The OnePlus 7 Pro is official as of Tuesday and among the many tantalizing specs announced for the device, the most impressive aspect of the flagship remains its price. OnePlus announced that the 7 Pro will sell at a starting price of $669, which sent media and guests into a round of applause at the New York City launch event.
Many rumors of high-end features for the OnePlus 7 Pro have now been confirmed, but ahead of the release pundits were bracing for a bank-breaking price. However, the $749 tag that was expected for the smartphone is actually the price for its largest hardware capacity, featuring 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The base model selling for $669 includes 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, while the mid-level model features 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage for $699.
Overall, the OnePlus 7 Pro is still selling for significantly less than rival flagships, such as those from Samsung and Apple. With the features included, OnePlus could easily justify a higher rate, but the new model is still much more costly than the previous OnePlus 6T, which started at $549. The OnePlus 7 Pro does lack several flagship features, such as water resistance certification and wireless charging, which likely help keep its price down.
Ahead of the 7 Pro, OnePlus was increasing its prices by about $30 per iteration, but the tweaks in the company’s release strategy are apparent. OnePlus’ goal has long been to become a U.S. consumer darling, and the manufacturer also announced during the launch that it is now rated among the top five smartphone makers in North America as well as globally.
While the OnePlus 7 Pro is available in the U.S. under a banner branding, with a T-Mobile carrier partnership and availability ahead of the global launch, other international markets will also get a standard OnePlus 7 model with slightly truncated specs and a cheaper price tag.
Main specs on the OnePlus 7 Pro; however, include a 6.67-inch QHD+ “Fluid AMOLED” display with a 90Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ certification. OnePlus branded the display technology used on the device to highlight its no-bezel, edge-to-edge design. The device also includes an interesting new notifications feature called Horizon Light, which sends a flash of light around the edges as an indicator. Additionally, OnePlus has improved its Night Mode feature and increased the size of the fingerprint sensor on the 7 Pro by 38 percent. Its unlock time is now down to 0.21 seconds.
The triple rear camera on the OnePlus 7 Pro includes a 48-megapixel main lens with f/1.6 aperture, optical (OIS) and electronic (EIS) image stabilization. The bottom lens is an 8-megapixel telephoto with an f/2.4 aperture and OIS supporting 3x optical zoom. The top lens is a 16-megapixel ultra wide angle with an f/2.2 aperture and a 17-degree field-of-view.
Completing the OnePlus 7 Pro camera system is its pop-up selfie camera, which emerges from the body of the device when users press the selfie option in the camera app. The camera is a 16-megapixel lens with an f/2.0 aperture with EIS and a 0.53 seconds extraction time. OnePlus says the camera has been extensively tested for durability and that the selfie lens will immediately retract if the device is dropped. OnePlus’ quality assurance tests included opening and closing the camera over 300,000 times, and using the lens to lift a 50lb weight.
Other hardware includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip, UFS 3.0, and a RAM Boost for faster multitasking, a 4,000mAh battery with, Warp Charge 3.0 and the ability to charge while playing games. Color options include Nebula blue, Mirror black, and Almond.
The OnePlus 7 Pro also includes dual stereo speakers powered by Dolby Atmos, a new and more powerful, haptic vibration motor for a more comfortable experience handling the display, a Zen Mode that shuts down most device functions for 20 minutes, allowing users to take a break from their mobile life when needed, and a Fnatic mode that boosts the OnePlus 7 Pro to maximum power with minimal notifications for improved gaming sessions.
The OnePlus 7 Pro releases globally on May 17; however, T-Mobile has released the device early at its Signature store in Times Square, New York on Tuesday. Other T-Mobile Signature stores in Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, San Fransisco, Santa Monica on May 15 and 16. OnePlus has also announced a new trade-in program, which will accept old smartphone models from a number of manufacturers and use their value toward the price of a OnePlus 7 Pro. Current OnePlus users can trade in any model, even the OnePlus One.
