OnePlus 7 Pro in review: Almost perfect

With the OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus launched the first real premium smartphone onto the market. In the last few weeks, I was able to find out what this has to offer besides a higher price.

For the first time OnePlus made two smartphones for two price ranges before. On the one hand we have the OnePlus 7, which is the direct successor to the OnePlus 6T and a review of which is due to be published in a few weeks. Today, however, it's about the OnePlus 7 Pro. The smartphone that is supposed to show other premium devices what to do - at a comparatively low price. I'll explain what this price is all about at the end.

Unboxing and initial setup

Although the OnePlus 7 Pro is the company's first premium smartphone, the company decided not to introduce a new design for the packaging. This means that OnePlus continues to use cardboard packaging in red and white tones with several logos and fonts. At the beginning of the box, the smartphone is on top, wrapped in a plastic film. Underneath is a red case containing a SIM tool and a transparent silicone case for the smartphone. This is not something you would normally find on high-end devices. You will also find the Warp Charge power adapter in the packaging. I will explain what Warp Charge is in more detail later.

You can find that in the packaging. (Picture: TechnikNews)

There are no big surprises when setting up the device for the first time; you should already be familiar with everything from the setup process of other smartphones. This means that you first enter the language and region. Then you log in to Google before setting up your preferred unlocking method. Finally, you have to give your consent and then you can start using it. Overall, the process should take no longer than 20 minutes.

Design and workmanship

The OnePlus 7 Pro is not for small hands. Not only did I notice this immediately when unpacking it, but my girlfriend noticed it pretty quickly too. With dimensions of 7 millimeters long, 162,6 millimeters wide and 75,9 millimeters thick, the 8,8 Pro is definitely not a compact smartphone. At 206 grams, it is not particularly light either. In the end, that didn't matter to me with my slightly larger hands, but I still think that this will be a counterargument for some people to buy it.

OnePlus sells the Pro in three different colors: Mirror Gray, Nebula Blue and Almond. Mirror Gray is a little lighter than the previously known Mirror Black and shimmers differently depending on the light. Nebula Blue is the color of my test device - it is a very dark blue. This also looks different depending on the light. Almond looks more cream-colored than almond-colored and always looks similar even in different sunlight.

The back looks very nice in Nebula Blue. (Image: TechnikNews)

The back of the OnePlus 7 Pro is made of glass. With other smartphones, you would think that the back attracts fingerprints like nothing else. But that is not the case with OnePlus. The back has a special coating that feels a bit like the Google Pixel 3 XL feels. This comes with a second plus point: the back is very scratch-resistant. Although the device unfortunately fell to the ground once, I could only find two small micro-scratches. Otherwise you can find a silver OnePlus logo and the triple camera on the back - more on that later in the camera section.

Next up is the frame of the OnePlus 7 Pro. On the bottom there is a USB-C connector, a slot for two nano-SIM cards and a first speaker grill. The second serves as an earpiece. More on the sound quality of these in a few moments. On the left you will find the volume controls and on the right the OnePlus-typical alert slider and the power button. With the alert slider you can switch between loud, quiet and vibration modes.

The alert slider is a very useful feature. (Picture: TechnikNews)

Apropos Vibration: For this, OnePlus built in a completely new motor, as already mentioned disclosed in advance. I have already heard from some quarters that this is world class, but to be honest I do not notice much difference to other high-end smartphones. But as I said, it is apparently due to myself and my own feelings. And now a word about the speakers, which are really phenomenal. That's because they work with Dolby Atmos. They are particularly suitable for enjoying films or series. In the settings you can find various equalizers on top.

Last but not least: is the case waterproof? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question. The manufacturer shows in one own videothat one the smartphone proYou can throw it into a bucket of water without any problems, but there is no official IP certification. So you probably shouldn't go swimming with the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Display

If we now take a look at the front, we only find the display, which more or less covers the entire front. You would think that the OnePlus 7 Pro has the best palm recognition on the market. But unfortunately that is not the case. Not only I, but also my girlfriend and other family members often made incorrect entries due to the lack of palm suppression. It's a shame when the smartphone is already so big.

For the first time OnePlus is selling a smartphone with a QHD resolution, which means that the resolution in numbers is 3.120 x 1.440 pixels. But that's not even the most exciting feature of the OLED touchscreen. It's the frame rate, which is around 90 Hertz. What does that mean in everyday life? Smooth scrolling and navigation through the operating system. That may sound pretty harmless, but in reality all other smartphones with typical 60 Hertz displays appear slow and jerky. In combination with the very good colors, the display is a real dream to use. It can also be VERY, really VERY, get bright. So bright that white lettering and surfaces begin to shine, which can be very practical on sunny days like now. The screen diagonal is 6,67 inches. Also worth mentioning: You can optionally change the refresh rate and the resolution in the settings.

I liked the display very much. (Picture: TechnikNews)

As many should have noticed by now, there is nowhere to be seen a fingerprint sensor. This is because it is under the display. If you want to unlock the smartphone, the display above the sensor becomes brighter than the rest of the areas so that the imprint can be read easily. So an image of the finger is “recorded” - a kind of photo, so to speak. After a few milliseconds, the smartphone is unlocked. What I like most about here is the futuristic animation, which other people don't like at all.

By the way: Phantom inputs I could never experience it. You can find more information about this in the linked article.

Where is the front camera?

Another thing that hasn't been seen until now is the front camera. This is because it only appears when it is needed. Then it is extended in seconds using a slider. The whole thing works so quickly that Face Unlock is only slightly slower than the fingerprint sensor and that the camera disappears quickly if the device falls. The selfie camera cannot be pushed in by force, even in such a situation it says goodbye automatically and at lightning speed. Canceling the camera is probably also not possible, like a another OnePlus promotional video should show.

This is what the retractable front camera looks like. (Picture: TechnikNews)

Then OnePlus has solved this perfectly, hasn't it? Edge-to-edge display and still a good front camera? Well, I think there are two major weak points in the design. First weak point: dust. If I didn't use the front camera for a long time, a small film of dust always accumulated. My fear here is that this will affect the slider over time. Second point of criticism: Cases for the OnePlus 7 Pro look a little strange because of the cutout. But that's probably more a matter of taste.

https://youtu.be/eMhnbJ5q8aw

We will come to the image quality of the lens later.

Specifications

Like every other top smartphone in 2019, the OnePlus 7 Pro has Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 (seven nanometers) with eight cores and a clock speed of 2,84 gigahertz in turbo boost. There is also the Adreno 640 for graphic tasks and six, eight or twelve gigabytes of RAM - it depends on the equipment selected. On top of that, OnePlus adds either 128 gigabytes or 256 gigabytes of UFS-3 storage. This is an extra-fast type of storage that, as far as I know, has only been used in the 7 Pro so far. My test device has eight gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigabytes of storage. For the number-hungry readers among you, I have also picked out a few benchmark results (via Trusted Reviews):

• antutu: 374.564 points
• Geekbench 4: 3.497 points (single core) and 11.102 points (multi-score)
• 3D Mark - Sling Shot: 7.460 points

And what do these numbers mean for everyday use? In short: a buttery smooth performance, no matter what you do with the device. Starting up alone takes just a few seconds, until it is then completely ready for use, it takes a maximum of one more second. Apps start in no time and there are no stutters. This is how it has to be in 2019, OnePlus really did everything right here. If you open games like Asphalt 9, the whole thing doesn't look any different. The Game Boost is also used here, which frees up more RAM for the current game.

Now a few words about the component that makes sure that anything in the OnePlus 7 Pro can work: the battery. It has a capacity of 4.000 milliampere hours and can be COMPLETELY (yes, I really mean COMPLETELY, and yes, that charge within an hour). I've never seen anything like this before and I don't want to give it up anymore. It's just so practical to quickly plug in your smartphone in the morning and go outside with a full battery. Nice bonus: The device or the power supply does not even get uncomfortably warm. In addition, you only have to charge the battery very rarely. With frequent use, there was usually a standby time of one day, with sporadic use even a whole weekend. The screen on time was always between 4,5 hours and 6 hours. Now that's not as much as on my Honor 8X, but also not as little as on the Pixel 3 XL. There is no wireless charging.

Software

In my opinion, the operating system is also decisive for good performance. OnePlus opted for Android Pie with its own OxygenOS user interface. There is already the current security update for August 2019. Praise at this point.

OxygenOS is an interface that is very similar to stock Android, which we know from the Pixel 3 (XL), for example. That means that you get a light and fast operating system. In the case of OnePlus, there are a few useful extras on top of that, but they don't slow down use. These extras include a reading mode, various customization options for the look of the UI, various navigation methods and also an inactivity display. I really liked the customization options for the UI, as I was able to set my favorite color orange as an accent to OnePlus' own dark mode. Every smartphone should have something like this.

All in all, I have nothing to complain about with the software. OnePlus strikes a good balance between stock Android without any frills and useful features.

camera

Before we get to the conclusion and the prices of the OnePlus 7 Pro, I want to talk about the cameras. The 7 Pro has three of them on the back. We have a main shooter with a resolution of 48 megapixels and an aperture of f/1.6, a telephoto lens with eight megapixels at f/2.4 and an ultra-wide-angle camera with a resolution of 16 megapixels, a 117-degree field-of-view angle and an aperture of f/2.2. This means that it achieves 111 points in the DxO camera benchmark, putting the smartphone on a par with the Honor 20 Pro and one point behind the Galaxy S10 5G and the Huawei P30 Pro lies.

In my opinion, the OnePlus 7 Pro more than deserves second place. Photos that I took in good light have a lot of detail and noise is only visible when you zoom in very far. If you take the camera out later in the day when the light is no longer so good, you still get usable results, but you can see the noise much more. And while we're on the subject of later times of day: A special night mode artificially brightens the images when they are taken. It looks pretty good, but I didn't end up using it that often. There's also a portrait mode on board, which - in short - does what it promises in good light. The angle camera really blew me away. I once took two pictures of my garden from the same spot as a test - once with and once without a wide angle. With a wide angle I suddenly got so much more in one photo, even though I didn't move from the spot. I think this is also a great advantage for group photos and landscape photography.

• Album with test recordings

Videos can be in 4K with 30 or 60 frames pro second or in 1080p with the same number of frames. Then OnePlus implemented a Super Slow Motion, the moving images in 1080p with 240 frames pro second or 720p with 480 frames pro second. I always liked the results here very much, nothing is blurred and everything is very sharp and detailed.

The front camera has a 16-megapixel resolution and an f / 2.0 aperture. In DxO, it then gets significantly fewer points than the Galaxy S10 5G, only 86 points instead of 97 points. But here you have to add that the comparison smartphone has three lenses on the front, the OnePlus only one. With the selfie camera, I was able to experience that good results come out in good light - as you are used to from OnePlus - but unfortunately nothing works in bad light. On the other hand, I can positively mention that the front camera also has a portrait mode, which not every smartphone has.

Prices and availability

The cheapest version of the OnePlus 7 Pro costs 699 euros in Manufacturer's store. This gives you six gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of internal storage. The most expensive version costs 819 euros, but you get the OnePlus in Nebula Blue with 12 gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigabytes of storage. Alternatively, the smartphone can be bought from Amazon.

Picture: TechnikNews

OnePlus 7 Pro: Conclusion

For a starting price of 699 euros, the OnePlus 7 Pro offers a lot of smartphone for comparatively little money. It can compete with the premium smartphones, which are significantly more expensive. proIt can easily keep up and still only costs as much as a very well-equipped mid-range smartphone. For the money, you get a fast and well-built device that handles all everyday tasks with flying colors. Gaming is also never a problem, and the 7 Pro takes usable photos at any time. The battery life could be a bit better, but is usually completely sufficient.

For the next generation, I would like OnePlus to install wireless charging, above all, and to receive IP certification, which proves that no water or dust can penetrate the device. Then I would like to see some kind of seal built into the front camera so that no more dust can get in. And speaking of the front camera: The night shots can also be a little better for my taste.

The bottom line is that I recommend the OnePlus 7 Pro to anyone who wants a premium smartphone for little money.

We would like to thank TradingShenzhen for providing the OnePlus 7 Pro.

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