New smartphone, new design … New strategy?
Contrary to many unconfirmed rumors and leaks, OnePlus has recently introduced its seventh smartphone under the 5T index. There was talk that this announcement would be canceled and instead of it they would show us OnePlus 6 at the beginning of the year, but the company had its own vision on this matter.
Specifications OnePlus 5T:
- Body materials: anodized aluminum, 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5
- Operating system: Android 7.1.1, Oxygen OS
- Networks: FDD LTE: Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/66, TDD-LTE: Band 34/38 / 39/40/41, TD-SCDMA: Band 34/39, UMTS (WCDMA): Band 1/2/4/5/8, CDMA: BC0 GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- Dual SIM
- Screen: AMOLED, diagonal 6.01 “, aspect ratio 18: 9, resolution 1080 × 2160 dots, 401 dpi, sRGB, DCI-P3
- Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- Processor: eight-core, 64-bit, 4 cores 2.45 GHz and 4 cores 1.9 GHz, 10 nm technical process
- Graphics: Adreno 540
- RAM: 6/8 GB
- Storage memory: 64/128 GB, UFS 2.1
- Memory card slot: no
- Main camera: IMX 398 16 MP f / 1.7, 1.12 μm + IMx 376K 20 MP f / 1.7, 1.0 μm, dual LED flash
- Video shooting modes: 4K / 30 fps, 1080p / 60 fps, 1080p / 30 fps, 720p / 30 fps, slow motion 720p / 120 fps, time-lapse recording
- Front camera: IMX 371 16 MP f / 2.0, 1.0 μm
- Video shooting modes: 1080p / 30 fps, 720p / 30 fps, time-lapse shooting
- Interfaces: WiFi MIMO 22, WiFi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, 2.4 / 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0 with support for aptX and aptX HD, USB Type-C 2.0 (USB-Host) for charge / sync, 3.5 mm headset / headphone jack
- Navigation: GPS / A-GPS / GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
- Audio: AANC support, Dirac HD, 3 noise canceling microphones
- Optional: face recognition, fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, proximity sensor, Hall sensor, NFC, notification mode switch
- Battery: 3300 mAh (non-removable), support for fast charging Dash Charge
- Dimensions: 156.1 x 75 x 7.3 mm
- Weight: 162 grams
- Price: $ 499 / $ 559
- Sales start: November 21
Almost everything about the OnePlus 5T was known even before the presentation, the company actively collaborated with popular journalists and bloggers in key markets. What can I say, video reviews of the smartphone appeared even before the official presentation. Let's try to understand what place the smartphone takes in the company's lineup.
First of all, it is worth noting that the continuity between OP5 and 5T differs from the situation with 3 and 3T, the difference between which was purely cosmetic. OnePlus has decided to join the 18: 9 trend and hastened to release an adapter to show its intention to evolve. But we didn’t see anything innovative and radically new. The same materials and almost the same dimensions as in OP5. For the sake of minimal bezels, the fingerprint scanner 'gave up' its place on the front panel to the screen and moved to the rear panel.
The first video reviews emphasize the modern design of the device. Yes, the trends are followed, here are the minimum frames, and a large diagonal with convenient dimensions, and really quick unlocking in the face. But is the design of this particular device really so new? Many rightly noted the external resemblance to the OPPO R11s. On the other hand, there are all the typical OnePlus solutions: 1080p screen, Type-C 2.0, one speaker, no dedicated DAC, emphasis on cameras, no official rating of protection against external influences. In my opinion, all this once again underlines the hint that the device will become a transitional link from the already familiar design to something more relevant and fresh.
At first glance, everything is pretty good. The smartphone will undoubtedly work quickly and show autonomy results at the level of the OnePlus 5, the processor and RAM will not leave any chance for lags. Design continuity will be appreciated by those who thought of switching to OP5, but for some reason decided to hesitate with the purchase. The thin body, coupled with the large screen, will surely please users, as will the materials used. But something in this magnificence is alarming.
The first two or three devices in the company's lineup were referred to as “flagship killers”, which were ripped off by enthusiastic geeks. Now we see a more restrained approach. Smartphones are being touted as a lucrative alternative to flagship solutions from other manufacturers and offer a universal user experience, with the cost of devices gradually approaching the $ 600 bar. All this can be traced to the process of work on changing the perception of the brand mentioned in one of the Besedki issues. Phones are becoming quieter in appearance, keeping flagship characteristics, confidently competing with premium products of larger players, gradually gaining in price. What will happen if the price of OnePlus devices goes beyond the psychological threshold of $ 600? There will be a transformation of OnePlus into another brand 'like everyone else', playing by the same rules. That is, the company partly abandons its own 'Never Settle' message in an attempt to attract more users. They can do it, looking at their OnePlus 5, I fully assume this development of events: the smartphone works quickly and confidently pulls all my scenarios, while outwardly not claiming itself as a flagship.
As soon as the first rumors about the 5T began to appear, I thought that I shouldn't have rushed with the purchase of the 'five', I had to wait. Now we can say with complete confidence that my fears were in vain, for myself I did not see any striking differences, for the sake of which one can make a choice in favor of the novelty. The 18: 9 trend is not particularly to my liking: frequent readers of AMP may have noticed my dislike for the soft navigation keys, the trend is still relevant. At the same time, it is curious to see with my own eyes the operation of the face recognition system, perhaps this is the only moment of interest to me in the new smartphone. Let's see what else OnePlus will surprise us in the future.