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Design
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Compared to the OnePlus 5, the 5T has a much more modern and trendy design. The thick bezels and 16:9 aspect ratio are gone in favour of a bezel-less design with a taller, 18:9 aspect ratio screen. This puts the total screen-to-body ratio at exactly 80% which is quite impressive.
The black aluminium body is also fairly lightweight for a phone this size, with the whole device weighing just 162g. To put that in perspective, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro is 178g, and the iPhone 8 Plus is 202g – despite both of those phones having smaller screens.
In terms of ergonomics, the curved corners and the tapered edges of the 5T make it a real joy to hold. It is easy to use one-handed thanks to the new, slimmer body and the aluminium is very soft to the touch. It can be a bit slippery though, so a case or skin is recommended.
Elsewhere, the right-hand edge of the phone is home to the power button and the SIM tray (which supports dual nano SIMS but no microSD card). The left-hand edge houses the alert slider and volume rocker, while the 16MP selfie camera and earpiece speaker are at the very top of the phone. The USB-C port, downward firing speaker and 3.5mm jack sit proudly on the bottom edge.
On the back of the phone, the 16MP and 20MP cameras protrude slightly from the main body of the phone. Below the cameras sits the fingerprint scanner and a discrete OnePlus logo.
On the whole, it's a sleek and modern design. It's nothing revolutionary – in fact, the 5T is really OnePlus' playing catch-up to the new bezel-less trend which has taken over – but it's definitely an improvement over the OnePlus 5.
Display
For a £500 phone, the 5T is doing very well to cram in a 6.01in AMOLED panel. Its ‘only' a 2160×1080 resolution, when its more expensive rivals have 1440p panels, but it still gives 401PPI which I think is sharp enough unless you're holding the phone about 2cm away from your face.
In any case, it's undoubtedly a fantastic display for the money. Colours are rich and vibrant, while the AMOLED technology ensures blacks are inky and deep as well.
In the settings, there's even the option to manually set a colour balance as well, should you feel the out-of-the-box calibration is too warm or cold.
Lastly, screen brightness is also impressive – I had no issues using the 5T outdoors, and the phone also gets pleasantly dim when using it at night.
Overall, I think the 5T's display is undoubtedly the best around at this price – an AMOLED panel for £500 is not to be sniffed at. I'd go as far to say that it even outstrips the panel on the more expensive Mate 10 Pro, so if the screen is an important factor for you, the 5T is definitely a winner here.
