OnePlus 5

While tech journalism certainly has its perks, I’d be lying if I said I expect it to make me rich. This being the case, it’s quite the balancing act trying to get flagship devices with a journalist’s paycheck. Once in a while though, a manufacturer will come up with an amazing value proposition for their device, making everyone rethink just how much a flagship has to cost. OnePlus is one such brand, and we have the OnePlus 5 to take a look at today. Here’s what we think.

- Ren Alcantara

DESIGN

While the OnePlus 5 doesn’t make any waves in the design department, that doesn’t mean it’s not a looker in its own right. A matte, curved metal unibody, nicely curved edges on the back, and a largely uncluttered front makes for a phone that feels as nice as it looks. The rear is only interrupted by the sharply raised, horizontal camera bump, along with plastic lines for the cellular radios. Branding is wonderfully sparse, with a single understated OnePlus logo on the back, and little else. As far as premium feel goes, this is right up there.

HARDWARE

A generous 6 GB of RAM with 64 GB of internal storage, dual SIM slots, a dual camera setup, and a 5.5-inch AMOLED screen give the OnePlus 5 flagship-level features, and the Snapdragon 835 chipset put it at par with the best the market has to offer at the moment. For security, you get a fingerprint sensor on the chin of the phone. This is flanked by capacitive back and multitasking buttons, and unlike some of the top-tier phones at the moment, you even get a headphone jack, though no included headphones in the box.

Apart from the power button and the volume rocker on opposing edges of the phone, the OnePlus 5 has a three-position slider that controls alerts, so you can physically set your alerts to vibrate, audible, or disable them altogether. It’s a handy little feature that I actually do appreciate.