OnePlus updates current flagship with the launch of 5T

OnePlus isn’t completely scrapping the OnePlus 5 to make room for its new flagship. Instead, OnePlus is updating the device to make it more competitive when facing the flagships of other brands. The three biggest changes they concentrated on are: a new screen, facial unlock technology, and improved camera. The 5T now has a 6-inch 18:9 extra-widescreen display. It now has 15 percent more screen real estate than its predecessor but keeps the same body. OnePlus accomplishes this by putting the fingerprint sensor to the rear of the device.

But security isn’t limited to the fingerprint scanner. This time, OnePlus implements facial unlock tech on its phone, too, that works similarly to what Samsung’s done with the Galaxy S8 and Note 8. It makes use of pattern recognition to check if it’s supposed to give you access to your phone. As Gizmodo points out, this could also mean the possibility of it getting fooled by a photo of you can happen so be careful. OnePlus boasts that it could unlock your phone in less than 0.2 seconds and if you watch some unboxing and reports of it on YouTube, some YouTubers have been seeing that it does work pretty quickly.

The last big change OnePlus introduces into the 5T is a new configuration for its dual camera system. Instead of having the second camera sensor being used for zooming, OnePlus widened its aperture from f/2.6 to f/1.7 to make it work better in low-light situations.

Now what hasn’t changed is everything else. You still get a device that runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, has a 3,300mAh battery, and still hasn’t gotten rid of the headphone jack. For charging, you’re also still just stuck with OnePlus’s wired Dash Charge tech.

One of the exciting things about the device though is its competitive price, which the Chinese company’s CEO has been talking about. For the 6GB RAM/64GB storage configuration, it costs US$500 (around CA$630) or $20 more than its predecessor. The 8GB RAM/128GB storage version comes in at $560 (around CA$710). The latter might be a more attractive option as the phone doesn’t come with storage expansion options. In the US, the OnePlus will go on sale on November 21.