Despite some roadblocks, the OnePlus 7T offers users a budget-friendly entry into the realm of a Fluid AMOLED 90 Hz display

Regardless of the ups and downs of my experience with the device over a period of six days, I know for certain that the OnePlus 7T, is great value for money. At under ₹40,000, the device wins on responsiveness, visuals, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ along with the Fluid AMOLED 90 Hz display.

Not only is it fast to touch, it is also much more sensitive than the iPhone 8 Plus. The colours on streamed videos were richer, and the brightness of the screen felt vivid without being harsh. Its sound quality is great with Dolby Atmos support. A few hours on this device, and my old iPhone 8 Plus felt a little... dated.

Specifications Dimensions and weight: 160.94 × 74.44 × 8.13mm; 190g

160.94 × 74.44 × 8.13mm; 190g Display: 90 Hz Fluid Display HDR10+

90 Hz Fluid Display HDR10+ Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+; 8 GB + 256 GB UFS 3.0

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+; 8 GB + 256 GB UFS 3.0 Battery: Warp Charge 30T; 3800 mAh Battery

Warp Charge 30T; 3800 mAh Battery GPU: Adreno 640

The device itself was much lighter, too. Its matte-frosted back felt less like a hazard to use without a cover when compared to the iPhone 8 Plus’ glass back, though some users of the older OnePlus models thought the 7T was heavier in comparison to its predecessors and worse off in terms of grip. The same set also complained about the 7T’s screen height, but I thought it was ideal — the 6.55-inch screen, with an effective use of the almost-no-bezel experience, gave me a clear big-phone experience, while still allowing me to reach both ends of my keyboard without effort (or having to split the keyboard virtually).

Currently, as people are gung-ho about the Dark Mode on screens, the 7T’s ‘Reading mode’ is an interesting choice to have — the phone dips into a comfortable medium between the inky jet-black and the standard light. The mode comes with two options: ‘chromatic’ for a sort of faded Eastman colour experience, which is better on the eye than the ‘mono’, which is a watery black-and-white. This, unlike Dark Mode, applies to all apps, making OnePlus’ Oxygen OS on Android 10 truly unique.

To long life with refills

The 7T’s battery life too, which my old iPhone 8 Plus isn’t known for, was a great new lifeline for me, as I spent a whole afternoon video-calling with no immediate need to plug in. This started at noon, with about 85% battery, with the phone reassuring me that (usage unchanged, perhaps) I’m good to go till 8.30 pm. Around four hours later however, I was down to 33%. A quick warp charge for about 15 minutes though brought me up to 90%. At 6 pm, it tells me this can hold till 5 am tomorrow.

I like the intentionality behind the Zen mode, the equivalent of which on the Apple ecosystem is Screen Time. The latter is more of a ‘control’, while the Zen Mode endears itself by virtue of it being a choice you seek out and commit to.

That being said...

I must admit that the first few days with the device were not without its drawbacks. As someone who is taking the plunge into a whole new ecosystem, the OnePlus 7T’s first boot-up suggestions were a big turn-off. It had asked me to use the OnePlus Switch route, which involves downloading an app of the same name onto the iPhone, which should guide you through the rest of the process.

Unfortunately, it didn’t show up on the AppStore, nor did its QR code, as displayed on the 7T, work. I put the device away for a few days after this experience. The second time around, however, it asked me to do a Google Drive back-up and make the switch — simpler and more straightforward, this experience was a breeze.

During the initial two days, the 7T’s display would flicker when I moved indoors from a sunny balcony. But it eased off entirely by the fifth day. App crashes, especially when setting up Gmail accounts on the native Google mail app, were also a problem, but it ran fine once we got over that hump.

Another point of concern is with the much-talked-about wide-angle lens in the phone’s horizontal triple-camera set-up. I felt like the wide-angle pictures distorted around the edges, like I’ve adjusted the picture’s X-skew a little. However, the macro mode was impressive — letting me see details in leaves and in my couch’s texture my eye couldn’t.

If in the next couple of years, OnePlus is able to truly master its own unique ecosystem — a field it has stepped into with the TVs launched last month — the brand will be in competition with Google and Apple in the lifestyle-tech space.

OnePlus 7T can be purchased at major online and offline retailers: 8GB/128GB at ₹37,999 and 8GB/256GB at ₹39,999.