Android phone shoppers know that they should turn to OnePlus if they want a device that balances premium features with a midrange price tag. But exactly which device they should turn to just became a bit more complicated.
After revealing the OnePlus 7T a few weeks ago, OnePlus has now completed the upgrade to the 7 series with the OnePlus 7T Pro, a refreshed version of the OnePlus 7 Pro, one of our favorite Android phones of 2019.
We’ve already compared the OnePlus 7T and the OnePlus 7 Pro since those are the two phones OnePlus is offering in the U.S. But what about those the two ‘T’ models, available widely in Europe? Here’s a breakdown between the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro to see what exactly is different between these two attractively priced flagship phones.
Price and Availability
In a reversal of the strange decision to not sell the original OnePlus 7 in the U.S., it’s now the 7T Pro that’s limited to other countries. OnePlus fans in the UK get the pick of both phones however. The OnePlus 7T is currently already available in the U.S. along with the older OnePlus 7 Pro, but the 7T and 7T Pro will be available in the UK from October 17.
The 7T sells for $599/£549 , while the 7T Pro sells for £699, which converts to $867 (remember that European prices are always more expensive relative to U.S. prices due to different taxes and so forth.) The £150 difference between the two models is a considerable chunk of change.
OnePlus 7T vs. OnePlus 7T Pro: The specs
| Phone | OnePlus 7T | OnePlus 7T Pro |
| Price | $599/£549 | £699 |
| Display (Resolution) | 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED (2400 x 1080; 90Hz) | 6.67-inch Fluid AMOLED (3120 x 1440; 90Hz) |
| Rear Camera(s) | Triple: 48MP main (ƒ/1.6); 16-MP ultrawide lens (ƒ/2.2); 12-MP telephoto lens (ƒ/2.2) with 2x optical zoom | Triple: 48MP main (ƒ/1.6); 16-MP ultrawide lens (ƒ/2.2); 8MP telephoto lens (ƒ/2.4) with 3x optical zoom |
| Front Camera(s) | 16MP | 16MP |
| CPU | Snapdragon 855 Plus | Snapdragon 855 Plus |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128 GB | 256GB |
| microSD | None | None |
| Battery | 3,800mAh with Warp Charge 30T | 4,085mAh with Warp Charge 30T |
| Colors | Frosted Silver, Glacier Blue | Haze Blue |
| Size | 6.33 x 2.93 x 0.32 inches (160.94 x 74.44 x 8.13 mm) | 6.4 x 2.9 x 0.34 inches (162.6 x 75.9 x 8.8 mm) |
| Weight | 6.7 ounces (190g) | 7.2 ounces (206g) |
Display
Both the 7T and 7T Pro displays are AMOLED panels, and both feature 90-Hz refresh rates. That latter feature was only available on the OnePlus 7 Pro previously, but now you can get this signature ability on the less expensive 7T as well as the 7T Pro.
However, the size, resolution and shape of the two phones’ screens differ. The 7T’s display is a 6.55-inch FHD flat panel with a waterdrop notch containing the selfie camera. The 7T Pro is a 6.6-inch quad HD curved screen with no notch; instead, its front camera pops up when you need to snap a selfie. If you want an uninterrupted view of video on your phone, then the 7T Pro is obviously the better choice, but if you’re not so demanding, then the 7T’s display, which is only minimally impacted by the notch, will still serve you well.
According to our tests for the 7T and the older 7 Pro, the 7T’s panel is brighter though colors aren’t as accurate. Assuming the 7T Pro’s display hasn’t changed significantly from the 7 Pro, you should probably pick the 7T if you prioritize brightness, but the 7T Pro if you want a more vivid display. Look for an update once we’ve put the 7T Pro through its paces in our test lab.
MORE: The iPhone 12 Could Have This Killer Camera Feature
Cameras
The camera arrays on both OnePlus phones are near identical. On the back, both the 7T and 7T Pro feature a 48MP main lens and 16MP ultrawide shooter, but there’s a different telephoto lens on each handset. The 7T has a higher resolution camera than the 7T Pro — 12MP versus 8MP — but the 7T Pro offers a 3x optical zoom to the 7T’s 2x.
The other notable difference is how these rear cameras are placed. On the back of the 7T Pro, the cameras are arranged down the centre of the phone vertically, while the cameras on the 7T are horizontally arranged in a large circular camera patch. It’s certainly a lot more distinctive than the 7T Pro’s arrangement, but it’s up to you whether this looks better or not.
Up front, you get a 16-MP camera on either phone, though again, on the OnePlus 7T Pro, it’s housed in a mechanism that pops up when you need it.
As for photo quality, the 7T and the original 7 Pro provide decent though not outstanding pictures. We’ll still need to test the cameras on the 7T and 7T Pro to see how their photos compare.
Performance
The 7T and 7T Pro both use the new Snapdragon 855 Plus CPU, the tweaked version of the chip found in the original OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro. Qualcomm’s newer chipset promises better processing and graphics than what you get from the Snapdragon 855.
Both phones pair the Snapdragon 855 Plus with 8GB of RAM. For storage, you have a single choice with either phone — 128GB for the 7T, 256GB for the 7T Pro. If you need the extra space, then the 7T Pro is the obvious choice, but otherwise you’ll probably not notice the difference between the two when using demanding apps or games. We’ve had a chance to benchmark the OnePlus 7T, which registered a multicore score of 2,759 on Geekbench 5. We can assume the 7T Pro, with the same key specs, will perform very similarly, though we still need to test the phone to confirm.
An alternative, if you’re able to get one of the limited number available, is the 7T Pro McLaren Edition. While it costs £799 (or £100 more than the OnePlus 7T Pro), it offers 12GB RAM instead of 8. This additional memory will no doubt boost performance, but it’s a lot of money to spend in the pursuit of just power if you aren’t bothered about the branding and redesigned interface and chassis.
Software
Both the 7T and 7T Pro match on this point. The two phones run on Android 10 with OnePlus’ OxygenOS 10 launcher, which adds only a few minor extras to the stock Android experience and clads it all in stylish looking graphics.
This said, Android 10 and the updated OxygenOS will come to the original OnePlus 7 series phones soon as an over-the-air update. So if you aren’t attached to the new hardware, you can get all the same software benefits on the original OnePlus 7 or OnePlus 7 Pro.
Battery and Charging
The OnePlus 7T Pro wins in terms of raw battery capacity. It has a 4,085mAh battery, which is 285mAh more than the 3,800mAh battery inside the OnePlus 7T. The 7T lasted 8 hours and 47 minutes on our custom battery test, which is below average for smartphones. We’ve not been able to run that same test on the 7T Pro, so we’ll have to see if the bigger battery translates to longer battery life. Considering that enormous display, it's possible that the extra capacity will make no discernable difference.
Both the 7T and 7T Pro use the same Warp Charge 30T protocol. This upgrade uses the same power bricks that the original OnePlus 7 series used, but thanks to software tweaks, the initial stages of charging are faster than before. You can charge up to 61% in 30 minutes with the 7T according to our own testing. You would assume that means you’ll get slightly slower charging with the 7T Pro due to the larger battery, but it may not be noticeable.
Which should OnePlus phone is best?
The question of whether to get the OnePlus 7T or the OnePlus 7T Pro is really one for UK shoppers to struggle with. After all, the 7T Pro isn’t on sale in the US. But if you do have the choice, either by living in Europe or by being willing to buy phones from sources beyond your local phone store, then the superior phone of this pair isn’t immediately obvious.
The hardware differences between the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro are minor and the software is pretty much identical. The bigger battery of the 7T Pro, its larger, curved and notchless display, pop-up mechanism and slightly different cameras are reasons you may want to side with this one, but the lighter and cheaper 7T we think proves the best value from the two 7T series models.
Even if you’re into the features of the 7T Pro, then we recommend trying to find a 7 Pro instead — it offers almost identical features, including the exact same software post-update, to the 7T Pro while having a cheaper 6GB RAM/128GB storage option, and a more powerful 12GB RAM/256GB storage option, making it more flexible for your particular needs and budget.
