OnePlus 5 review: All you need to know

The OnePlus 5 is about to give better-known, pricier brands a real good run for its money.

There are two types of people who spend on top-end smartphones: those who will splurge for flagships, and those who'd love to save some cash and be content with lesser-known brands that will give the biggies and good run for their money.
If you fall into the latter group, the folks at OnePlus may have something just for you (and your pocket).
The Chinese company adds on to its line of neat smartphones that have even neater prices with the OnePlus 5, and if their past offerings are to go by, you know that this brand ain't no pushover. By the way, OnePlus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of another smartphone brand making a name for itself: Oppo.
The OnePlus 5 has a 5.5-inch full-HD Amoled screen, and has two RAM/storage combos: 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB. The former is already a solid configuration, but if you're a user requiring heavy storage, spending those few extra dirhams won't hurt for the higher-end version. This is also OnePlus' thinnest phone at 7.3mm, beating out the 7.4mm of its predecessor, the OnePlus 3T, and even the iPhone 8's 7.5mm and Sony Xperia XZ1's 7.4mm.
The smartphone is among only a handful that have the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor - up there among the flagships from the likes of Samsung, Sony Mobile, LG, HTC and Nokia - and given the brand's knack of not backing down from its more well-known counterparts, it will give you no problem when it comes to performance, as I've found out myself; app switching is seamless. Of course, when we talk about OnePlus, you're sure to use the OxygenOS platform, its customised version of Android - nd all features of Nougat - such as apps that use split-screen - are here. It's also expected that this device will receive and Android Oreo update before the year ends.

The OnePlus 5 is pretty simple to navigate - not to mention fast.
Two things to remember when you're on the home screen: you can swipe up to reveal the app drawer, and swipe down anywhere - anywhere - to see the notifications bar; no need to pull it from the top. The latter, however, won't work when you're in an app, and for one very obvious reason: how are you going to scroll through it if that notification feature is active?
One thing unique about OxygenOS is Reading Mode, which automatically adjusts screen colour temperature and calibration best suited for reading, depending on ambient light conditions. You can define which apps can use this. Apparently, as I write, no other Android device has this feature. There's also Night Mode, which this time around adjusts screen colours to help your eyes relax before snagging those Zs.
Oh, and for all the gaming nuts, there's also Gaming DND - do not disturb - which turns off all notifications so you can be at peace while shooting down some nasty-looking bad guys.
The 3300mAh battery, meanwhile, is a hairline lower than the 3T's 3400mAh, but don't let it fool you: I was easily able to get over a day's worth of power with mixed use, thanks to the 5's more power-efficient build. Watching a video for an hour at full brightness sipped 10 per cent of juice, which is pretty decent. The 5 also retains the 3 and 3T's Dash Charge tech, which allows you to crank up your battery to about 60 per cent in just half-an-hour. You will, however, need the OnePlus Dash charger and cable to use this feature.
And here's the biggest upgrade in the OnePlus line: the camera.

That's some pretty complicated stuff in there.
The 5 now sports a dual-lens camera, which pretty means that they aren't about to be left behind in the tech dust. Using it is pretty straightforward, thanks to the simple camera app and two sturdy lenses: a main 16MP and 20MP telephoto combination - and if you go by the numbers, those are bigger than even those found in the iPhone 8 (iPhone X, even), LG V30 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8. But OnePlus went all-out with the 5: this is its best camera yet, giving out decent results in low light and zoomed situations. It also has Portrait Mode (sounds all-too-familiar?), which - as you may guess - creates that little bokeh effect. Meanwhile, the front camera has also been bumped up to a monstrous 16MP. Selfies, groupies or 'any-pies', anyone?

Say 'cheese'!
And it could've used one more trick that's becoming more of a staple these days: an official IP67 rating. Why did I mention 'official' earlier? While there are tests that show the OnePlus 5 survives unscathed after being submerged in water, it's not officially listed as IP67. Apparently, the device does offer some degree of water-proofing, but nothing's official.
 
AND SO...
Brilliant. The OnePlus 5 is another prime candidate for the title of 'flagship killer', though I would've been even more impressed if they had slapped in a microSD slot, which wasn't in its predecessor and was in the only OnePlus device I've reviewed before (almost two years ago), the OnePlus X.
THE LOWDOWN