One of the fastest phones on the market

Almost everything you do on the OnePlus 7T phone feels slick and it also gets through a day on a single charge, writes Noel Campion

OnePlus introduced themselves into the Irish market in recent years and have gained both popularity and critical acclaim here. I’ve been testing the new OnePlus 7T, which is essentially an iterative

upgrade of the OnePlus 7 and a less expensive version of the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Right out of the box, the 7T is incredibly impressive. This is easily the fastest smartphone I’ve tried to date thanks to the Snapdragon 855+ and 90Hz display. Almost everything you do on this phone feels incredibly slick and fast. It has a massive 8GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.0 storage — there’s also a 256GB option. The phone boots up quickly and apps load noticeably fast.

One of my favourite hardware features is the three-position slider switch on the right side of the phone which changes the ringer to Silent, Vibrate or Ring. This is clearly borrowed from the iPhone and I don’t care because I love.

Clearly, I’m impressed with the 7T’s performance, but this is also a beast of a phone for those who love to game on the go. Graphically intense games like PUBG and Fortnite manage solid frames per second with no signs of lag or slowdowns during gameplay. Of course, the 855+ helps the performance here, particularly in games, but the overall responsiveness is stellar.

Raw performance is important, but one of the key features I now look for in a top-end smartphone is the screen. The OnePlus 7T doesn’t disappoint here either. Top on the list is the 90Hz screen which makes everything feel silky smooth and fast. You really can tell the difference when you scroll through social feeds or browse the web.

The entire UI experience is a joy to use. The 6.55-inch display is stunning and easily one of my favourite things about this phone. Not only has it a fast 90Hz refresh rate, but it also supports HDR10+ and gets super bright for the best possible experience when watching movies on the go. It also gets really dim for reading at night in the dark

The triple camera array is really good on the OnePlus 7T. Stunning 90Hz 6.55-inch OLED display.

To be fair, the excellent OnePlus software also provides a helping hand to boost performance too. The OnePlus 7T comes with the latest version of Android 10 and the OxygenOS skin on top.

This gives all OnePlus phones a distinctive look while at the same time, managing not to slow down Android like some other UI’s do with bloatware and over-the-top customisation.Good performance is essential, but what’s even more important is battery life. The 7T packs a decent 3,800mAh battery and comes with the Warp Charger 30T for fast wired charging. I found with medium to heavy use, I had little trouble getting a full day from a single charge. If I did need a top-up, the 30T can top you up in double-quick time.

The OnePlus 7T comes with a triple camera array on the back housed in a circular bump. They comprise of a 48MP sensor, a 2x 12MP telephoto, and a 16MP wide-angle camera with 120-degree wide field of view. The wide-angle lens is also capable of close focusing for macro shots. OnePlus call it SuperMacro, but the issue I have with this mode is that it uses the wide-angle lens and so have you have to be practically touching the object you’re trying to shoot.

This means you’re blocking light from your subject, which isn’t ideal and it doesn’t allow you to turn on the flashlight to

illuminate it either. You can zoom in during SuperMacro mode, but this is a digital zoom and still only uses the wide-angle lens.

Image quality is much better than most smartphone cameras in this price range. However, there’s a clear difference in the quality of images produced by the 48MP sensor over the telephoto and wide-angle cameras. This is especially true when there’s less available light available. In good light, all of the cameras can capture excellent images and video. The dynamic range between dark shadows and highlights is good and you can manually control things like HDR (high dynamic range).

Nightscape mode isn’t class-leading, but it does a decent job of capturing an image that wouldn’t be possible without it. The Pro mode is great for those who like to experiment with settings like ISO, white balance and shutter speeds. The Portrait mode does a pretty good job of capture decent sharpness without employing too much skin smoothing while producing a pleasing out of focus background to make the subject pop.

The OnePlus 7T is an excellent phone, but like every phone, it isn’t perfect.

The cameras are really good, but not on par with the likes of the iPhone 11 Pro, Huawei P30 Pro, Google Pixel 4 or Samsung S10. Also, it doesn’t come with any waterproof rating or wireless charging.

Overall, the OnePlus 7T has many flagship qualities without the heavy price tag and comes highly recommended

- Available now at Three.ie from €99 on bill pay or €600 on Prepay.