• LG G5
  2.905
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
  2.893
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2.884
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
  2.877
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  2.877
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Nokia 3
  2.871
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Lenovo Moto M
  2.813
• Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
  2.803
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Meizu MX6
  2.751
• LG V10
  2.744
• Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
  2.742
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  2.714
• Meizu M5
  2.71
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  2.689
• Huawei P9 Lite
  2.679
• Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
  2.679
• vivo V7+
  2.671
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2.658
• Doogee Mix
  2.642
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Xiaomi Redmi 4a
  2.635
• Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
  2.616
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
  2.582
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  2.582
• Meizu M5s
  2.58
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  2.563
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  2.561
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  2.546
• Lenovo Moto G4
  2.544
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
  2.506
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Oppo F1s
  2.481
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Huawei nova
  2.467
• Lenovo Vibe K5
  2.459
• Meizu m3 max
  2.447
• Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
  2.417
• HTC 10 evo
  2.407
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• Sony Xperia E5
  2.386
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Oppo F3
  2.376
• vivo V5 Plus
  2.371
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Huawei nova plus
  2.329
• Razer Phone
  2.328
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Meizu M5 Note
  2.189
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
  2.145
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Xiaomi Mi 4S
  2.095
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• vivo V5
  2.059
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi 3
  2.001
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Meizu m3 note
  1.923
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  1.772
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Sony Xperia L
  1.351
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

Color reproduction on the OnePlus 5T gives you the best of both worlds. You can have a more muted but quite accurate (average DeltaE of 2.3) sRGB rendition in, well, sRGB display mode, or opt for richer color in the Default mode (average DeltaE of 6.9 measured against an sRGB target).

The phone's display is capable of displaying a wide color gamut, and in the DCI-P3 mode, it scored an average DeltaE of 2.0 against the respective target color space. Excellent!

There is also a Custom color mode, where you get a Cold/Warm slider to set the color temperature to your liking.

We're happy to report that we didn't observe any strong and unpleasant color shifts when looking at the 5T from odd angles. We had stopped mentioning this but the V30 and the Pixel 2 XL changed everything.

Connectivity

The OnePlus 5T is a dual SIM device in all of its incarnations, which is one - there's just a single global version. It takes two nano-SIMs. A total of 35 bands of 2G/3G/4G are supported, and LTE is Cat. 12/13 for theoretical speeds up to 600Mbps of downlink and 150Mbps of upload. There's no gigabit LTE on the OP5, even though the Snapdragon 835 chipset is heavily advertised to support it. Hardly a deal breaker, this.

Wi-Fi b/g/n over 2.4GHz and a/n/ac over 5GHz is supported. There's the latest Bluetooth 5 with improved range and speed plus aptX and aptX HD for those who are into high-quality wireless audio. NFC support is another check mark on the spec sheet. Positioning is done with GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo satellites, so basically all of the publicly available systems. There is no FM radio receiver, though.

The charging and wired connection uses a USB-C interface, but the one on the OP5T only adheres to the USB 2.0 spec, and not the 3.1 - while OP isn't the only one to do it, it's still worth complaining here.

On a positive note, a 3.5mm jack is present so you can connect them OnePlus Bullets (or any other pair of headphones, really) without the hassle of a dongle.

OnePlus 5T battery life

The battery capacity has remained unchanged - the 5T packs the same 3,300mAh as the 5 despite the larger screen. The V30's capacity is the same, but other competitors fit more - the Pixel 2 XL has a 3,520mAh power pack, while the Mate 10 Pro's 4,000mAh are unrivaled. The Galaxy S8+ needs to power a slightly larger display off a 3,500mAh battery.

In our testing, the OP5T proved more than adequately powered, securing an 82h Endurance rating - which is about what the OP5 got overall.

In the screen-on tests, it posted slightly lower numbers than the outgoing model, but that's to be expected - larger screen, same battery. Still, with more than ten hours of web browsing and close to 17 hours of video playback, the OnePlus 5T shouldn't leave you wanting.

The Mate 10 Pro will, indeed, give you 5 hours more on the web (15:21h), though it would quit looping videos an hour and a half before the 5T (15:24h). The Pixel 2 XL will match the 5T web browsing endurance (10:29h), but fall 5 hours short in video playback (11:45h). The Galaxy S8+ will outlast the OP5T in web browsing by a couple of hours (12:16h) and stop an episode short of the 5T in video playback, but a 16h binge should suffice, we reckon.

The OnePlus 5T is slow to discharge, but lightning fast to fill up. Using the proprietary Dash charge adaptor and cable it'll get you from 0% to 100% in about 55 minutes, while a 30-minute charge takes it from flat to 65%. Truly impressive stuff! The caveat is, of course, that with non-Dash accessories you won't be able to go anywhere near these charging speeds.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the OnePlus 5T for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.