OnePlus 8T | 5G Unlocked Android Smartphone | A Day’s Power in 15 Minutes | Ultra Smooth 120Hz Display | 48MP Quad Camera | 256GB, Aquamarine Green | U.S. Version, 499.99, 0, $, .

★☆☆☆☆ I like this phone, so I'll start with the positive. Build quality is solid, the screen is bright and color accurate (though it has an ugly blemish - a hole punch camera in the top left corner), and it matches or beats out most other flagships on the market when it comes to specs (5G, Snapdragon 865, 12GB RAM, 256GB UFS 3.1 storage, 65W fast charging, stereo speakers, 4500mah battery). Camera quality is good, not better than that found on Google's Pixel series of phones but it's competitive with other brands like Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc. I'm using the phone on Mint Mobile which uses T-Mobile's networks, I have had no issues with coverage and receive strong 5G signal in my area as well. The phone is not too big too handle nor too small to media consumption on. There's no wireless charging but I don't care about that in the slightest, especially when the phone charges so fast.The fingerprint reader is amazing. OnePlus seriously has the best in-screen fingerprint readers in the industry. It's accurate, fast, and so easy to use. I do not know of a phone with a better fingerprint reader. The phone is capable of facial recognition but I do not trust facial recognition as no matter how good the technology; it can be used to quickly unlock your phone without consent. To each their own.Another fantastic thing about this phone is that OnePlus still allows customers to unlock the bootloader of the device. Many other US smartphone manufacturers no longer allow you to do this. Why does this matter? When the phone reaches end-of-life and no longer receives support from the manufacturer you can flash an alternate ROM like LineageOS. It also allows you to root your device if you're into that sort of thing. I personally think it should be criminal to sell a device with a locked bootloader. Can you imagine if you bought a laptop running Windows 8 but were artificially prohibited from upgrading to Windows 10? Many smartphone brands do the equivalent of this and I refuse to purchase their products because of it. Thank you OnePlus for respecting consumer choice and fighting e-waste.The phone's software is smooth and fairly close to a "stock" Android experience. Some tweaks are definitely made under the hood but OxygenOS is far from obtrusive and is highly customizable. Of course, having an unlockable bootloader means you have the freedom to load something else if you want. One thing I love is that unlike some other brands, OnePlus mostly relies on Google's own software suite of apps and doesn't attempt to force duplicate manufacturer-branded versions of things like e-mail software on the user. There are exceptions to this, special features such as "Zen mode" and OnePlus does have their own Gallery as well as a File Manager. I see the File Manager as a bit of an odd addition alongside the default Files app. My mentality is that device manufacturers shouldn't spend too much time on developing device-specific software. If a user has a problem with the default Files app they can find an alternative in the Play Store. I don't see it as necessary for OnePlus to include out of the box solutions to problems that may or may not exist for users. It's certainly not a bad app but it seems redundant. Keep it simple. Let people install what they want after they have the device in their hands. This is a minor grievance however. OxygenOS as a whole is smooth, responsive, and receives frequent updates. It's one of the few manufacturer Android skins I don't hate.This is where my review will turn a bit more critical. First things first, the hole punch camera. It's hideous. I have long been putting off buying a new phone because I hate how almost every flagship on the market has a notch or hole punch in its screen. Why? I never had a problem with bezels on my smartphone, and while having a high screen-to-body ratio is nice, it's not nice when it comes at the cost of putting a giant black dot in the corner of my screen. I watch a lot of videos and consume a lot of content on my device. Every time I look at this phone I see this ugly blemish on my screen, like a blob of dead pixels. I hate it. The only thing I can praise OnePlus for is that at least they put it in the left corner and not the center like some other manufacturers. It's still awful. You see it when the screen is off, when it's on, and it's especially noticeable when watching videos shot in aspect ratios wide enough to fill the screen (contrary to popular belief, many movies and online videos are not in 16:9). I know that OnePlus is not the only manufacturer to utilize a hole punch yet just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it okay.Next, it lacks a 3.5mm audio jack, colloquially referred to as a "headphone jack". Again, OnePlus is not the only manufacturer to do this with their devices, that doesn't make it okay. I love listening to music. Thing is, Bluetooth quality sucks. I have a decent sound system in my car and I can clearly make out the difference between a wired connection and a Bluetooth one. I'm switching from a Google Pixel XL which had a 3.5mm audio jack and I almost feel like I'm downgrading. No 3.5mm to USB-C adapter is included in the box and OnePlus doesn't actually sell an official one listed as compatible with the OnePlus 8T. OnePlus is basically telling all their customers with hi-fi audio equipment that they don't care if said customers can enjoy their music. "Never Settle" seems like a silly slogan for OnePlus to have nowadays. There's plenty of space inside the phone and there is no official IP certification so I refuse to accept those as reasons to lack the jack.Next, there's the bloatware. There isn't a lot, though Netflix sticks out like a sore thumb. I use Netflix, there's nothing wrong with the app. The problem is that it comes preinstalled and can't be uninstalled. You can disable it if you like but it will still take up storage on your device. I don't think this is acceptable. If somebody has the desire to uninstall a preinstalled application they should be able to do so unless doing so would directly inhibit the functionality of the device. This is simply a consumer rights issue for me and I'm pretty passionate about it.On a final note, the aesthetic of the phone is good. It looks like a flagship smartphone should and is built well. The hole punch camera makes the screen ugly, other than that I like how it looks. The Lunar Silver color is a bit less glossy than I was hoping for, and it almost looks blue under light. Personally I think the glossier silver finish of the OnePlus 7 Pro looked better. The screen is bright and color accurate though not as bright as I've seen on a few other flagshipsOverall, I like this phone but dislike the compromises (hole punch camera, lack of 3.5mm audio jack, bloatware) that come with buying it. There's a lot to like, not enough to love. I was in desperate need of a phone and this was the only thing on the market that appealed to me at all. I really hate that I had to settle for a hole punch camera and no 3.5mm audio jack.Update: Decided to return this phone after it was causing me a lot of stress. I'm not okay with where Bluetooth technology is in 2020 and I'm disgusted by manufacturers removing the 3.5mm audio jack from devices and trying to force customers to use an inferior technology. Bluetooth sound quality is awful and it constantly fails to pair. I couldn't consistently get this phone to connect to my car's stereo unit from one day to the next.You might say just use a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, I tried that. Sound quality was slightly better but barely. Overall I found myself having to keep my stereo lower than I'm used to simply because the signal that this phone outputs is not good.In addition to this, I also see OxygenOS as becoming bloated and filled with things that are not relevant to the Android experience. Why is "Shot on OnePlus" on my phone? Why is Netflix preloaded and why can't it be uninstalled? Why is Zen mode a thing? I'm tired of manufacturers trying to put their own spin on Android. Keep it simple, please. Just copy what Google does with the Pixel series, please.Camera quality was also another concern for me. Sometimes the OnePlus 8T takes amazing photos, other times they come out blurry, over-saturated, or there's so much shutter lag between hitting the capture button and the photo actually taking that you miss your shot. It's infuriating. Coming from a Google Pixel which captured amazing shots almost every time, feels like a bit of a downgrade. I also hate that it the 8T doesn't have a telephoto lens.The cost of charging accessories is another huge thing for me. Warp Charge accessories are extremely expensive, it's over $50 just for a Warp Charge 30 car charger. I can't justify spending that much money just to charge my phone even if the actual experience of using Warp Charge is awesome. The 8T doesn't have wireless charging which I personally don't care about much, but why does OnePlus use the slogan "Never Settle" when they clearly are expecting the customer to settle?In addition to this, OnePlus has been releasing so many devices lately that customers have been complaining about slow updates and poor support for older phones. Also, I've just never gotten used to the ugly hole punch camera. I just don't see OnePlus as the brand it thinks it is. "Never Settle" is a funny slogan for a company that tries to make their customers settle for so much. Glad to be returning this mediocre phone.

★☆☆☆☆ This happened twice now, mayor huge issue at the warehouse.I received the model KB2001 which is the Indian version. The American version is KB2005.The phone came with the manufacturer wrap and the amazon ASIN B08KXB3R7S number sticker.This is a warning to all people who already bought this phone, and also people considering buying. The phone might work in the US, but will not work to its full potential, and in some situations would not work at all.

★☆☆☆☆ Second time this happened now, different color, same outcome. Mayor warehouse issue...I received the model KB2001 which is the Indian version. The American version is KB2005.The phone came with the manufacturer wrap and the amazon ASIN B08KVMHH6L number sticker.This is a warning to all people who already bought this phone, and also people considering buying. The phone might work in the US, but will not work to its full potential, and in some situations would not work at all.