OnePlus 5T review

Synthetic benchmarks

The OnePlus 5T, like its non-T sibling is powered by the Snapdragon 835 chipset, and that puts it on a level playing field with virtually every Android flagship that's not Samsung or Huawei. The 5T ships in two versions, one with 6GB of RAM, the other having 8GB.

Starting out with some CPU performance numbers, we look at GeekBench 4.1. All major Snapdragon 835 representatives are here, with the Exynos 8895 (Galaxy S8+), Kirin 970 (Mate 10 Pro), and A11 Bionic (iPhone 8 Plus) thrown in for good measure. It is precisely those three that are ahead of the OP5T in the multi-core test - the Mate 10 Pro and Galaxy S8+ by an inch, the iPhone 8 Plus by a mile.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  10037
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  6783
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  6754
• OnePlus 5T
  6701
• OnePlus 5
  6604
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  6541
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  6428
• HTC U11
  6393
• LG V30
  6365
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  6301

In the single-core portion of the benchmark the iPhone is again in another league next to its Android competition. Among droids, OnePlus's latest is second to the S8+ only, though differences are, indeed, marginal.

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  4232
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  1986
• OnePlus 5T
  1960
• OnePlus 5
  1932
• HTC U11
  1919
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  1915
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  1902
• LG V30
  1901
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  1840
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  1832

From CPU to GPU, it's time to Bench the GFX. The OP5T is more or less equally potent as the rest of its current competitors when it comes to raw power. The odd frame per second here and there in the offscreen benchmarks doesn't mean a world of a difference.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  85
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  65
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  61
• OnePlus 5T
  60
• OnePlus 5
  60
• LG V30
  60
• HTC U11
  60
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  57
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  54
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  50
• OnePlus 3T
  49
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  49

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 2 XL
  42
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  42
• OnePlus 5
  41
• HTC U11
  41
• LG V30
  41
• OnePlus 5T
  41
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  39
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  39
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  38
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  37
• OnePlus 3T
  33

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 2 XL
  25
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  25
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  25
• LG V30
  24
• OnePlus 5
  24
• HTC U11
  24
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  24
• OnePlus 5T
  24
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  23
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  22
• OnePlus 3T
  20

In onscreen tests, where the device's actual resolution comes into play, there's a clear difference between 1080p and QHD phones, the latter predictably falling behind. That said, the OP5T is a few fps behind the OP5 - the baggage of the extra pixels shows. Actually, last year's 3T can give the 5T a run for its money.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  59
• OnePlus 5
  56
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  55
• OnePlus 5T
  52
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  50
• OnePlus 3T
  48
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  48
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  40
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  36
• LG V30
  35
• HTC U11
  35
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  34

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 5
  40
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  40
• OnePlus 5T
  35
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  35
• OnePlus 3T
  33
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  32
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  23
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  21
• HTC U11
  19
• LG V30
  19
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  18

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia XZ1
  25
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  24
• OnePlus 5
  24
• OnePlus 5T
  22
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  21
• OnePlus 3T
  20
• LG V30
  13
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  13
• HTC U11
  13
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  13
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  12

When we move on to Basemark X, we observe that the OP5T is a few points behind the OP5, the two in turn slightly behind the Pixel 2XL. The Exynos Gaalxy S8+ leads the way here, with the Mate 10 Pro showing some advantage over the pack of Snapdragons.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  43862
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  40232
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  39143
• OnePlus 5
  38844
• OnePlus 5T
  38656
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  38583
• HTC U11
  38399
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  38349
• OnePlus 3T
  36958
• LG V30
  36704
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  34951

Put processor and graphics together, throw in RAM and storage, and we're doing compound benchmarks now, trying to put a number next to overall performance. Well, here's one area where the OnePlus 5T beats them all, iPhone 8 Plus included, at least in Basemark OS II 2.0. There's a pretty wide gap between the 5T, and last year's 3T, if you're considering upgrading.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• OnePlus 5T
  3632
• OnePlus 5
  3601
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  3601
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  3578
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  3425
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  3379
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  3319
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  3298
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  2986
• HTC U11
  2970
• LG V30
  2705
• OnePlus 3T
  2678

The iPhone 8 Plus takes what's rightfully its own in Antutu, claiming top spot again, though the question still stands just how comparable these results are across platforms.

Among droids, however, OnePlus' fives rule, followed closely by the Mate 10 Pro.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  188766
• OnePlus 5
  180331
• OnePlus 5T
  179790
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  178510
• HTC U11
  177343
• LG V30
  174330
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  174070
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  170407
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  168133
• OnePlus 3T
  165097
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  160319
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  144462

The OnePlus 5T is a top performer, but you wouldn't expect otherwise just looking at the specsheet. It's on par with its top-class competition and is a worthwhile upgrade over the OP3 or 3T. If you have the OP5, however, the 5T isn't really a meaningful upgrade in terms of performance - duh, the two came out 5 months apart and have mostly the same hardware.

One thing worth noting is that we observed some throttling and heat buildup after repeated benchmark runs. It's not uncommon, but the OnePlus 5 does tend to get a bit hotter than most.