OnePus 5 Design

 Old-fashioned is acceptable in this case, though, because OnePlus has managed to make this phone so comfortable to hold and a pleasure to use. The curved back fits perfectly in your palm, while the 3D Gorilla Glass 5 on the front also curves slightly. This multitude of curves make it super-slim, but also easy to fish up from a table.

 The OnePlus 5 with its 5.5-inch display is a larger phone than the 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S8, but it’s smaller in all dimensions than the same-screen-size iPhone 7 Plus. It doesn’t feel big, although I have become used to this size of phone now, and I can reach all the elements of the screen with one hand.

 The aluminium unibody has been refined and reformed from last year’s OnePlus 3T, slimming down to just 7.25mm at its thickest point. Rounded edges and corners feel smooth and sit comfortably in your hand - it’s like holding a high-tech pebble. 

OnePlus 5 Key specs and features

 There is no questioning the specs of this phone: it’s powered by the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835 processor; comes with a combo of either 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage or a laptop-rivaling 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage; and it has a total of 52 megapixels of image-taking prowess between its three cameras.

 The OnePlus 5 hopped aboard the dual-camera trend and has two rear shooters. Unlike other phones that have two cameras for wide-angle or monochrome purposes, the phone has a standard 16-megapixel shooter and a secondary 20-megapixel telephoto lens. This enables it to take "bokeh" images that have a shallow depth of field and blurred backgrounds (as if you took the photo with a DSLR camera).

Low light photos were slightly less consistent, as the camera sometimes had trouble finding the right exposure, but when it did, it seemed on par with what I’ve seen from the Galaxy S8 or LG G6, despite not having optical image stabilization (the Google pixel doesn’t either, for that matter).

 Keep in mind though that the telephoto camera has a worse sensor and smaller aperture, and low light images suffer for it – stick to the main camera when you can. On the whole though, I’d say OnePlus’ setup is right up there with the Google Pixel or Galaxy S8, while giving you the extra versatility of a telephoto lens. OnePlus said it concentrated the bulk of its efforts on software this time around, and it shows.

 The OnePlus 5 takes excellent low-light pictures, better even than the pricier Pixel at times. That's due to a combination of better processing technology from OnePlus and a slightly wider aperture (f1.7 versus f2.0 on the Pixel), which lets in more light. And in photography, light is everything. Many of the OnePlus' photos were clearer and sharper (with less digital artifacting) than the Pixel. White balance was also more accurate, since the Pixel gave off a slight greenish hue with some of my dark, indoor shooting.

 In short, the OnePlus 5 has a great camera (and its 16-megapixel front-facing shooter takes sharp selfies as well), if not one of the best camera phones around. When it comes to regular day-to-day shooting, though, personal preference comes into play -- especially when all premium phones carry first-rate cameras.

OnePlus 5 Battery

The phone's non-removable battery has a slightly lower capacity than before (down from 3,400 to 3,300mAh). But the battery actually lasted about an hour longer in our lab tests for battery usage than the 3T, clocking in an excellent 17 hours, 50 minutes on average.

 It also uses OnePlus' proprietary Dash Charging technology for quick recharging. After 30 minutes, I got up to 58 percent battery and at the 1-hour mark, it was at 92 percent. A full reup took a little under 1.5 hours, which is the usual ballpark for fast-charging phones.

 The last piece of the equation is battery life, and once again, it impresses. The OnePlus 3T already delivered really impressive battery life; the 5 has a very slightly lower capacity battery, but delivers battery better than what I saw with the already-solid 3T.

 OnePlus itself claims the OnePlus 5 lasts “20 percent longer” than the 3T thanks to the more efficient processor and RAM, as well as some tweaks. In my own everyday testing, that seemed believable.

 For my typical heavy usage with medium-high brightness, that’s about 6-8 hours of screen-on time, which is some of the best battery life I’ve seen from a flagship Android phone in the last couple of years.

 If you’re only snapping a few photos, scrolling through social media and listening to music, two days between charges isn’t impossible. I’d say it’s got more staying power than the Galaxy S8, which is mighty impressive.

 Dash Charge gets you back up to full incredibly quickly, too - half an hour is enough to get you through to bedtime again. Better yet, it works while you’re actually using the phone, unlike a lot of other quick charge systems.

OnePlus 5 In Short