Friends+Design
- Top-notch build quality, minimalistic/elegant design, and even more premium looks now, with a modern 18:9 minimal-bezel display
- Continues to have the very handy mute switch, in the tradition of earlier OnePlus phones
- One of the new additions this time is Face Unlock - a la iPhone X - it works super fast (though not quite as reliably as the iPhone X), and is another area where OP went the extra mile to make one of Google's stock feature better - it's a useful, time-saving method to unlock your phone
- The fingerprint reader, which used to be below the display, now sits on the back, below the camera - and it works well
- The phone still misses out on water and dust resistance, that is there in other (yes, more expensive) flagships
- The phone's face unlock doesn't authorize payments like the iPhone X, and is not that consistent in challenging light
Display
- Very good, and this time larger AMOLED display with great color rendition, and an excellent in-built Kindle-like "reading mode"
- The larger display (6 inches instead of 5.5) is clearly the most envy-inciting difference between the OnePlus 5 and 5T, offering a better experience for watching videos and also simply a larger canvas to do the regular phone stuff too - and because the bezels are thinner, the 5T's physical size remains relatively the same - managing to fit in a 6-inch display within the dimensions of a one-handed phone
- The phone's display is pretty good but doesn't pack the same punch as the (again, admittedly higher priced) premium Android flagships
Software
- OxygenOS continues to be an excellent blend of stock Android and light but useful touches in all the right places - it is, without doubt, one of the best Android UIs around
- There is also an option to make "parallel" apps on the phone if you have two different accounts for apps like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter
Performance
- Performance is blazing fast all round, and same as OnePlus 5 - matching and sometimes even beating other Snapdragon 835 powerhouses like the Galaxy S8, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, and even the newer Pixel 2 XL
Camera
- Very good dual camera setup, like the OnePlus 5 - overall it's pleasing color rendering and good dynamic range - the portrait mode is pretty nice too - on the whole the camera is fast and reliable
- The one major change from the OnePlus 5 is that OnePlus swapped out the 20-megapixel telephoto lens on its dual camera, replacing it with a lens for low light - resulting in better low light pictures at the expense of optical zoom - which is a good trade-off because most users will prefer having better low-light capabilities at the end of the day, over optical zoom
- Front facing camera is pretty good too, and so is 4K video recording (with good stabilisation)
- The camera is also excellent for the price, and a little bit better than the OnePlus 5, but it is a notch below the level of the best Android camera phones like the Pixel 2 - the Pixel 2's camera outpaces the OnePlus 5T in clarity and focus, low-light (due to the camera's OIS/EIS setup), and portrait mode despite only having one lens - though of course the Pixel 2 is also much more expensive
Audio
- Good loudspeaker - a bit richer and full-bodied compared to OnePlus 5
Battery
- Very solid battery life - similar to the OnePlus 5 - will last the day easily
- OnePlus's proprietary dash charging technology continues to provide industry leading fast charging speeds, and continues to work even when you are using your phone
More
- On the whole, once again leaving aside the camera, which is good but not comparable to the best in business (Google Pixel 2), the OP5T matches other premium flagships in all other areas - and delivers this at a fraction of the price - continuing OnePlus's tradition of offering great performance at excellent value for money
- And with improvements in some key areas (especially the screen and the looks), the OnePlus 5T also replaces its sibling as the new best phone to buy in this price range
- If you already have a OnePlus 5, then the changes other than the screen are not that big, so you can easily skip the OnePlus 5T
