OnePlus 7T Pro & McLaren Edition one month later: Still a rewarding phone!

In the last five years, if there's one company that has made a mark in the premium smartphone industry starting from nothing, it is OnePlus. After overcoming some major challenges and obstacles, OnePlus has become a household name in India and its growth has been on a rising trajectory. OnePlus 7T series is the company's latest and best work so far. While OnePlus 7T has proved its worth in the premium smartphone segment, the OnePlus 7T Pro shows the company's uncompromised areas.

We reviewed OnePlus 7T back in October and it was an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a sub-Rs 40,000 smartphone in India. For those who thrive for that X-factor, OnePlus 7T Pro made itself available to the elite. Launched in London on October 11, OnePlus 7T Pro showed how minor tweaks could be worthy of launching a new flagship.

Between OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro, there's only so much that has been improved. But if you really want that no-compromise, best-flagship experience, you already have your answer.

Specifications

• Display: 6.67-inch QHD AMOLED
• Camera: 48MP + 16MP (ultra-wide) + 8MP (telephoto) and 16MP selfie cam
• Processor: Snapdragon 855+
• RAM: 8GB (12GB in McLaren Edition)
• Storage 256GB UFS 3.0
• OS: OxygenOS 10 (Android 10)
• Battery: 4,085mAh with Warp Charge 30T
• Add-ons: In-display fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock, dual SIM, 4G VoLTE,

After extensively testing OnePlus 7T Pro for a month now, here's our final review and a verdict that tells who should buy this beast of a smartphone.

Design & Display

The design language is still the best, but we had already seen it in the OnePlus 7 Pro. From that curved bezel-less display to a premium frosted glass back and refined edges, OnePlus 7T Pro is every bit great as the OnePlus 7 Pro. OnePlus' attention to detail is always admiring and there's no doubt OnePlus 7T Pro is one of the best looking phones out there.

OnePlus 7T Pro is huge, but it doesn't compromise on the form factor essential for single-hand use. There were some cases when single-hand use isn't possible, but the overall aesthetics of the device make sure you don't feel uncomfortable using the phone on a day-to-day basis.

The signature alert slider, power button below it, the volume rockers on the left and stereo along with Type-C port at the bottom are positioned where they must be. The earpiece is nearly invisible and the pop-up camera is tucked perfectly on the top bezel.

OnePlus took a safe decision importing the curved 2K AMOLED display from the OnePlus 7 Pro for its 7T Pro. There's nothing wrong with the display. It's vibrant, bright, pleasing to look at and as smooth as it gets. We loved everything about the OnePlus 7 Pro's display and there's nothing to hate about it in the 7T Pro.

Besides the fact that nothing much is changed from OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro in terms of design and display, there is nothing you will find worth complaining.

Cameras

Cameras aren't essentially the reason to upgrade from OnePlus 7 Pro, but certainly a strong plus-point for new buyers. There hasn't been a much better time to jump the ship to join OnePlus bandwagon. The cameras had drawn criticism from us, but they have gotten a lot better since then. The OnePlus 7T Pro's cameras are not as great as Pixel 4 or iPhone 11 in their areas of expertise, but they certainly don't disappoint. Some shots, when timed perfectly, can give a tough run for those pixel-perfect Instagram-worthy mobile shots.

OnePlus 7T Pro's camera set up is similar to the OnePlus 7 Pro with the addition of new macro mode and nightscape in a wide-angle lens. The primary lens, as we mentioned in the 7 Pro review, works best. The shots are detailed, crisp and with balanced colour and contrast. Portraits can now be taken without having to step behind to capture a wider frame. It's extremely useful and the shots are good. OnePlus 7T Pro is well equipped to handle low-light scenes and videos are pretty decent, if not as great as the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The macro mode is an interesting addition, allows you to get close, really close to the subject. It gives images a new perspective, something that wasn't possible previously. The AI work in macro mode is quite excellent and turned out to be one of my favourite camera features in OnePlus 7T Pro. Wide-angle night shots are also as good as the normal shots. Selfies are captured with good light, detail and natural colours. Portrait works really well on the front camera as well. The overall camera setup in the OnePlus 7T Pro has been satisfactory.  

Check out camera samples below:

MACRO MODE

WIDE-ANGLE MODE

More camera samples:

Performance

If anyone asking for the best performance-driven phone, OnePlus has been the go-to brand recommendation. The company has never compromised on this front and continues to focus on speed, no matter what.

OnePlus 7T Pro is powered by Snapdragon 855+ chipset, which delivers superior performance. Pair it with 8 gigs worth of RAM and you've got yourself a powerhouse. If you're comparing the 7T Pro's performance with the 7 Pro, you'll hardly notice any difference as the marked improvement is 15 percent in rendering graphics. But for those who are looking for a legit powerhouse, OnePlus 7T Pro is the best one you got in the Android ecosystem.

A massive credit of that smooth performance goes to OxygenOS 10, which should be a standard for how custom ROMs should be. There's a lot of refinement, best theme execution, and software support for at least three years. There were some issues with the navigation gestures in the 7T Pro, especially while trying to go back in the menu from a game or full-screen video. The recent apps menu also refused to work as flawlessly as other gestures. But a simple software update could patch things up and keep things running smoother than ever. If you use the three-button navigation, you're set for life.

The little things that make a huge difference are the privacy notifications, integrated app locker, 50GB free cloud storage, superfast fingerprint security with a cool set of animations to go with, reading mode, screen recorder and Zen mode. I cannot stress how useful Zen Mode has been and it's quite relaxing to get a break from the digital world once in a while. It's highly recommended you try it out.

If there were points for performance, OnePlus 7T Pro would get a perfect score.

Battery life

OnePlus made life easy for everyone by integrating fast charging before anyone else. Now, the company offers Warp Charge 30T with OnePlus 7T Pro, and it's a boon. The 4,085mAh battery can easily get you through the day (a busy one at that) and Warp Charge 30T can refuel your phone in a matter of minutes.

With an hour of charging, OnePlus 7T Pro can go a full day of browsing, calling, texting, social media, mild gaming, music and a bit of video streaming as well. And guess what, there will still be some juice left so you don't have to look for the charger in panic. OnePlus 7T Pro consistently delivered 6+ hours of on-screen time with a full charge. Couldn't have asked for more.

OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition - better than the best

If you wondered how OnePlus could have made OnePlus 7T Pro better? The answer is through OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition. We covered the design bit of the 7T Pro McLaren edition in full detail in the previous post, which concludes that it is alluring. The perfect balance of elegance, subtlety and class fused together to form the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition.

The only way OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition gains an edge over the regular model is through the generous amount of RAM. There are 12 gigs of it and there's no way you'll be able to fully exhaust the device. Running high-end games like Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 didn't heat or cause lags. In fact, all apps were constantly running in the background and still, things were managed quite impressively.

Unless it is for the sake of design (for those who cribbed 7T Pro is practically 7 Pro), the McLaren Edition is worth considering.

Final thoughts

We couldn't stop wondering how OnePlus 7T Pro's biggest competitor is OnePlus 7T. The mighty sibling of the powerful 7T Pro shares so many features, it almost gets difficult to recommend the costlier model. But if you want a display that is best, even though 90Hz refresh rate is supported on the 7T, the OnePlus 7T Pro is a sound choice. Other factors like the notch and flat display make good enough excuse to choose the "Pro" model.

However, if you're already on the OnePlus 7 Pro, we don't see a really good reason why you should upgrade. If it is anything older than the 7 Pro, just make the switch.

OnePlus 7T Pro is priced at Rs 53,999 and the McLaren Edition costs Rs 58,999. Certainly, these phones don't come cheap, but if you consider rivals from bigger names like Apple and Google, OnePlus still has some fight left.

OnePlus 7T Pro won't be the first choice for a flagship unless someone is looking for an elite, no-compromise, value-for-money upgrade with no budget restraints.