Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsA faulty phone with some poor features
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 August 2021
The design is nice, but the software is buggy and support is none existent.
I cannot recommend this device too anyone.
If you look on their forums you'll also see lots of complaints, but I'll surmise here.
The camera is ok for stills, but for video the results are unshareable. Using Facebook or WhatsApp the frame rate is dropped to shoot 10fps.
This is due to a codec issue with the camera software.
If you use Facebook or WhatsApp camera then you'll probably be ok. It's only with the oneplus software.
To get around this you can install some other camera software like gcam, but as of Android 11 this won't be able to be your default camera.
The screen isn't great in low brightness levels.
To combat the ghosting you can see, the Android 11 update from one plus overlays a contrast on apps like Chrome. This makes it a jarring experience to say the least. Definitely not pleasant.
Performance wise, the battery optimiser is easy over the top. Your frequently used apps will use up your battery, and this functionality tries to get them to use less... It results in a lower performance mode which is unneeded... Turn it off for better results.
I've also had poor experience with apps like Chrome.
There's something running on these phones that gives it slower performance intentionally... Geeks like it's observing and logging what you do.
Trying other browsers resulted in a better experience, even trying versions of Chrome like dev, beta, or older variants with other names worked far better.
Packaging is nice, device feels nice, comes with a screen protector that shows more dust and scratches than any I've ever seen, and the accompanying case is just ugly.