Quick Verdict
If you're simply wanting to purchase a OnePlus smartphone with a decent screen and good battery that can capture images with good levels of quality then you might as well save £100 and buy the OnePlus 7T Pro. However, if minor speed improvements and a really cool-looking design are important to you then you're probably going to opt for the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren edition. But, in all honesty, you're probably going to put a case on the smartphone any way which means you won't be able to see the edgy design so you might as well save yourself some cash, buy a cool-looking case and capture your photos with the OnePlus 7T Pro.
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- Cons
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OnePlus and McLaren have, once again, joined forces to introduce a flagship smartphone from OnePlus that features McLaren branding as well as the promise of more power.
The OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren is available now for around £799 (12GB RAM/256GB internal storage) which is £100 more expensive than the OnePlus 7T Pro it's based on so it'll be interesting to see if the specs it does add are worth the extra cash. It's also worth mentioning that the cameras on the McLaren edition are exactly the same as those found on the OnePlus 7T Pro so if photography is the main reason you're thinking of getting a new smartphone and you're deciding between the OnePlus 7T Pro and the McLaren edition, then you're going to be better off saving £100 and purchasing the OnePlus 7T Pro.
As we've not reviewed the OnePlus 7T Pro, yet, we'll be putting the cameras to a full test on the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren edition so you can find out how the cameras built into both smartphones perform.
If you're already thinking you don't want to spend £799 on a smartphone, you might want to take a look at the OnePlus 7T instead which is priced at around £549 and features a 48MP ultra-wide triple camera set-up with 2x zoom, fast charging and quite a few interesting camera modes.
OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Features
The OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren smartphone, and 7T Pro, feature a triple camera set-up arranged in a vertical design whereas the 7T features 3 cameras in a circular module. The camera specs are also slightly different on the basic 7T vs the 7T Pro/Mclaren edition, too.
The Triple camera setup features a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586, half-inch large image sensor with a 7P lens, and a large aperture of f/1.6 with OIS, there's a 3x telephoto lens which also has OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation). A 16-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide lens is also built-in with auto-focus (AF). The selfie camera is a 16MP f/2.0 lens which pops-up from the smartphone's interior so there's no notch or punch hole taking up space on the screen and among the camera modes, are a macro mode which can focus to 2.5cm and a Nightscape mode which can be used with the ultra-wide-angle lens, and the standard camera. OnePlus' photography UltraShot Engine is also built into the full camera line-up to help improve image quality, particularly in low light.
Those who often capture video can now switch interchangeably between all three lenses while simultaneously stabilising the footage.
Other standout features include a 6.67inch (1440x3120) 90Hz Fluid QHD+ Resolution display, Snapdragon 855 Plus, 4K video at 30/60 fps, super slow mode video, Warp charging, In-display fingerprint sensor and a 4085mAh battery.
Key Features
- 48MP, f/1.6, 26mm, PDAF, OIS, Laser AF (wide)
- 8MP, f/2.4, 51mm, PDAF, 3x telephoto camera
- 16MP, f/2.2, 13mm, AF - Ultra-wide
- Front Camera: 16MP, f/2.0, 25mm
- Night mode, Portrait mode
- Pro mode with manual controls
- Video: 4K video at 30/60fps, 720P video at 480fps, 720P video at 960fps, 1080P video at 240fps
- 6.67inch (1440x3120) 90Hz Fluid QHD+ screen
- Front/back glass construction with McLaren detailing
- USB Type-C
- 4085mAh battery (fast charging)
- Weight: 206g
- Size: 162.6×75.9×8.8mm
- 12GB RAM/256GB
OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Handling
Design is the name of the game with the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren smartphone adding the McLaren hallmark Papya Orange tint to the smartphone in a line that surrounds the smartphone's edge, and camera unit, and it also appears on the side switch. This accent stands out against the black surface which also has a carbon fibre effect that bends light to create unique patterns. It's pretty cool and makes you go 'ooh' the first time you see it but as you'll probably be putting a case on the smartphone to protect the glass back, you won't be seeing it very often.
Talking of cases, the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren comes with a very smart-looking case that features carbon fibre accents and down the middle, you find Italian-made Alcantara, the same fabric found in the interiors of McLaren's luxury sports cars. As in-box cases go, this one is really impressive as it's built well, feels solid and gives you confidence that it will protect your smartphone. Have a look at our video below to view more.
The Papya Orange tint is continued onto the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren smartphone's display with app icons taking on an orange glow when they have a notification. There are also exclusive animations, themes and wallpapers available. Plus, icons are custom-made exclusively for the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition with the clock, in particular, taking inspiration from the minimalist dashboard instruments found in McLaren cars. There's also a dark mode enabled by default which you can change in the settings if you want to.
We can't deny that it's a lovely looking smartphone that screams 'McLaren cool' and, it also feels really well built, too - something you definitely expect when a smartphone brand teams up with one of the most famous car manufacturers in the world.
In the hand, the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren smartphone feels sturdy and re-assuringly heavy (just like the iPhone and premium smartphones from Samsung) which lets you know it's built really well. Edges are curved, making it easy to hold in one hand, and the case gives the device even more grip. Plus, it doesn't slide off surfaces either.
It's a big smartphone with a 6.67inch edge-to-edge screen but it doesn't feel overly big and is comfortable to hold.
Talking of the screen, it has a 90Hz refresh rate so transitions are smoother and it's bright, colour reproduction is good and you can view it fine in sunlight. Bezels are thin, adding to the premium feel and the removal of the top-notch and no in-screen camera cutout does make the screen feel bigger when viewing photos or watching videos.
Other features worth a mention include an in-screen fingerprint sensor, fast charging, 12GB RAM/256GB, 4085mAh battery and Snapdragon 855 Plus. There's no headphone jack and the smartphone doesn't have a MicroSD slot so the memory can't be expanded (not that you'd need to anyway).
On the back, you find the following cameras:
- 48MP, f/1.6, 26mm, PDAF, OIS, Laser AF (wide)
- 8MP, f/2.4, 51mm, PDAF, 3x telephoto, with OIS
- 16MP, f/2.2, 13mm, AF (ultrawide)
This triple-camera set-up is slightly different to the one found on the OnePlus 7T but it is the same as the OnePlus 7T Pro. The 16MP, f/2.0, 25mm selfie camera is also different as it pops-up out of the smartphone whereas the basic 7T has a dewdrop design. It's not the first pop-up selfie camera we've seen but it is one of the most well-built with not too much movement if you wiggle it (please don't do this) and there's only a gentle mechanical noise when you activate it. As with other smartphones that have a pop-up selfie camera, if the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren senses you've dropped it, it will quickly retract the selfie camera so it doesn't get broken.
Video, on the rear camera, can be captured at 4K 30/60fps, 720 at 480fps/960fps and 1080P at 240fps. The selfie camera captures video at 1080p 30fps.
As you'd expect to find on a modern smartphone, some clever technology is also built-in to help optimise your images including adding bokeh and creating better low light images. There are also portrait enhancement options available along with a Pro mode, macro mode, panorama and time-lapse.
The camera app is like we've seen on other OnePlus smartphones but if you've not used one before, it's easy to navigate/use.
The benchmarking stats for the OnePlus 7T Mclaren are impressive: Geekbench 5 scores are 790 single-core, 2838 multi-core and 497888 with AnTuTu.
Battery life - The 4085mAh battery impressed us as even after hours of capturing images/video it still had plenty left in the tank and, should you need it, fast-charging is available too.
OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
OnePlus OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Sample Photos
Sample Photos - Overall, colour reproduction is excellent, there's good dynamic range and decent levels of sharpness. However, when light levels drop, results aren't quite as good with sharpness suffering. Purple fringing is very apparent around tree branch edges where they cross the sky, too. Reds 'pop' from the frame more than other colours, some may say 'too much', but this is down to personal preference.
Portraits and selfies are great with accurate skin tones, good levels of sharpness, and excellent colours. There are varying portrait modes available which give you different levels of skin smoothness/thining and adds bokeh to your shots. There's no separate aperture mode but you can use the portrait mode with subjects you'll think will benefit from a bit of bokeh in the background and we've done this with the railing and grave as examples.
Night mode is impressive, adding detail to low light images you don't see with the normal camera mode and there's also a Pro mode built-in should you want more control.
There's a macro mode built-in which can be a bit tricky to get to grips with but once you do, you can capture some good macro photography shots.
OnePlus OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Lens test images
Lens Performance - The wide-angle lens produces slightly better results than the ultra-wide lens as the ultra-wide lens tends to produce HDR-like images which don't look quite as accurate as the images captured with the wide-angle lens do. The telephoto lens gives you access to 3x optical zoom which is a fair bit of reach and it performs well but go beyond this and detail falls off fast so avoid digital zoom if you can. As mentioned, purple fringing can be an issue.
OnePlus OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - ISO100 to ISO-400 handles noise well but after this point, detail does fall off quickly with noise showing ISO1600 and upwards.
OnePlus OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance performs well under all lighting conditions, if a little warm, but the Fluorescent and Tungsten presets introduce a colour cast.
OnePlus OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Digital filters
Digital Filters - Several digital filters are built-in which you can apply after you've captured your images and a few of these are shown above. For more options, there are plenty of apps available in the Google Play store.
The panorama mode is easy to use and stitches images together really well. However, a lack of detail is noticeable when light levels aren't perfect.
Video - Video is captured at 4K 30/60fps, 720P 480fps, 720P 960fps and 1080p 240fps. Panning is very smooth and the colours are great.
Value For Money
The OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren is priced at £799 which puts it in the premium smartphone category alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ (around £869), Google Pixel 4 XL (around £800) and the Apple iPhone X (or the newer 11 range which starts at around £729). As mentioned, there's also the OnePlus 7T Pro which is priced at around £698. To really save some cash, consider purchasing the OnePlus 7T (around £549).
More flagship smartphone options can be found in our Best Smartphones for Photography round-up or have a look at our mid-range recommendations, or to save more money look at our Best Smartphones under £300 for Photography recommendations.
OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Verdict
The OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren smartphone is a sleek, well-built device that looks cool and has a really interesting design but, as it has almost the same specs as the OnePlus 7T Pro, you're probably better off saving yourself a bit of cash and opting for the Pro version instead. Yes, the design is great but once you pop a case on the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren you can't see the orange edits and light-bending pattern anyway so the design elements become a bit irrelevant.
Away from the design, the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren captures images with good levels of quality most of the time, the camera features are great and you do get 3x optical zoom which is a decent amount of reach for a smartphone camera. The display is also great and a good battery is built-in.
Overall, the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren is a cool-looking smartphone but looks aren't everything so save yourself some cash, buy a cool-looking case and capture your photos with the OnePlus 7T Pro instead. However, if you can't resist the McLaren inspired design, you'll be capturing the same quality of images as with the OnePlus 7T Pro so if you can afford the additional £100, why not go with it. After all, your friends will probably think it's rather cool.
| If you're looking for a smartphone with a really cool-looking design then you're probably going to opt for the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren edition. |
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