OnePlus 5

Just like the OnePlus 3 and 3T before it, OnePlus’ latest flagship offers a metallic body, though it’s much thinner this time around. Not only is the handset just 7.25 mm thin, it also features an aggressive taper around the sides that makes the phone feel even thinner. The antenna lines have also been redesigned to go around the perimeter of the phone instead of cutting across the back, making them a lot less noticeable.

Thanks to the rounded corners and edges, the OnePlus 5 looks great and is comfortable to hold. Still, it is worth noting that the thin sides make the phone a bit on the slippery side.

The new design changes are going to be a bit polarizing for some of you. While I’m certainly a fan of most of these changes, it is hard to deny that the OnePlus 5 heavily resembles an iPhone 7 Plus, especially with the addition of a dual camera system that’s similarly shaped and sits in the same location. I am happy to report that, unlike the iPhone, the OnePlus 5 does retain its headphone jack though.

For those familiar with the OnePlus 3T, you’ll find the button placement here hasn’t really changed; the 5’s volume and alert slider are found on the left, the power button the right, the headphone jack on the bottom right, the USB Type-C port in the bottom center, and the speaker on the bottom left. Turning towards the front, the OnePlus 5 has a home button that functions as a fingerprint scanner, flanked by capacitive back and Recent Apps keys. The back key is on the left and the Recent Apps key is on the right by default, but you can flip the orientation if you prefer, via the Settings.

Overall, this still feels like a OnePlus phone, even if the inspiration for its design improvements are pretty obvious.

In a world where QHD has quickly become the standard, and even a few phones have offered 4K displays, OnePlus takes a step backwards by sticking to a “old-fashioned” 1080p 5.5-inch AMOLED panel with a 16:9 resolution. Well, at least it is a step backwards on paper. Despite only being 1080p, the screen looks absolutely gorgeous and is probably the best Full HD panel ever to grace a smartphone.

The display offers vibrant colors that are full of contrast and deep blacks. It gets very bright, too, so even direct sunlight isn’t a real issue.

If I didn’t know it was 1080p, I’d probably think it was of a higher resolution than this. In other words don’t judge the display merely by its spec sheet, because this isn’t your typical 1080p display of yesteryear.