After being rumored and leaked to death, the OnePlus 7 Pro is finally official. It's OnePlus' most expensive phone to date, which is no small to thing to say for a company that's shot to popularity precisely because of its cheap, flagship-level handsets.
It's up to fans whether they decide to warm to this new price point, but to be fair, OnePlus did add a handful of things to qualify its phone as a flagship beast.
OnePlus 7 Pro Specs
Firstly, there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 underneath powering it all, currently the industry's most powerful mobile chip to date, the same one powering Samsung's, Huawei's, and LG's modern devices.
Perhaps the most significant, though not surprising, change is the display. OnePlus has decided to trash the OnePlus 6T's notch and output a nearly bezel-less look that curves a bit on the sides. Like the Asus ROG Phone and Razer's beastly gaming handset, the screen supports a 90Hz refresh rate, which, as CEO Carl Pei said previously, must be seen to be believed, as it doesn't sound impressive on paper. OnePlus is a bit iffy on the official measurement, but says the screen is around 6.5 to 6.7 inches. It also supports HDR10 and HDR10+, but not Dolby Vision, oddly.
Other Features
There's also fast charging on this phone. OnePlus calls it Warp Charge, and it's able to juice up the phone to 50 percent in as little as 20 minutes. On the back is a triple camera system, one standard, one ultra-wide, and one telephoto. On the back, there's no selfie camera to be seen; that's because it's hidden via a motorized popup — hit the selfie mode and it sprouts and then retracts after use.
At $669, this device is, as previously mentioned, OnePlus' most expensive flagship to date. Compared to Apple's and Samsung's $1,000+ phones, it's not too damning a price point — but considering this doesn't have an official waterproofing certificate, it's not difficult to imagine others balking. OnePlus does claim that applying for a certification is too expensive and dropped the phone into a bucket of water as a marketing tactic instead. There's no fingerprint scanner to be seen because it's underneath the display, and OnePlus claims it's twice as large this time compared to the OnePlus 6T.
OnePlus 7 Pro Price And Release Date
Those who really want to go all the way — 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of UFS 3.0 storage — would have to shell out $749 for a spec'd out OnePlus 7 Pro, which is still cheaper than most other handsets in the market right now.
T-Mobile is the exclusive carrier of the phone in the United States and will be selling the mid-tier model for $699. Alternatively, customers can get unlocked versions directly from OnePlus' website, and they'll be compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Three configurations will be available: a 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage model for $669, an 8 GB and 256GB version for $699, and a beastly 12 GB and 256 GB model for $749. Customers can pick between a glossy black finish, a matte blue color, and later, a gold-toned variant. The phone becomes available May 21.
Should You Buy It?
It's tricky. On one hand, this phone is probably only a slight upgrade from the OnePlus 6T. On the other hand, the "slight" changes here are pretty noteworthy. Of course, a person can live without a 90 Hz screen, and they can probably do without the UFS 3.0 storage or triple-camera array. For now, people with 2018 and maybe even 2017 phones should stick to their current daily driver. But for new owners, this is a bang for one's buck. The lack of an official waterproofing certification is a bummer, sure, and there's no headphone jack, which is a bit frustrating. But at $669, there's a wellspring of features here, some only found on $1,000+ devices.
