OnePlus 7 Unboxing and First Impressions
Recently, Digital Walker introduced the more affordable sibling of the OnePlus 7 Pro in the Philippines, the OnePlus 7.
 |
| Is this the best phone for the price? |
As of this writing, it is one of the most affordable in town with a flagship 7nm Snapdragon 855 chipset along with the Xiaomi Mi 9. Also, it is the only smartphone with a speedier UFS 3.0 storage under PHP 30K price tag yet.
Based on its specs and overall features, it is arguably the most attractive for its PHP 26,990 price tag.
Let's check it out!
Like other OnePlus devices, OP7 arrived with the standard red and white box. The unit we got is in Chinese, but do not worry, Digital Walker assured that it has the Global ROM with compatible bands here in the Philippines.
The 20W Dash Charge USB wall charger is back together with the red OnePlus USB-C charging cables.
Next, you will see the TPU clear case, SIM ejector tool, and paper documents. We also noticed that there's a pre-installed screen protector which is always nice.
OP7 feels premium and looks stylish at the same time. It is similar to OP6T which uses metal and glass materials. Both the glass at the back and front are protected by an unspecified type of Gorilla Glass.
Corning's website even claimed that it has the Gorilla Glass 6 in front and Gorilla Glass 5 at the back. That's some of the best glass protection that you can get against light accidental drops and scratches.
Similar to the OP7 Pro, there is no IP rating for water and dust resistance. BUT, like most OnePlus phones, it has the "daily" water resistance.
At the back, you'll see that it has smooth curves. Underneath the glass is the paint finish. You can get this phone in mirror gray or red colorways. The unit that I have is red.
Also, you'll find a vertically-aligned dual-camera setup with an LED flash in the middle. The camera module has a pretty large hump. So, without a case, be careful with it to avoid scratches.
Aligned with the cameras, you will also see the chrome painted OnePlus logo blow.
In front, it has a large and tall 19:5:9 6.41-inch panel with slim looking bezels and a tiny notch. Like the OP6T, it has 86 percent of screen-to-body ratio. The chin bezel is a bit thick but still respectable.
If you will notice, there is no physical fingerprint scanner. It is embedded in the display of the phone.
OP7 is quite small for a phone with a 6.41-inch screen. It measures at just 157.7 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm.
On top, there's a mic. Below, you'll see another mic together with the USB-C port and the single down-firing speaker.
At left, you will see the volume rocker. The power button and the silent/vibrate/ring key are located on the right side of the phone. Just like the OP7 Pro.
The phone is quite handy overall. It has enough heft, but far from being heavy at 182 grams.
1. It doesn't have a 2K 90Hz screen of the OP7 Pro, but OnePlus 7's 60Hz Optic AMOLED display is pretty good. For the price, it is actually very good. I also like the fact that it is quite large at 6.41-inch. Despite having a notch, it is a pretty immersive screen with sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut.
2. Under the hood, it is powered by the same 2.84GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor with Adreno 640 GPU. It is even paired with large 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. To be honest, I can't really feel the difference between 8GB RAM and 12GB RAM.
The more important thing is it goes with the speedy UFS 3.0 storage. Most competing phones are only using the older UFS 2.1 standard.
Its 256GB storage is non-expandable, but it is 256GB UFS 3.0. Not 128GB UFS 2.1 like other similarly priced devices.
On the battery part, it goes with ample 3,700mAh with 20W Dash Charge solution. Based on our experience, it can fully charge the phone from 0 to 100 percent in 75 to 80 minutes.
3. UI is very similar to the OP7 Pro. It loads with the Android 9.0 Pie-based Oxygen OS. For me, it is the very best Android skin yet. Again, it is modern-looking with almost non-existent bloatware, easy gestures, and buttery smooth animations.
4. It only has two cameras at the back. But the main camera is a massive 48MP sensor. It is even the flagship f/1.7 Sony IMX586 sensor paired with PDAF, OIS, EIS. The secondary sensor is a 5MP f/2.4 camera. It also has a dual-tone LED flash.
Overall, I'm pretty impressed with its cameras. The selfie cam is super good as well. I just wished that the secondary sensor is a wide lens for versatility though.
Related: OnePlus 7: First Camera Samples
5. All the usual connectivity options are there. It has a dual-band WiFi, 4G LTE Cat 20, Bluetooth 5.0, and dual-band GPS. It even has an improved In-Display fingerprint reader.
Unboxing/Accessories
 |
| Unboxed |
Like other OnePlus devices, OP7 arrived with the standard red and white box. The unit we got is in Chinese, but do not worry, Digital Walker assured that it has the Global ROM with compatible bands here in the Philippines.
The 20W Dash Charge USB wall charger is back together with the red OnePlus USB-C charging cables.
Next, you will see the TPU clear case, SIM ejector tool, and paper documents. We also noticed that there's a pre-installed screen protector which is always nice.
Build Quality/Design
 |
| Stylish glossy back design |
OP7 feels premium and looks stylish at the same time. It is similar to OP6T which uses metal and glass materials. Both the glass at the back and front are protected by an unspecified type of Gorilla Glass.
The red version looks very good!
Corning's website even claimed that it has the Gorilla Glass 6 in front and Gorilla Glass 5 at the back. That's some of the best glass protection that you can get against light accidental drops and scratches.
Similar to the OP7 Pro, there is no IP rating for water and dust resistance. BUT, like most OnePlus phones, it has the "daily" water resistance.
At the back, you'll see that it has smooth curves. Underneath the glass is the paint finish. You can get this phone in mirror gray or red colorways. The unit that I have is red.
Also, you'll find a vertically-aligned dual-camera setup with an LED flash in the middle. The camera module has a pretty large hump. So, without a case, be careful with it to avoid scratches.
Aligned with the cameras, you will also see the chrome painted OnePlus logo blow.
 |
| Large display |
In front, it has a large and tall 19:5:9 6.41-inch panel with slim looking bezels and a tiny notch. Like the OP6T, it has 86 percent of screen-to-body ratio. The chin bezel is a bit thick but still respectable.
If you will notice, there is no physical fingerprint scanner. It is embedded in the display of the phone.
OP7 is quite small for a phone with a 6.41-inch screen. It measures at just 157.7 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm.
 |
| Top view |
 |
| Bottom |
On top, there's a mic. Below, you'll see another mic together with the USB-C port and the single down-firing speaker.
At left, you will see the volume rocker. The power button and the silent/vibrate/ring key are located on the right side of the phone. Just like the OP7 Pro.
The phone is quite handy overall. It has enough heft, but far from being heavy at 182 grams.
Initial findings
 |
| Capable display |
1. It doesn't have a 2K 90Hz screen of the OP7 Pro, but OnePlus 7's 60Hz Optic AMOLED display is pretty good. For the price, it is actually very good. I also like the fact that it is quite large at 6.41-inch. Despite having a notch, it is a pretty immersive screen with sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut.
 |
| Really fast performance |
2. Under the hood, it is powered by the same 2.84GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor with Adreno 640 GPU. It is even paired with large 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. To be honest, I can't really feel the difference between 8GB RAM and 12GB RAM.
Arguably, it has the best specs for the price!
The more important thing is it goes with the speedy UFS 3.0 storage. Most competing phones are only using the older UFS 2.1 standard.
Its 256GB storage is non-expandable, but it is 256GB UFS 3.0. Not 128GB UFS 2.1 like other similarly priced devices.
On the battery part, it goes with ample 3,700mAh with 20W Dash Charge solution. Based on our experience, it can fully charge the phone from 0 to 100 percent in 75 to 80 minutes.
3. UI is very similar to the OP7 Pro. It loads with the Android 9.0 Pie-based Oxygen OS. For me, it is the very best Android skin yet. Again, it is modern-looking with almost non-existent bloatware, easy gestures, and buttery smooth animations.
 |
| Dual-cam |
4. It only has two cameras at the back. But the main camera is a massive 48MP sensor. It is even the flagship f/1.7 Sony IMX586 sensor paired with PDAF, OIS, EIS. The secondary sensor is a 5MP f/2.4 camera. It also has a dual-tone LED flash.
Overall, I'm pretty impressed with its cameras. The selfie cam is super good as well. I just wished that the secondary sensor is a wide lens for versatility though.
Related: OnePlus 7: First Camera Samples
5. All the usual connectivity options are there. It has a dual-band WiFi, 4G LTE Cat 20, Bluetooth 5.0, and dual-band GPS. It even has an improved In-Display fingerprint reader.
OnePlus 7 Specs
Display: 6.41-inch 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass protected Optic AMOLED screen w/ FHD+ 2340 x 1080 resolution at 402 ppi
CPU: 2.84GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor
GPU: Adreno 640
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X
ROM: 256GB UFS 3.0
Back Camera: 48MP f/1.7 Sony IMX586 w/ PDAF, OIS, EIS + 5MP f/2.4 w/ dual-tone LED flash
Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.0 Sony IMX471
Battery: 3,700mAh w/ 20W Dash Charge
OS: Android 9.0 Pie w/ Oxygen OS
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE Cat 20, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS (L1+L5 Dual Band), GLONASS, Galileo (E1+E5a Dual Band), Beidou, SBAS, A-GPS, dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, USB-C, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, haptic vibration motor, Colors: mirror gray, red
Dimensions: 157.7 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm
Weight: 182 g
Price: PHP 26,990
It has the speed and several features phones with almost 2x the price. It even has a massive 256GB storage with the UFS 3.0 standard.
It may not have the versatility of triple-camera or quad-camera phones, but its main shooter and selfie cam are some of the best we tried regardless of price.
So far, I'm impressed. It is the best phone we ever tried for the price yet.
Stay tuned for our full review!
As of the moment
Based on what we saw so far, the OnePlus 7 is an absolute beast under PHP 30K.It has the speed and several features phones with almost 2x the price. It even has a massive 256GB storage with the UFS 3.0 standard.
It may not have the versatility of triple-camera or quad-camera phones, but its main shooter and selfie cam are some of the best we tried regardless of price.
So far, I'm impressed. It is the best phone we ever tried for the price yet.
Stay tuned for our full review!
Post a Comment