OnePlus 5T vs OnePlus 5 vs OnePlus 3T: Should I upgrade my OnePlus?

We compare the last three OnePlus smartphones, to see how the OnePlus 5T improves on their specs, design and camera tech. Should OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 5 owners consider an upgrade?

The OnePlus 5T comes just six months after the OnePlus 5 hit the UK, and a year since the launch of the OnePlus 3T. Yet despite this short time frame, there are some notable improvements and changes to OnePlus’ flagship device.

OnePlus 5 owners may be aggrieved that a new handset has once again been delivered so quickly, although the biggest difference is the new design work. The old 5.5-inch display has been boosted to a 6-inch screen, without expanding the size of the smartphone. That’s thanks to the slender bezels, which make the OnePlus 5T the most attractive device from the manufacturer to date.

That bigger screen is no sharper however, and it’s once again an OLED panel, for bright and vibrant results. The only change beyond the increase in size is the new 18:9 aspect ratio. This is more cinematic in nature, for reduced letterboxing when viewing Netflix movies and the like. Meanwhile both the OnePlus 3T and 5 use a 5.5-inch 16:9 OLED panel, which is just as crisp and pleasing to the eye.

All three OnePlus phones offer a fingerprint sensor for quickly unlocking. However, the latest device moves this scanner from beneath the display to around the back, thanks to those dinky bezels. The OnePlus 5T also serves up a new facial recognition feature, which can be used as an alternative solution when wearing gloves or if your digits are out of bounds.

All three phones rock Google’s Android OS, overlaid with OxygenOS. This boosts Android with some improved customisation, the handy Shelf shortcuts desktop and improved one-handed use.

When it comes to performance, the OnePlus 5 and 5T improve on the OnePlus 3T with the more powerful Snapdragon 835 chipset. That said, the OnePlus 3T is still a smooth operator thanks to its capable Snapdragon 821 platform, backed by a generous 6GB of RAM. We doubt you’ll see many stammers with the older phone any time soon.

The OnePlus 5T seems to improve on the general battery life of the OnePlus 3T and 5, giving us well over a day of life between charges. Meanwhile the older handsets usually die after a day. Still, all three phones do support the excellent Dash Charge tech, so you can power them back up in no time at all.

So what about the camera tech? Well, the OnePlus 5T is certainly the best smartphone snapper from OnePlus so far, although there’s little difference (beyond slightly improved low light functionality) between this new handset and the OnePlus 5. Both are an improvement over the OnePlus 3T, which only offers a single lens shooter compared with the new dual lens camera tech. The 2017 models offer a decent depth of field in photos, while also improving on results at night and in sharp contrast. Still, all three mobiles can shoot good-looking video at up to 4K resolution.

Check out our OnePlus 3T camera review, OnePlus 5 camera review and OnePlus 5T camera review for samples and in-depth analysis.

Want to see us compare the OnePlus 5T side-by-side with the OnePlus 5 or the OnePlus 3T? Check out our in-depth OnePlus 5T vs OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T vs OnePlus 3T comparison videos below, for all you need to know.