It’s launch day for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro. While we already have a full review up for the flagship OnePlus 7 Pro, many people will probably ask about the regular OnePlus 7. A review for that phone is not happening, because, well, it’s not coming to the US.
OnePlus is changing up its product strategy this year: in the US, it’s offering the more premium OnePlus 7 Pro, keeping last year’s OnePlus 6T on the market with a small price drop; the OnePlus 7 is destined for other, non-US markets.
So what exactly are we missing out on when it comes to the OnePlus 7? Well, while the OnePlus 7 Pro is an all-new device with a pop-up camera, all-screen design, and a 90Hz display, the OnePlus 7 is just a spec bump of the OnePlus 6T. The OnePlus 7 design is basically identical to the OnePlus 6T: there’s a glass back with two rear cameras, a fixed front camera with a teardrop notch, and an in-screen fingerprint reader. The phone should be a bit faster, though, as it has been outfitted with a new Snapdragon 855, speedier UFS 3.0 storage, and a 48MP main camera that is hopefully the same as the excellent OnePlus 7 Pro camera. The rest of the OnePlus 7 specs are just like the OnePlus 6T: a 6.41-inch, 2340×1080 display, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, and a 3700mAh battery.
The OnePlus 7 will be released in China, India, Hong Kong, and most of Europe. In Europe, the OnePlus 7 starts at €559 ($626) for the 6GB RAM/128GB storage version. For context, the OnePlus 7 Pro is €709 in Europe, or $794, which is way more expensive than the $670 MSRP in the US.
The OnePlus 6T will continue to be for sale in the US, which is a change in strategy from previous years. The baseline 6GB of RAM model is dead, and the remaining 8GB models get a $30 price drop! That means the version with 128GB of storage is $549, and the 256GB version is $599. The death of the version with 6GB of RAM means you can get a OnePlus 7 with less RAM than a OnePlus 6T, which is odd.
Speaking of other OnePlus models, the company promises that a 5G version of the OnePlus 7 Pro will arrive someday. OnePlus says, “The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G represented a big design challenge, requiring OnePlus to create new designs for 5G antennae, and even redesign the NFC antenna.” For now the 5G version will be “launching exclusively with EE in the UK, and Elisa in Finland,” with the price and availability to be determined.
If the US has to miss out on one of these phones, be glad we ended up with the OnePlus 7 Pro. It is an exceptional value and easily the best Android phone on the market right now.
