Best overall: OnePlus 7T Pro

The OnePlus 7T Pro has a massive, gorgeous screen, is the fastest-feeling phone by miles and has a competition-beating in-display fingerprint scanner. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The follow-up to the best smartphone of the first half of 2019 is, unsurprisingly, the best phone to end 2019. The OnePlus 7T Pro is a minor update to the stellar OnePlus 7 Pro that keeps all the good bits, improves the camera, and speeds up the fingerprint scanner.




The monster 6.67in QHD+ AMOLED screen runs at 90Hz – compared with 60Hz for most of the competition – is arguably the best in the business. It’s bright, crisp and super smooth, plus it’s free of holes or camera notches. The selfie camera pops up from the top on command – a consistent crowd-pleaser.

The 7T Pro is the fastest-feeling phone – everything zips along. It has Qualcomm’s top chip, the Snapdragon 855+, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of fast UFS3.0 storage – plenty for practically everything. The optical in-display fingerprint scanner is even faster than before continuing to put the competition to shame.

The latest OxygenOS 10, the firm’s super-slick version of Android 10, is arguably the best in the business too, and you’ll get prompt updates for three years.

The triple camera system on the back is good too, combining a 48MP main, a 16MP ultra-wide angle and an 8MP telephoto camera. New for the 7T Pro is a super-macro mode, which is surprisingly good, producing crisp images up to just 2.5cm from the lens – great fun. The 7T Pro can’t quite beat the iPhone 11 Pro or Pixel 4XL, but it matches or beats the rest on detail and utility.

The 7T Pro lasts about 32 hours between charges, making it one of the better performers. Charging is exceptionally fast via the firm’s WarpCharge system too, hitting 70% in just 34 minutes via cable. There’s no wireless charging though.

Dual-sim support is handy for work or travelling. It’s water resistant to some extent, but has no IP rating. There’s a McLaren limited edition and a 5G version in the US, but not UK where the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G is still the current model.


Why should you buy it?

The unrivalled screen, sheer speed and in-display fingerprint scanner, combined with the slick OxygenOS 10 make even mundane tasks a joy. The massive OnePlus 7T Pro is a stretch worth making.

Buy if: you want the best and fastest superphone experience

Don’t buy if: you don’t want to stretch to such a big phone
Source: theguardian.com