A brief OnePlus 5 Review

I've had a lot of phones. Clamshells. Bar phones. iPhones. Lots of iPhones. In fact, for the last 10 years I’ve had each and every iPhone. Ultimately, the list of things I didn’t like about iPhone got longer each year. This summer, I found myself looking for a better solution.

I bought a OnePlus 5.

Everything about this phone's hardware and build is top shelf. I won't go into every spec here, but I'll touch on a few stand out features below.

The OnePlus 5 comes standard with OxygenOS, a lightly skinned version of Android 7.1, which has been super stable and ultra-quick. I opted for the Midnight Black version of this phone, which shipped with 128GB of storage and 8GB of memory. You can really feel the difference that extra RAM makes. I've got multiple browsers each keeping 40+ tabs open at any given time and this thing never breaks a sweat.

There's a dark-mode option and a monochrome Reading Mode which can be invoked on a per-app basis. A crisp 1080p AMOLED display delivers deep blacks, vivid color and looks great from every angle.

Let’s talk about battery life and charging. Coming from the Apple ecosystem, I was used to my iPhone being "mostly dead all day." With each new model, I was also used to being given an underpowered 5w charger and a lesson in patience. I had no idea what I was missing before I used the included Dash Charge cable for the first time. Not only did the OnePlus 5 charge in record time, it took so long for the battery deplete enough to even warrant another charge that I didn’t need to plug it in again for days.

I've had great results with the cameras, too. I take a lot of photos, so a top-notch camera was table stakes. The built-in Pro Mode is perfect for dialing in on your subject and getting the exposure just right. There's also a Portrait Mode, similar to what you'd find on iPhone 7 Plus. That said, I could get that great bokeh effect with far less hassle on the One plus 5 than with the 7 Plus it replaced. It also shoots RAW.

Glad I switched.

When I set out to find a new handset, I wanted a device that put performance first. That's exactly what I found in the OnePlus 5. A modern communication tool with the power-user in mind.