OnePlus has unveiled its sixth smartphone, the OnePlus 5T, at a special event in New York. While the upgrades over the OnePlus 5 aren't huge, they're significant enough to make this a late entry for one of the best smartphone flagships of 2017 – and we've got all the key details you need to know.
The biggest visual change from the OnePlus 5 that launched in June is the reduction on the bezels: The OnePlus 5T goes for an all-screen front, much like the iPhone X, Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung Galaxy S8, and LG G6 before it.
With that shift towards a bigger 18:9 AMOLED display – all 6 inches, and 1,080 x 2,160 pixels of it – the fingerprint sensor gets moved around to the back of the phone. There's also a face recognition system on the front, a first for a OnePlus phone, though it's not quite as advanced as Apple's Face ID (it doesn't work in the dark, for a start).
OnePlus is heading off any complaints about color issues by offering a choice of modes for users. It also says the screen can adapt to harsh sunlight for better readability.
Under the hood, it's the same story as its predecessor, so that's a Snapdragon 835 CPU, either 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM, and 64 GB or 128 GB of on-board storage. The phone keeps the forward-facing 16 MP camera, and the rear-facing 16 MP/20 MP dual camera, but both sensors on the rear now boast an aperture of f/1.7 for better low-light shots.
Crucially the price stays almost the same as well: SIM-free the phone will set you back US$499 for the 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage model, and $559 for the 8 GB and 128 GB upgrade. That's a good chunk of change less than its competitors, so OnePlus is continuing its trend of undercutting its biggest rivals on price.
The OnePlus 5 is now no longer on sale (OnePlus did the same last year with the OnePlus 3 and the OnePlus 3T), so the OnePlus 5T stands on its own as the latest and greatest offering from OnePlus.
The 3,300-mAh battery is the same, though it's now powering a bigger screen of course, and OnePlus also bucks the general trend this year by keeping the 3.5-mm headphone port. Your old headphones will still work in the newest phone from OnePlus.
We found ourselves very taken with the OnePlus 5, and with the 5T upgrade offering an improved design and a tweaked camera for the same price, it seems certain to prove another hit for the Chinese firm.
The new handset goes on sale on November 21.
Product page: OnePlus
