Ask any Android fanatic what their favourite producer is, they usually’ll inevitably say OnePlus. The Chinese language firm discovered the viewers it needed from the get-go, and its potential to ship flagship {hardware} mixed with best-in-class software program meant it routinely attracted energy customers. Whereas that course has modified lately, OnePlus continues to ship standout gadgets.
I distinctly keep in mind being enthusiastic about getting my fingers on the OnePlus One again in 2014; it wasn’t as simple as it’s immediately, as you wanted an invitation to choose up the telephone. However I managed to safe one and acquired the telephone within the U.S. a number of months forward of its launch in India, and used it as my day by day driver for effectively over a yr.
I began writing about telephones on Android Central shortly after that, and that allowed me to check all of the telephones OnePlus launched in its ten-year historical past. The very best half is that I acquired to make use of the entire model’s limited-edition fashions, so these are the 5 OnePlus telephones I preferred probably the most during the last decade.
OnePlus 7 Professional: Really one in every of a sort
The OnePlus 7 Professional had all of it: a shocking design, insane {hardware}, and a big battery. However what made the system stand out probably the most was the motorized digicam module that successfully hid the entrance digicam when not in use. This meant you bought a display screen that did not have any cutouts, and it regarded unimaginable.
Even to this present day, the OnePlus 7 Professional seems futuristic, and the design has aged very effectively — it is a disgrace that producers walked away from retractable cameras altogether. I believe the design seems even higher than the OnePlus 11, and that display screen is only a delight to make use of. The Nebula Blue shade variant seems beautiful, and once I reviewed the OnePlus 7 Professional again when it got here out in 2019, I stated that the system was giant and heavy. It does not really feel that method in 2023; trendy telephones have considerably larger digicam modules and batteries, and the 7 Professional seems svelte by comparability.
Though the design remains to be among the many better of any telephone immediately, the cameras on the OnePlus 7 Professional did not fairly measure as much as what was out there on the time, and subsequent updates have not executed a lot to vary that. You’ll be able to nonetheless get first rate pictures out of it, nevertheless it is not wherever pretty much as good as trendy OnePlus telephones on this regard.
Truthfully, if OnePlus simply launched a model of the 7 Professional with trendy internals and higher cameras, I believe it’ll do very well. However the design language has moved on, and it’s simply wishful pondering to think about that we’ll get an up to date variant of the telephone. In fact, there’s additionally the truth that you may’t have an IP ranking with a retractable module, and that is a desk stakes function nowadays.
OnePlus 7T: 4G’s final hurrah
The OnePlus 7T carefully follows on the heels of the 7 Professional as one in every of my favourite OnePlus telephones. The telephone took the perfect bits of the 7 Professional however made them extra accessible; you continue to acquired a 90Hz AMOLED panel, however the show itself was flat, and that made it simple to carry and use. And that round digicam design on the again is simply pretty much as good immediately because it was when it launched again in 2019.
As a result of there wasn’t a retractable digicam module, the 7T was 16g lighter than the 7 Professional, and that mixed with the flat show made a large distinction in day by day use. I had no scarcity of evaluation models on the time, however I ended up utilizing the 7T effectively into 2020. It additionally had the excellence of being the final of the 4G telephones — all of the gadgets that got here in 2020 had 5G radios that guzzled battery life, so I simply really helpful the 7T to those that did not need to purchase a 5G telephone.
The OnePlus 7T launched with OxygenOS 10 out of the field, and that was the zenith of OnePlus’s software program efforts. OnePlus 11 was a convoluted mess that did not have a coherent design technique, and OnePlus simply determined to make use of ColorOS after that. However with the 7T, you bought the perfect that OxygenOS needed to supply, and it was unimaginable to make use of. In my OnePlus 7T evaluation, I stated that it was the last word worth on the time, and I nonetheless see these gadgets within the wild.
OnePlus Open: Taking OnePlus to hovering heights
The OnePlus Open is the one current OnePlus system on this record, and that is a testomony to how good the foldable is in day by day use. OnePlus nailed the design and {hardware}, and the software program has loads of helpful utilities, and OnePlus sorted out the preliminary points that I bumped into with my evaluation unit.
The place the Open actually excels is the scale; because of a big outer display screen and a shorter design, it’s excellent to carry and use. Whilst you lose out on a bit of vertical actual property, that is not actually a difficulty, and I a lot desire the broader cowl display screen to the tall-and-narrow abomination that’s on the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
OnePlus additionally outfitted the foldable with top-of-the-line digicam packages within the section, and it takes implausible photographs and movies in nearly any situation. And with the identical long-term replace assure as Samsung, the telephone will keep related loads longer. Truthfully, that is my favourite foldable of 2023, and the truth that it is out there globally provides it a definite edge in opposition to its Chinese language rivals Xiaomi and Honor.
OnePlus 6T: Ushering in a brand new period of design
I wasn’t an enormous fan of the OnePlus 6T when it launched because it did not have a 3.5mm jack. That stated, the OnePlus 6 and 6T must be among the many best-looking OnePlus telephones ever made. These telephones launched the metal-and-glass design aesthetic that is persevering with to this present day, and the 6T specifically had a beautiful design because of an in-screen fingerprint sensor.
There’s additionally the colour, and the Thunder Purple variant of the OnePlus 6T simply hit all the correct notes. And on that observe, I’ve to say the Lava Crimson model of the common OnePlus 6; that also continues to be the perfect shade choice OnePlus launched on a tool thus far — the Photo voltaic Crimson OnePlus 11R will get very shut, nevertheless it does not fairly handle the identical impact.
Sure, the waterdrop cutout seems massive subsequent to current-gen telephones, however the 6T itself is considerably smaller, thinner, and lighter than the likes of the OnePlus 11, and it simply feels nice to carry and use. The tiny digicam module with simply two sensors additionally seems quaint — you aren’t getting that anymore.
After I revisited the OnePlus 6 and 6T in 2020, I stated that they aged very effectively, and lots of that was all the way down to the design and {hardware}. Like all different OnePlus telephones, the 6T delivered terrific {hardware} and a very good AMOLED panel, however the greatest concern was the digicam — it simply wasn’t on par with the likes of the Mi 8.
OnePlus 3T: OnePlus goes mainstream
Positive, the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 had been pivotal in placing the model on the map, and pretty much as good because the {hardware} was, the design wasn’t very refined. That modified with the introduction of the OnePlus 3 and 3T again in 2016. These telephones featured a metallic again that was beautiful, they usually enabled OnePlus to focus on mainstream patrons — that is when the model began gaining actual momentum.
In fact, the {hardware} additionally performed a giant position in that, however the all-metal design allowed these gadgets to go up in opposition to the perfect that Samsung and Xiaomi needed to supply on the time. The OnePlus 3T had its foibles; the display screen was susceptible to breaking in the event you checked out it improper, there was no MicroSD slot, and the digicam was strictly common. However, the mixture of low value and stellar {hardware} ensured the OnePlus 3T bought extremely effectively globally.
Honorable point out: Restricted version telephones
To me, OnePlus is at its finest when launching customized editions of its telephones. And there was no scarcity of that during the last 10 years; it kicked off with the OnePlus 5T Star Wars version, a tie-in to Star Wars: The Power Awakens. The telephone had a shocking white shade variant that resembled the sandstone end of the OnePlus One, and it had loads of customized backgrounds and purple accents all through.
The OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers version was equally fascinating, and whereas it did not have the identical consideration to element, OnePlus bundled lots of equipment within the field. However my favourite needs to be the OnePlus 7T Professional McLaren version; as a decades-long F1 fan, it was enthralling to see a OnePlus telephone with McLaren livery, and whereas it might have executed extra with the design — I needed a telephone decked out in McLaren’s distinctive orange shade — it was a terrific collaboration nonetheless. I am nonetheless miffed that I wasn’t in a position to go to Woking.
Whereas OnePlus is not collaborating with different manufacturers over restricted version gadgets nowadays, it nonetheless makes customized variants of its telephones; the OnePlus 11 Marble Odyssey model is beautiful, as is the OnePlus 11R Photo voltaic Crimson.
It looks like simply yesterday that OnePlus burst onto the scene. The producer did a terrific job endearing itself to energy customers, and whereas it misplaced its method during the last two years, it has regained a few of its earlier ardour in 2023. It is going to be a busy begin for the model subsequent yr with the introduction of the OnePlus 12, and I can not wait to see what the following decade brings.
