Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
- The $670 OnePlus 7 Pro is so good, and so much cheaper than the iPhone XS and Galaxy S10, that it makes a bit of a mockery of Apple and Samsung.
- The biggest thing that sets the OnePlus 7 Pro apart is its screen, which displays the Android operating system and apps incredibly smoothly. It makes a bigger impact than gimmicky features in recent premium flagships.
- OnePlus also took the risk of ditching the iPhone-style notch and Samsung-style selfie camera cutout by using an unproven popup selfie camera system.
- In no uncertain terms, the OnePlus 7 Pro completely outshines the competition based on its price, design, and performance.
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Phone maker OnePlus usually makes comparatively inexpensive premium smartphones that are as good as the more expensive flagship devices from big companies like Apple and Samsung.
With the recently-announced $670 OnePlus 7 Pro, the company just taught Apple and Samsung a lesson in how to build premium smartphones from now on. The phone will be available on May 17th from the OnePlus website and T-Mobile — though if you buy it straight from OnePlus, it’ll work on AT&T or Verizon, as well as T-Mobile.
Instead of one-upping Apple or Samsung with specs or design, OnePlus thought outside the box and gave the OnePlus 7 Pro a new, buttery-smooth screen that makes a significantly bigger impact than some of the more gimmicky features I’ve seen in recent (and pricier) phones.
On top of the smooth display, OnePlus also figured out how to completely ditch the iPhone-style notch or the Samsung-style selfie camera cutout, with a clever — but unproven — pop-up camera system.
In no uncertain terms, OnePlus completely outshines its competition.
The OnePlus 7 Pro goes on sale on May 17, but I got to check it out early:
The OnePlus 7 Pro is the biggest leap in OnePlus phone design.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
If you want a pretty phone, then a pretty phone you shall get with the OnePlus 7.
I’ve been using the "Nebula" blue version with a frosted back and blue metal edges, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
It’s also the first time we’re seeing curved screen edges on a OnePlus phones, which is typically a signature feature on Samsung’s Galaxy series smartphones. The curved display edges look just as good as they do on Samsung’s phones, but you don’t notice them as much while you’re swiping around Android and your apps, or while playing a video.
Indeed, some complain that Samsung’s curved edges noticeably distort content around the edges, but it doesn’t happen so much on the OnePlus 7 Pro.
The OnePlus 7 Pro is also easier to handle without a case, which is almost a requisite on the Samsung Galaxy S10, where you have to delicately tiptoe your fingers around the edges to prevent an accidental screen tap.
OnePlus has managed something Apple and Samsung haven’t: a screen that’s almost without a bezel, minus a notch or cutout for the selfie camera.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
There’s no notch or cutout for the selfie camera on the OnePlus 7. There’s only screen.
Coupled with ultra-thin bezels around the 6.67 inch, 1440p resolution screen, the OnePlus 7 Pro’s full-screen experience is objectively unmatched by Apple’s iPhones or Samsung’s Galaxy series.
There isn’t a massive revelatory difference while using Android, apps, or watching videos on the notchless OnePlus 7 Pro. But it does feel like everything on the screen has a little more room to stretch comfortably.
So where’s the selfie camera if there’s no notch or cutout?
It’s inside the phone. And when you want it, it peeks out — in 0.53 seconds, to be precise. I can’t speak for selfie takers, as I rarely ever take selfies, but it seems quick enough to me.
With that said, it might not be quick enough for unlocking the OnePlus 7 Pro with facial recognition. From the lock screen, you have to swipe up to summon the selfie camera from its hiding place, and it takes just that extra bit of time to scan your mug. It makes facial recognition less useful than the in-display fingerprint sensor.
Good thing, then, that the fingerprint sensor on the OnePlus 7 Pro’s is good. It’s significantly faster and less frustrating to use than the fancy "ultrasonic" in-display fingerprint sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S10.
The clear concern with a popup camera is durability, especially if it hits the ground after a drop.
Amazingly, the OnePlus 7 Pro can detect the moment it’s dropped — and if the camera is popped up, it’ll automatically scamper back into its hiding place before it hits the ground.
The popup selfie camera, indeed, retracted itself automatically when I gingerly drop-tested the OnePlus 7 Pro from a distance of about two to three feet onto a soft comfy couch.
OnePlus also says the popup selfie camera can withstand up to 300,000 raises. That’s 150 selfies per day for five and half years straight. I’d like to meet the person who takes that many selfies.
The real test, however, will be out in the real world. It’s still one more thing that can potentially break. We’ll have to see how the popup selfie camera design fares over time, as actual consumers get their hands on it.
Anyway, here’s a selfie taken with the popup selfie camera. It looks good to me!
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Antonio Villas-Boas)