OnePlus 5 is practically the most-talked-about topic in the tech industry. Everyone from consumers to enthusiasts are eager to explore the ends of OnePlus 5, and the Chinese tech giant gave most people a chance at the launch of the phone in Mumbai on Thursday.
International Business Times, India, was also one of the many present at the OnePlus 5 India launch for coverage, and managed to get hands on the phone to quickly test and review it. But even before anyone got their hands on the OnePlus 5, there were discussions about the phone's worth.
OnePlus prides itself with innovation and follows the notion that a great phone doesn't have come with a hefty price tag. What changed with OnePlus 5?
Firstly, it is the most expensive OnePlus smartphone ever at Rs. 37,999 in India. There's been a graph in OnePlus' pricing strategy and it has steadily moved up the ladder. As it stands at its peak at this point, there's concern whether the maker of a "flagship killer" is heading in the direction of bigger giants like Apple and Samsung. We certainly hope not.
OnePlus 5 price in India. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/1b3C7MmINU
— IBTimes India Tech (@IBTimesIN_Tech) June 22, 2017
OnePlus 5 faces the reality here. Even though it is priced lower than the iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S8 series, OnePlus 5 is still considered expensive due to the company's uprising brand value. But we'd beg to differ on this front as OnePlus 5 is one of the worthiest smartphone anyone can buy in India currently.
OnePlus 5 has everything a flagship smartphone demands. But everything's not black and white here, there are some grey areas, too.
Everyone's been talking about how great the phone's specs are, complete with Snapdragon 835 chipset, 8GB RAM, 3,300mAh battery with Dash Charge, a dual rear camera setup, which the company claims is of the world's highest resolution, and feature-heavy OxygenOS to make the overall user experience smooth.
We have already discussed the features of the OnePlus 5 at launch. You can watch the video below where all the features of the smartphone are explained.
But let's take a shift of angle here and look into the areas where OnePlus 5 doesn't truly impress or "kill" a flagship like it is supposed to.
The design element of the OnePlus 5 is not as innovative as the OnePlus 3 was when it was launched last year. There's nothing wrong with the way the phone looks or feels in the hand, but it looks a tad old compared to the handsets like Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+. The bezels have been trimmed slightly on the sides, but the top and bottom areas of the OnePlus 5 look identical to the OnePlus 3/3T.
The dual rear camera setup on the rear makes the phone look a lot like the iPhone 7 Plus, but from an engineering point of view OnePlus did the best it could.
Speaking of design, the stakes are high and people demand more. OnePlus 5's design doesn't make it a water or dust proof phone. It would be a great addition since Samsung Galaxy S8 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium offer high resistance to water and dust. There shouldn't be any limitations to where we can use our high-end flagships – that is if OnePlus is considering itself one of the top tiers.
Then there's the display. The 5.5-inch screen has a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, which is same as the last year's flagship. That's quite a letdown since rivals such as Sony, Samsung, LG and even Xiaomi moving up to 4K and 2K resolutions for their flagships. On a daily use case scenario, we find OnePlus 5's Full HD display practical. But a higher screen resolution could present better VR opportunities for the OnePlus 5.
OnePlus 5 comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, because no one really appreciated Apple for ditching the jack in its latest iPhones. But OnePlus 5 did not offer a microSD card slot, something Apple has done for years. Even though there are 64GB and 128GB storage options in the OnePlus 5, the lack of expandable storage triggers some distress among users. If not a dedicated slot, OnePlus could've at least added a hybrid slot to give users the option to choose between a secondary SIM or a microSD card.
The company's motto is "Never Settle." While there are some impressive features that make the OnePlus 5 so great, can these setbacks actually contradict the company's loud dictum? We think the company has struck a balance between great and average specs in its phone, but it remains to be seen how well it shows its strengths and conceals the limitations.
