The OnePlus 7T is what the OnePlus 7 should've been

One of the year’s most apathetic flagship releases might just be the OnePlus 7. It’s not that it’s a bad phone by any stretch, as we thought it was a great buy in our OnePlus 7 review.

But the vanilla OnePlus model felt more like a “OnePlus 6T 2019 edition” than a device worthy of a new number. Heck, put the OnePlus 7 next to the OnePlus 6T and it becomes really tough to tell them apart.

Sure, the phone packed a Snapdragon 855 chipset and a shift to a 48MP main camera, but the former is the bare minimum if you want your device to be called a flagship phone anyway.

Many manufacturers (aside from LG and Samsung) have adopted either 40MP or 48MP primary camera in 2019. But OnePlus’ decision to add a 5MP depth sensor instead of a more meaningful dual or even triple camera setup says a lot about how much of an afterthought the OnePlus 7 seems to be.

Don’t miss: OnePlus 7T review: The pro you always wanted

There were plenty of other features that the phone missed out on, especially when you compare it to the Pro variant. The Pro model touts a 90Hz QHD+ screen, pop-up camera, slightly larger battery, a triple rear camera trio, and 30W fast charging.

By comparison, the vanilla model was clearly hobbled — be it to reach a palatable price-point or to make the OnePlus 7 Pro look better. Or maybe even both.

More than just a T variant?

Fortunately, the OnePlus 7T picks up quite a few of these features and makes a solid case for being what the OnePlus 7 should’ve been in the first place.

The new device still features a waterdrop notch, but you’ve got a tweaked camera housing and other design touches. It also has a 90Hz refresh rate, a triple camera setup, and 30W fast charging. You’re also getting a Snapdragon 855 Plus processor, 8GB of RAM in the base model, and a negligibly larger battery.

All these features mean OnePlus is far better equipped to take on other affordable flagships, such as the Mi 9T Pro/Redmi K20 Pro, ASUS Zenfone 6, and Samsung Galaxy S10e.

There are always going to be sacrifices in order to reach this price point though, such as a lack of wireless charging, IP rating, and more. But if one thing is certain, it’s that the OnePlus 7T certainly brings more to the table than the OnePlus 7 did.