OnePlus 7 Review: Will keep sprouting flagship killers in check

The Pro variant obviously has a major public mindshare lead, but the regular OnePlus 7 is perhaps the more interesting option for the masses – simply because its aggressive pricing makes it a lot more accessible. (OnePlus 7 Review हिंदी में पढ़िए)

Over the last few years, OnePlus has progressively increased the prices of its flagship killers (a term it hasn’t used for the last three years) and this year the company finally leapfrogged into the truly premium segment with the 7 Pro (review).

In doing so, it left a void in the lower mid-range segment that many other players like Asus, Xiaomi and even Samsung are now eager to fill with their own set of flagship-specs phones.

An even bigger problem is that the strategy also distances OnePlus from scores of young fans and community member that simply can’t afford the premium (this is especially relevant to India).

This is where the 7 comes in and addresses both challenges. OnePlus retraces its steps and prices 7 even lower than the 6T! This year, OnePlus also continues selling the last year’s 6T for a discounted price, even weeks after 7’s launch, and this shall help the brand cover an even wider price bracket. 

Is the OnePlus 7 a worthy buy? How does it compare against the like of OnePlus 6T and Asus 6Z? Let’s discuss answers to all such OnePlus 7 related question in the following review.

OnePlus 7 Price in India and Specifications

OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 7: What all is the lower variant missing?

Here are all the extras that OnePlus 7 Pro offers over the regular OnePlus 7:

• The display. The biggest difference between the 7 and 7 Pro is the display. The 7 Pro gets a 2K curved, notch-free display with a 90Hz refresh rate that makes it sharper, smoother and more attractive.
• The 7 Pro gets slightly faster Warp charging (30W vs 20W) and a slightly bigger battery (4000mAh vs 3700mAh)
• The Pro gets an advanced ‘10-layer’ cooling system.
• There are extra camera sensors on the Pro, but the primary camera remains the same.  
• The poplar silky-finish Nebula Blue and Almond colors are exclusive to 7 Pro.

OnePlus 7 Review: Design and Build

The OnePlus 7 has the exact dimensions as the 6T and looks almost similar, save for a few minor differences. The two prominent ones are the earpiece and the rear camera. The earpiece is now a lot bigger and an eyesore, and that’s the price you pay for advanced stereo output. The camera module juts out quite a bit.

So, will the same design hold for another year? Well, the V-shaped notch feels kind of obsolete as of today, but I am sure regular folks who don’t change their phones as often as us technology journalists wouldn’t mind. Eitherways, the notches are on their way out and this is something that might bug you after 6 months or a year of usage.

The glass-metal construction still holds good, and the 7 is considerably more comfortable to handle than the 7 Pro.

Going into specifics, both phones have Gorilla Glass 5 on the back, an in-display fingerprint sensors, and a USB Type-C port. Neither of the two makes room for the 3.5mm audio jack.

In India, OnePlus 7 is available in two colors, the flashy red and understated Mirror Grey. The latter is more in line with our personal taste.

OnePlus 7 Review: Display

The 7 has the same 6.41-inch Optic AMOLED display as the 6T. It’s a full HD panel that allows you to choose between a couple of well-calibrated display presets. Of course, what the 7 Pro offers is so much better, but the 7 is a fairly acceptable compromise considering the wide price gap between the two. 

The OnePlus 7 screen is shielded by Gorilla Glass 6, which is a step up from the Gorilla Glass 5 on the Pro model. 

Just like the Pro variant, the OnePlus 7 has DC Dimming as a laboratory feature. This should be a big help for people who are sensitive to PWM flicker.

The display on the OnePlus 7 is a fine AMOLED display, but this year it will face stiff competition from the likes of Asus 6Z and Redmi K20 Pro – each of which offers an uninterrupted and gorgeous notch-less screen.

Also Read: Asus Zenfone 6Z Review 

OnePlus 7 Review: Performance and Software

The 7 undoubtedly has the best performance hardware out there, and this is one segment where it matches the Pro toe to toe! The handset is engined by Snapdragon 855 octa-core chipset paired with up to 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. The base variant for India has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

The software remains the same Oxygen OS, which is still one of our favorite custom skins out there. Some new additions are Zen mode, Fnatic gaming mode, and a new screen recorder, and these changes are likely to trickle down to older OnePlus phones as well.

We are not sure if OnePlus is using the same in-display sensor on both 7 and 7 Pro, but the unlock speed feels the same on both phones. 

The handset also supports HD streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix. All relevant connectivity options are supported and call quality was excellent in our area.

OnePlus 7 Review: Camera

The camera is another area where the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro are really close when it comes to practical usage. Yes, the 7 Pro has a more versatile module with additional 3X optical zoom and wide-angle capture, but the main sensor, the one you’d be using most often, remains the same on both phones.

Besides, the telephoto lens and wide-angle cameras are useful additions on the 7 Pro, but the quality of images you get fall short of those from the main 48MP sensor. So, essentially, you aren’t missing out on much. The OnePlus 7 has an additional 5MP sensor to assist the main sensor in ways including depth sensing.

In daylight, the camera can capture a good amount of detail with wide dynamic range. Colors are mostly accurate and pleasant. In summer afternoon, we noticed that brightness in images was a bit subdued.

Low light camera performance is pretty reasonable for the price. OnePlus also adds a very useful night mode for whenever you need to shoot in dark ambiance.

Overall, the camera performance is an improvement over the OnePlus 6T. The camera performance here is good enough for the price, and that’s not something we can say about the more expensive 7 Pro.

ALSO READ: OnePlus 7 vs Asus 6Z comparison

OnePlus 7 Review: Battery and Audio

The battery capacity is 3700mAh, which is same as what you’d get on OnePlus 6T and lesser than what you get on the higher end OnePlus 7 Pro, but out of the three, you’d get the best mileage on the OnePlus 7. The 7 also supports 20W Warp Charging which, even if not the fastest, is fast enough for a wonderful experience.

The stereo speakers can get loud enough. Quality via headphones is really good, and the handset has support for all popular modern codecs baked in.

OnePlus 7 Review – Should you buy it?

The OnePlus 7 makes a lot of sense at its India price of Rs. 32,999, especially in markets like India. With the 7 Pro, you’d be getting a fancier, better display but other than that, the OnePlus 7 passes on the same experience while being a good Rs. 15,000 cheaper.

Just like the 7 Pro, the 7 has the latest Qualcomm flagship chipset, UFS 3.0 storage, stereo speakers, latest Oxygen OS, and the same 48MP primary camera. Moreover, the 7 is more compact and handier than its pro sibling, even when it rehashes the last generation design. 

The Asus 6Z (Review) and Redmi K20 Pro are the main competitors for OnePlus 7, each of which offers a trendier full-view display, employs the Snapdragon 855 chipset, and has a lower starting price.