OnePlus 7T Pro review

If you just want a phone that takes good pictures, has a fun, but not at all complicated design, and lets you play Candy Crush every now and then, the OnePlus 7T Pro could be for you. It's one of the simplest modern handsets, but still among our picks of the best smartphones. 

While the regular OnePlus 7T Pro isn’t technically available in the US, it’s easy to import in and not all that costly. If you don't want to mess around with importing, you can also get the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren edition through T-Mobile in the USA, starting at $899.

It doesn’t have many improvements over a regular OnePlus 7T, but the slightly bigger display of its 90Hz 6.67-inch display is incredible and the phone is slim enough that you won’t be uncomfortable at all using it, and can fit in a pocket easily. That isn’t even addressing the OnePlus 7T Pro’s triple camera, and warp charge that gives it half a day’s charge in just 30 minutes. There’s no catch either. The phone really is just that good.

OnePlus 7 Pro review: Design and styling

• Available in Haze Blue and Papaya Orange (plus McLaren edition)
• Enveloped by a glass shell, both front and back

The OnePlus 7T Pro doesn’t have many colors, just the simple Haze Blue and Papaya Orange. Neither of them are the typical color options you can get from a phone, but that’s okay as both are very flashy, particularly the orange. It’s vibrant and has a tropical look. The Haze Blue is a much calmer, cooler color that doesn’t stand out as much as the orange, but it matches with a lot more. However, it really is just a matter of preference and doesn’t make a difference. As we noted before, there's also the McLaren edition which comes with a sleek black and orange design with some McLaren logos on the back.

Measuring at 6.4x2.98x0.34-inches and weighing 7.26 ounces, the OnePlus 7T Pro is slim and compact. It’s heavier than you would expect of a phone of that length, weighing near enough the same as a regular iPhone 11. Still, it isn’t so heavy that you’ll feel uncomfortable using it or fitting it inside a pocket, a purse and/or a handbag.

That said, we would recommend getting a case for the OnePlus due to it having both a front and back glass cover. It is strong Gorilla glass, which is known to be able to withstand being dropped and scratched, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Nothing is worse than getting a phone and having it scratched it the first few minutes of owning it.

OnePlus 7T Pro Review: Battery 

• Warp charge gives 65% of battery in 30 mins
• Phone remains cool even with heavy use

Using your phone for a long time can be the worst for your hands. Nobody wants to touch a burning hot phone, particularly if you’re going to be using it for playing games or watching videos online. Mercifully, the OnePlus 7T Pro keeps its battery under control and stays cool even after extended use.

The warp charge feature also means that you won't need to leave it plugged in for long - it can charge the battery up to 65% in just 30 minutes. The only real downside is that to take full advantage of the Warp charge, you’ll need to specifically use the Warp charger and cable that comes with the phone.

As for the 4085mAh battery in the OnePlus 7T Pro, it performs very well and can last for a whole day with just a single charge even if you are using it regularly. The downside is that there is no way to charge it wirelessly, although the overall speed of wired charging is incredible and, ultimately, weighs out the negatives. You don't get quite the same life as the Huawei P30 Pro or Google Pixel 3a, but it's enough here. 

OnePlus 7T Pro Review: Screen and audio

• Powered by Dolby Atmos 3D sound
• Quality, high-definition resolution

With the spacious 6.67-inch screen both videos and images are of clear quality, text is bold and easy to read, and with the QHD resolution, colors such as blacks and whites are more accurate than ever.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon processor makes doing anything on the OnePlus 7T Pro feel easy. Whether that be doing work with everyday multitasking, watching movies, or even playing video games, you’ll see no stuttering or loss of image rendering. App performance is also incredible, thanks to the RAM boost and high data speeds. 

The OnePlus 7T Pro is even better if you class yourself as a gamer. It has a Fnatic mode, which you can switch on and it’ll supercharge your gaming experience by optimizing your gameplay to make it smooth and easy for you to enjoy. Fnatic mode also disables calls and notifications, making sure you can get your game on completely uninterrupted. 

What makes gaming even better, however, is the Dolby Atmos sound included in the OnePlus 7T Pro’s dual stereo speakers. You can experience powerful, crisp and balanced sounds without a headset, which is rare among smartphones.

Sadly, there’s no way to connect your wired headphones, as there is no 3.5mm socket, so you'll need an adapter or Bluetooth headphones in order to experience on-ear audio.

OnePlus 7T Pro review: Camera

• Triple rear camera set-up: main, ultra wide, and telephoto
• Pop-up selfie camera is adorable

One of the best things about the OnePlus 7T Pro is the camera. It has a lot of three different lenses on the rear camera:  main, ultra wide angle, and telephoto.  The standard camera does most of the heavy lifting, while the ultra wide lets you snap sweeping landscapes. The telephoto lens comes into play when you're zoomed in on distant objects.

There are also specialized photo modes, such as Nightscape that’ll allow you to take vivid photos even at night. But what makes this phone stand out the most is the pop-up selfie camera. It sounds ludicrous, especially with how many front-facing cameras most phones have, but it’s a nifty feature that allows you take pictures with no risk of cutouts or notches.

OnePlus 7T Pro review: Software and assistant features

• Android-based OS
• Google Assistant enabled

Like most smartphones outside the Apple ecosystem, the OnePlus 7T Pro runs on an Android-based operating system called OxygenOS 10. It's basically the Android you know and love from Samsung and Google phones, but with its own unique look and a few performance tweaks under the hood. OxygenOS 10 shares all the security features of Android 10, which means it's as secure as they come.

You also have access to Google Assistant should you want it. Google Assistant is, for our money, the best voice-activated AI helper out there. You can use her to set alarms, check the weather, or just ask her some random trivia - you can also switch the voice over to a male voice if you'd prefer too   There are some other nice touches too, like live wallpapers that let you have a moving scene as your background. Nothing ground-breaking, but a neat feature all the same.

OnePlus 7T Pro review: Security

• In-display fingerprint scanner
• Face unlock

We already mentioned that the OnePlus 7T Pro is running on Android 10, so it should be as secure as any other Android device from a software point of view. When it comes to personal security, the OnePlus 7T Pro has all the features that we've come to expect from a flagship smartphone. There's an in-display fingerprint scanner that lets you unlock the device with a simple touch. Our colleagues over at TechRadar found it to be easy to use and had no issues with it not recognizing them. 

There's also face unlock if you want to get even more high tech, or just a simple password set-up if you want to kick it old school.  Overall, we're impressed with the security suite on the OnePlus 7T Pro.

Should you buy the OnePlus 7T Pro?

With phone prices soaring, you’re going to want a phone that offers value and doesn’t break the bank. The OnePlus 7T Pro is exactly that, especially if you’re someone who uses your phone mostly for entertainment purposes. It’s a little heavy in comparison to some other phones out there, and it isn’t up to date in some places such as the lack of headphone sockets, but overall? It’s a neat little device that’s worth your time.