OnePlus, the Chinese smartphone company, which has stood out of the league to leave an impression with some amazing value for money smartphones is back with it's fourth iteration of flagship, the OnePlus 5. The India launch was awaited and it's here finally.
Although we know “almost” everything about the phone (thanks to the never-settling leaks) but the Indian price was still awaited to be confirmed.
Like its predecessors, the OnePlus 5 carries top-of-the-range specs across the board, and an improved camera to make it stand against the biggies in the market.
If you are wondering why the new phone is called the OnePlus 5 and not OnePlus 4. It’s certainly because the number four is considered unlucky in China, and OnePlus also wanted to keep the nomenclature going with its favorite NBA player, who wears a number 5 jersey.
- Want to know what we think of the phone? Read our full OnePlus 5 review now.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next flagship phone from Chinese company OnePlus
- When is it out? Technically it's out already, but the official availability is slated for June 27
- What will it cost? Prices start at Rs 32,999 for the 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant and goes up to 37,999 for the 8GB RAM/128GB storage variant.
OnePlus 5 release date
You’ll be glad to know the days of the OnePlus waiting lists are long behind us, and you’ll be able to buy the OnePlus 5 before it arrives, at the pop up event.
If not, you’ll have to wait to buy the phone in store or online at a later date. The official release date for the OnePlus 5 online is June 27, while you can buy the phone from a variety of pop-up shops on starting from Delhi on June 23.
Delhi will have its pop-up sale at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj on June 23 from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
The second wave will visit Bangalore and Chennai on June 24. You can get the OnePlus 5 at the OnePlus experience store in Bangalore between 12:30 PM to 10:00 PM, while for Chennai its 3PM to 9PM at Trans Car India Pvt Ltd.
For Hyderabad, fans can reach at Indian Motorcycles, Aruna Arcade, Jubilee Hills on June 25 between 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
OnePlus 5 price and availability
- More expensive than the OnePlus 3T
- Lowest price model costs Rs 32,999
- High end model with 128GB of storage costs Rs 37,999
- Exclusively available on Amazon India website
Not a surprise but the price for OnePlus 5 has now escalated to a notch higher than the OnePlus 3T. The 64GB storage and 6GB of RAM version of the OnePlus 5 will cost you Rs 32,999.
The slightly powerful version of the OnePlus 5 with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM and will cost you Rs 37,999.
This adds up Rs 3000 to the cost of the OnePlus 3T, which cost Rs 29,999 for the 64GB and Rs 34,999 for the 128GB version.
Apart from the pop up sales, the OnePlus 5 will be available on OnePlus official website and on Amazon India from today onwards exclusively for Amazon Prime members and open sale will commence starting June 27.
OnePlus 5 design
OnePlus put in some serious richness to the feel of the OnePlus 5 compared to what we have seen on the previous generation phones.
It actually feels like a high-end phone that looks good and can be compared to the quality that Apple or Samsung put in their phones.
It’s thinner than ever with dimensions of 154.2 x 74.1 x 7.25mm and a weight of 153g, making it light in the hand too.
It's a full metal unibody design and is made of anodized aluminum to make it feel premium to the touch.
The volume rocker sits on the left edge of the phone, with an alert slider just above. That switch will allow you to change between Silent, Do Not Disturb and normal notifications mode with ease.
The power button sits on the right edge, while the bottom edge has a speaker grille, USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Yes, OnePlus hasn't got rid of the legacy headphone tech, so you'll be able to use wired headsets with this phone.
At the bottom of the phone on the front there's a ceramic fingerprint sensor, which works in 0.2 seconds according to OnePlus.
OnePlus 5 colors
Color choices on the OnePlus 5 are more limited than most other phone releases. If you’re after the 64GB/6GB version of the phone, you’ll be getting it in Slate Grey.
Those who want the slightly more expensive 128GB/8GB version of the phone will be getting the Midnight Black color which is in most of the images in this article. That’s also the phone we used in our full review.
A OnePlus representative confirmed to TechRadar UK the company doesn’t plan to announce any new colors for the OnePlus 5. That doesn’t mean plans won’t change in the future though, so if you liked the gold OnePlus 3T you may want to wait to see if it’s released further down the line.
OnePlus 5 screen
One area OnePlus hasn't given much attention to is the screen, as just like the OnePlus 3T the OnePlus 5 has a 5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 AMOLED screen, giving it a pixel density of 401 pixels per inch.
That leaves it lagging behind rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S8, but still in line with the iPhone 7 Plus, and the lack of extra pixels isn't something you'll probably notice too much unless you put it side by side with a sharper display.
OnePlus 5 specs
Weight: 153g
Dimensions: 154.2 x 74.1 x 7.25mm
OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Screen size: 5.5-inch
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
CPU: Snapdragon 835
RAM: 6GB or 8GB of RAM
Storage: 64/128GB
Battery: 3,300mAh
Rear camera: 16MP + 20MP dual-lens
Front camera: 16MP
Here’s where the OnePlus 5 begins to get truly interesting, with a lot of high-end spec here offered for a lower price than most of the competition.
Under the hood there's a top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-a-chip that uses an Adreno 540 GPU as well as either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. You’ll get the choice of RAM options when you buy your phone, but the larger version will cost more.
The 6GB of RAM version only comes in 64GB while the 8GB of RAM model is only available with 128GB of storage. Unlike many other Android devices the OnePlus 5 doesn't support microSD cards, so whatever you buy is what you get.
The battery in the OnePlus 5 is a little smaller than the OnePlus 3T at 3,300mAh compared to 3,400mAh, but you can recharge it quickly with Dash Charge technology built-in.
To do that you’ll find a USB-C port at the bottom of your phone, but you’ll need to use the charger included in the box to be able to get the fast charging benefits.
It's also running the latest OxygenOS software 4.5, which is based on Android 7.1.1. New features specifically included by OnePlus are Reading Mode, which will take away the blue light from the screen on the apps of your choice, as well as customized vibration levels and an automatic night mode.
OnePlus 5 camera
Here's where OnePlus would like its new phone to truly shine. The OnePlus 5 features a dual-sensor setup that combines a 16MP and a 20MP sensor on the rear to allow for lossless zoom and all round better shots.
It works in a similar way to the iPhone 7 Plus with the 20MP lens being designed specifically so you can shoot at longer distances. And like the iPhone 7 Plus you can also use the two lenses to create a bokeh effect - blurring the background while the subject stays in focus.
Both lenses are designed by Sony and the main 16MP shooter has an aperture of f/1.7. Other camera features include a dual-LED flash, 4K video recording and slow-motion recording at 720p/120fps.
- Read our full OnePlus 5 review here
