OnePlus has been around for 6 years now and from its brash beginning, the company has evolved into a mature, thoughtful smartphone manufacturer. 2019's OnePlus 7 Series showed that the brand was beginning to present itself as a viable flagship producer in terms of features and hardware at the cost of small but regular price bumps with each new launch. Jared reviewed the regular OnePlus 7T that launched back in October, and now we have the top-of-the-range longtail edition speedster in for review.
That's right, we've got the immensely powerful, slick, and stunning OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition in our grubby hands, and long story short, it's a beast of a phone that pips the Pixel 4 XL in almost every single department. Without further ado, join us after the break for our review of the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition.
Design
Before we chat about the phone design, we must discuss the retail packaging of the McLaren Edition because it's truly impressive, sporting a fold-out Papaya orange outer casing and the box that has top and bottom layers, one of which holds the exclusive McLaren case for the phone. It really is a memorable experience opening the retail packaging on this phone, and certainly one that will linger in the memory.
Featuring a glass and metal design, the McLaren Edition is the beneficiary of a unique Papaya color scheme that involves a tasteful orange accent running on the sides and bottom edge of the phone, with the OnePlus logo sitting just beneath the central camera housing that protrudes by a millimeter or so.
Surrounding the cameras and logo is an oil-slick pattern that catches the light and really makes the rear panel a thing of beauty. It's really a unique finish that is befitting a phone carrying the McLaren branding. The textured alert slider on the right-hand edge is also of the Papaya orange color and stands out against the blackness of the finish.
Otherwise, as with the regular 7T Pro, the McLaren Edition sports a notchless display thanks to the presence of the pop-up selfie camera. The SIM tray sits to the left of the centrally located USB Type-C charging port that has the single speaker chamber to its right.
Hardware
| OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition | |
|---|---|
| Announced | October, 2019 |
| Released | November 4, 2019 |
| Software | Android 10 with OxygenOS |
| Display | 6.67-Inch Fluid AMOLED, FHD+ Resolution (3120 x 1440), 19:5:9 aspect ratio, 516ppi, HDR 10,p 90Hz Refresh Rate, 3D Gorilla Glass Protection |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ Octa-core, Adreno 640 GPU |
| Memory | 12GB |
| Storage | 256GB, UFS 3.0 |
| Expandable Storage | No |
| Rear Cameras | 48-megapixel (standard) with OIS & EIS, 8-megapixel (telephoto) 3x Optical Zoom, 16-megapixel (ultra wide-angle), 4K Video Capture, Dual LED Flash, |
| Front Camera | 16MP, Pop-up camera, EIS |
| Battery | 4,085mAh |
| Charging | USB-C, Warp Charge 30T |
| Wireless Charging | No |
| Security | In-display Fingerprint Sensor, Face Unlock |
| Headphone Jack | No |
| Dual Stereo Speakers | Yes, Dolby Atmos |
| Dual-SIM | Yes |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0, aptX, aptX, NFC, 2x2 MIMO, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4G/5G, |
| Weight | 206g |
| Color | Papaya Orange |
| Price | £799 ($899 for 5G variant in US) |
Performance
This paragraph could be a single sentence saying that the McLaren Edition simply screams along, but Jared the editor would no doubt ask me to provide further information on the matter. Anyway, it does scream along, opening apps eerily quick, it's quite surprising what pairing the Snapdragon 855 Plus processor up with the frankly ridiculous 12GB of RAM can achieve. And, unlike the Pixel 4 XL that Google loaned me last year, the McLaren Edition saves every single picture and doesn't redraw apps when you attempt to multitask.
As a bonus, it also has 256GB of storage, which makes up for the omission of MicroSD card support. The upgraded vibration motor really makes a difference over what previous OnePlus ranges, it's smoother, more accurate, and no longer feels like it was ripped out of a cheap toy.
You can't speak about performance without mentioning the simply awesome 90hz AMOLED display, the high refresh rate makes for smooth scrolling and you can't help yourself but flick the notification shade open and closed. Sure, some games don't support 90Hz yet, but in general use, the feature adds tremendous value.
Something that isn't quite as slick and accurate as the rest of the phone is the in-display fingerprint reader which can be somewhat painful at times with its unwillingness to read my thumbprint multiple times in succession.
We may not place much stock in benchmarking apps, but this is a McLaren Edition which means we felt the need to put some numbers on the phone's performance by way of Antutu, GeekBench 4, and 3D Mark.
Battery
With my daily driver being Huawei's P30 Pro, I'm used to having mega-battery life without a hint of battery anxiety. Thankfully, I can report that I had a very similar experience with the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition, it just doesn't know when to quit, even without enabling any power-saving measures. And once you do actually flatten the tank the next day because you forgot to put the phone on charge overnight, well the insanely quick Warp Charge 30T pumps the juice back in at an incredible rate. Starting on 0%, Warp Charge 30T will get the battery back to 68% in a mere 30-minutes, which is outstanding.
Software
The OxygenOS operating system that is pre-installed on OnePlus handsets offers a mostly stock-like experience and timely updates, with the McLaren Edition also sporting some brand-centric additions in the form of McLaren-themed icons and theme. You can even customize the color of the edge lighting on the left and right sides of the display, with Papaya orange naturally chosen as the default option. Based on Android 10, dark mode is present, as is the ability to use different clocks on the ambient display and even the ability to choose between a number of fingerprint unlocking animations.
There isn't too much to talk about in terms of bloatware, with OnePlus including its own Gallery and file manager apps, the OnePlus Community app, and its Switch app that helps you move over from your previous handset. Fanatic mode optimizes the phone for gaming, minimizing background processes and notifications and the RAM Boost helps to manage the phone's memory more efficiently.
All-in-all, OxygenOS is about as close to stock Android 10 as you are likely to get with a non-Pixel handset, and in some ways, OnePlus' interpretation is as good as Android gets. It's slick, the Settings are well thought out, it makes total sense and its unintrusive, even with the McLaren touches that just add a touch of pizazz to the whole thing. If Papaya orange accents aren't to your liking, you can change the theme to something less striking with just a few taps.
Camera
The McLaren Edition of the OnePlus 7T Pro features the same rear camera setup as the regular OP7TPro, consisting of a 48MP primary lens, a 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and an 8MP telephoto lens. While not quite the same standard as the Pixel 4 XL or Huawei's P30 Pro, in my opinion, the McLaren Edition can hold its own and is capable of some exceptional shots, it's really just the NightScape mode that delivered less than stunning results, especially so if you choose to use the 16MP ultra-wide sensor instead of the 48MP main camera.
The presence of the 3x optical zoom gives you the ability to zoom in to a subject without losing detail while the ultra-wide-angle lens gives you the option of taking macro shots or shooting the landscape.
If the cameras are the most important aspect of a smartphone for you, then you might be better off looking at the Pixel 4 or Huawei's P30 Pro. Having said that, either the regular or this McLaren Edition of the OnePlus 7T Pro will produce images you'll be proud to post on your social media.
Conclusion
With a stunning design with speed to burn, the McLaren Edition of the OnePlus 7T Pro is almost perfect. Great battery life, ultra-slick performance, speedy charging, an almost stock version of Android that receives timeous updates, and a great 90Hz AMOLED display make for a phone that you simply can't put down. Other than the in-display fingerprint reader, the biggest disappointment is that once again wireless charging and IP ratings are nowhere to be seen, you'll have to wait until the OnePlus 8 Series is launched if the rumors are correct.
The Papaya Orange accents combined with the unique rear panel design make for an eye-catching phone that others will ogle, and I have no hesitation in recommending the $899/£799 OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition.
Except…
For one tiny fly in the ointment. You can grab the regular OnePlus 7T Pro, with exactly the same specifications apart 4GB less RAM and slightly slower Warp Charge, for $100/£100 less than the McLaren Edition, which is a no-brainer.
Buy it Now: OnePlus
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