OnePlus 7 review: The right thing for bargain hunters

OnePlus placed next to the 7 Pro also secretly the OnePlus 7. In terms of price, this belongs again to the upper middle class, but it can still offer a lot. What exactly, you can find out here.

Unboxing and initial setup

If you know OnePlus, you also know the appearance of the packaging of the OnePlus 7. Here, too, the tried and tested color combination of white, gray and red was used and a large sieve was printed on the top of the white cardboard box. If you lift this, you already have full access to the contents of the packaging, which is located in a red box. This content includes the smartphone itself, a five-volt power supply (no warp charge) with a USB-C cable and several package inserts.

Once the lid is lifted, you can find it in the packaging. (Image: TechnikNews)

There is nothing new when it comes to setting up the smartphone. After the first boot, the dialog for selecting your own language follows. Then the entries for the Google account and the setup appearprozess for the unlock method. And that was pretty much it. Setup shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes.

Design, workmanship and display

OnePlus sells the 7 with us in a single color, namely Mirror Gray. It is a very light gray that shimmers a little brighter, sometimes a little darker when sunlight falls. For the material of the back, the decision was made to use glass, which means that every single fingerprint is visible on the device. In principle, however, I like the color variant.

Picture: TechnikNews

The frame is made of aluminum, there is a slot for a SIM card (memory cannot be expanded), the volume control, one of two speakers, a USB-C port, a power button and the OnePlus-typical alert slider. You can easily switch between loud, silent and vibrate modes. The second speaker is in the ear cup, which means that we get stereo audio. The sound quality is so good that you can enjoy a movie or two with it. OnePlus could theoretically have installed a coil for wireless charging, but the manufacturer decided against it.

The practical mute switch is also included again. (Image: TechnikNews)

The touchscreen with waterdrop notch is based on AMOLED and measures 6,41 inches diagonally. The resolution is Full HD. I have nothing to complain about here either, the panel could just be a bit brighter. The low maximum brightness got in my way a few times on sunny days. The palm suppression could also be better. I only got on moderately well with the notch, I would have preferred a more compact solution. Just like with the OnePlus 7 Pro, the manufacturer installed the fingerprint sensor under the display. When you try to log in, the display area above the sensor becomes brighter so that your finger can be read. In my test, this was about as fast as with the Pro model.

Even if the display in the OnePlus 7 is not the best on the market, I liked it very much. (Picture: TechnikNews)

The smartphone is basically not protected against the ingress of water, so there is no official certification to prove this. However, the manufacturer states that the device should not be damaged during a dive. I would take that with caution, however. Wireless charging would have been theoretically possible, but OnePlus did not install it.

Equipment, specifications and software

Just like the Pro model, the OnePlus 7 is powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 855. There are two different storage options:

• Memory: 128 gigabytes, RAM: 6 gigabytes
• Memory: 256 gigabytes, RAM: 8 gigabytes

As previously mentioned, OnePlus did not integrate any memory expansion. But in my opinion, that's not so bad, as the company has never used anything like that before. Because the OnePlus 7 Pro uses similar components, I could hardly notice any difference in performance. The device handles simple tasks without any problems, and games like Asphalt 9 also run smoothly. The operating system certainly also contributes to the good performance. It runs the latest Android Pie with the latest version of the OxygenOS user interface. There are no differences compared to the Pro version that we have already tested.

The battery of the OnePlus 7 has a capacity of 3.700 mAh. That's a little bit less than the bigger sibling. Still, I always came prothroughout the day (even during the IFA). I was usually able to achieve a screen-on time of six to seven hours in my test. With Quick-Charge you can charge within 1,5 hours.

The bottom line is that you don't have to make many compromises when it comes to performance. And that although you pay a good 7 euros less for the 200 than for the big brother. OnePlus has always been good at performance and this successful concept was continued with the OnePlus 7.

camera

The Pro was given a triple camera, while the regular model has to make do with two cameras. These have a resolution of 48 megapixels (OIS, EIS, f/1.7) and 5 megapixels (f/2.4). Anyone who was paying attention will have noticed that the ultra-wide-angle camera has been lost. I don't think that's a bad thing, but you can definitely notice a difference - especially in landscape photography. In my test, the results of the two cameras hardly differed; I could only notice that the Pro performed better in low-light shots. The available modes are the same as on the high-end OnePlus.

Picture: TechnikNews

Prices and availability

The OnePlus 7 is about the Manufacturer's online shop .

• Mirror Gray, 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage: EUR 549
• Mirror Gray, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage: EUR 599

OnePlus 7: conclusion

Uh, you don't have to give up a lot compared to your more expensive brother.

That was my final thought as I packed up my test device for return. In fact, you only lose a little by buying a OnePlus 7 compared to the Pro and still save a good 200 euros. The third camera and the good low-light performance would have been nice to have now and again, but I didn't really miss these two things. The lower resolution of the display never bothered me either. I would have liked the palm suppression to be better here too. The lack of wireless charging and water resistance, on the other hand, didn't bother me as much.

Thank you for providing the OnePlus 7.