First impressions and conclusions about the 'flagship killer'.
Finally, OnePlus 5 came to me, I want to share my thoughts on the results of the first week with the device. I want to say right away that the material is not a review, it will be released later. As AMR readers may remember, I recently wrote that the OnePlus 5 is likely to be my next smartphone. And so it happened, at the beginning of September the novelty was in my hands. The device was purchased in China from the official website of the company, my friend helped with this, who brought the smartphone to Russia. I chose the version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory, color – Midnight Black. In addition to the phone, OnePlus Bullets V2 headphones arrived, in the end the purchase cost 3588 yuan (31,500 rubles).
Appearance
After SGN4 and Honor 8 Pro, the hero of the material seemed very light and relatively small. Of course, here we are not talking about a phablet, hence such feelings. The back surface of the phone is made of anodized aluminum, however, the tactile sensation of cold metal quickly disappears, and it seems that you are holding a smartphone with a 'soft touch' cover. The beveled edges of the OP5 strive to do an unkind service, but in a week I got used to the grip and the smartphone no longer slips out of my hand. Well, in order to surely exclude slipping in my hand, I, as usual, turned to vinyl stickers. The custom (white) sticker from Slickwraps upset me: the film is thick, not as flexible as other products of the company, it feels like oilcloth, puffs up at the corners and does not fit perfectly, so it was hastily removed. But dbrand did not disappoint again, the stickers they provided for this material fit much better, even though the gluing process is noticeably more complicated than that on my previous device.
The similarity with iPhone 7 Plus was not noted only by the lazy, at work many were genuinely surprised why I decided to switch to iOS. The protruding camera lens is a little upsetting, I'm thinking about buying a cover, since the official accessories have already appeared on sale. The factory film also leaves much to be desired, later I will look for something to replace it, I don't want to risk the screen.
Left to right: iPhone 7, OnePlus 5, Samsung Galaxy Note 4
A little about the dimensions. As I already mentioned, the 5.5 ″ diagonal is my favorite, the smartphone fits well in the hand and there is no need to intercept in order to reach the elements in the upper corner of the screen. The thickness and weight, in contrast to the SGN4, periodically make you feel your pocket to make sure that the device is there, it seems so light. Again, I'm used to phablets, a new habit will take some time to develop. OnePlus, in my opinion, wins due to thin edges, but on the other hand, the weighty phablet feels more secure in the hand, although ergonomics suffers slightly.
Equipment
Dozens of text and video reviews with unpacking the device did not leave any surprises in terms of the contents of the box: the device itself, a clip for ejecting the SIM card tray, a charger with Dash Charge support, a photo, a user manual in Chinese. I really liked the attention to small details, for example, a plug was put on the charging cable, and dummies imitating SIM cards were inserted into the SIM card slots. Little things always leave a pleasant impression, here is just such a case.
The plug of the charger, of course, does not fit our sockets, because the device was released for the Chinese market, so an adapter was ordered in advance from the same friend, which, although it makes the charger bulky, allows you to use the proprietary fast charging technology. I won't buy a European charger yet, but it will be useful to have an additional cable, for example, for work. There are no headphones in the kit, so I ordered them additionally. There is not much to say about the quality of the headphones: austere inexpensive design, flat cable, standard control panel, unremarkable sound, sound insulation is not the best, but you can listen.
Localization, autonomy
Out of the box, the OnePlus 5 offers three system languages: Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and English. The choice in favor of English is obvious, this is not a problem for me, I did not find anything complicated in the settings for myself. Not a very pleasant moment was the Chinese software a la JD app, the local app directory, QQ, and so on. Everything was removed without problems, the installation and setup of a Google account went even easier. Further customization already concerned the set of applications, the device itself and individual preferences: turned off the backlighting of the touch keys under the screen, set the black theme, reconfigured the 'tiles' in the switch panel.
My smartphone is running Hydrogen OS based on Android 7.1.1. This firmware is installed (yes, you guessed right) on devices for the Chinese market, but by and large it practically does not give out anything, especially after removing the mentioned programs. At this stage, it is difficult for me to talk about the differences between the international firmware and the Chinese one, I will not flash on Oxygen yet, I see no point in this, especially since there is an opinion on the network about a relatively better autonomy on Hydrogen. The latter pleased me in my case: after a couple of charge-discharge cycles, it turned out to reach the following indicators: when the phone was removed from charging at 9:15 am (100%) by 00:10, the battery was discharged to 13%. During this time, the screen worked for about five and a half hours at a brightness of ~ 10%, constant synchronization, 4G / 3G / Edge (at work, the network often jumps between bands), about an hour was connected to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth -headphones (rode the subway).
Screen
The 5.5-inch Optic Amoled display appealed to 100% of those who asked to twist the phone in their hands. This was facilitated by rich colors, a good margin of brightness, and the ability to adjust the color temperature.
I confess that I was worried that I would miss the 2K resolution, but, as it turned out, I switched quite easily and there was not much difference. The screen in the OnePlus 5 can be switched to reading mode (in selected applications), as well as to night mode, which cuts off the blue spectrum of the glow, which helps to fall asleep and does not hit the eyes in the dark. Separately, the Ambient Display feature is worth noting, which is something I've definitely missed since testing the Moto X Force.
Cameras
I would not say that I am very well versed in cameras and mobile photography in general, so I will try to briefly describe my impressions of the camera in OnePlus 5. When shooting with the main set of cameras (20 + 16 megapixels, telephoto and wide-angle cameras, Sony IMX 350 modules and 398, f / 2.6 and f / 1.7, respectively), several shooting modes are available.
Pro-mode allows you to take the most customized pictures for the situation, adds a histogram, level and the ability to save photos in RAW format for further post-processing to the camera interface. Portrait mode, in turn, requires good lighting and placing the subject at a distance of two to three meters from the lens. As a result, we get a blurred background and a clear object in the foreground. This functionality cannot be called revolutionary, but it turns out quite tolerably even in my, let's say, not the most direct hands in terms of photography.
Additional camera functions: HDR, HQ, dynamic noise reduction, panoramic shooting, screen flash when shooting in front. Video shooting is carried out in the following modes: 4K 30 frames per second, 1080p / 60 and 30 frames per second, 720p / 30 frames per second, slow motion 720p / 120 frames per second, time-lapse shooting. Of course, in a week it is not quite easy to give an adequate assessment of the camera's work, but it is clear that we did a great job in this aspect, if you, dear readers, are interested, then I will try to write a separate material on the camera, it's worth it. I will give examples of photos.
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General impressions
The first thing I caught myself on after using the OnePlus 5 was the feeling that the inner geek had grasped full Zen and finally (for a while?) Calmed down. The device provides complete freedom of setting and customizing interface elements, settings, notification modes, and this instantly captivates, at least for me – for sure. The uniform design of system applications, coupled with the black theme, I personally liked very much, apparently, this is how my research, which began in SGN4, was completed. Everything is brought to one style, there are no variegated motley elements, the appearance on the one hand is strict, and on the other, it is full of various settings and options. For such a short time, I repeat, it is unrealistic to study all the capabilities of the device, but now I can say that the device is definitely worth its money. Would I take it for 45,000? It is unlikely, it seems to me that something can be taken to a higher level in this amount, especially if we talk about the 'gray' market.
The device works smartly, I didn't notice any crashes and jams, which is what I expected from such a size of RAM. The earpiece is quite loud, you often have to make the sound quieter. The music speaker was not impressive, but I listen to music on headphones 90% of the time, so it's fine for YouTube videos. Of the 128 GB, 111 are available to the user, I wonder if I can fill this place with something in my use case. The general impression is very positive, I will continue to understand the device. I definitely won't call the smartphone a disappointment, it has a certain reserve, not the same, of course, as in seasoned flagships, but for its money it's just a godsend. Especially in the context of constant promotions in online stores. If you have any questions, I will try to answer everything, write in the comments.