OnePlus has gone ahead and refreshed its line-up of smartphones for the year with the OnePlus 7T.

After using both the OnePlus 7 and the 7 Pro, (both of which I thoroughly fell in love with), when I got the OnePlus 7T in my hands, I had a lot of questions that I was looking answers to -- What new is OnePlus bringing to the table with this? And will it provide an experience different from the OnePlus 7 and the 7 Pro? Here's what I liked and disliked about the OnePlus 7T.

What I liked about OnePlus 7T

A Super-Smooth Display

One of the main places where OnePlus 7 missed out from its sibling was with the display. It was equipped with a basic 60Hz OLED display. However, with the 7T, OnePlus has brought in a 6.5-inch Fluid-Optic OLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, just like the 7T.

What's more amazing is the fact that the display is flat, so people who aren't fond of curved screens (like me) are really going to love it. The display is still sharp as hell and also gets a smaller notch and chin than the OnePlus 7, to give you more screen space.

Revamped Design

OnePlus has refreshed its design language with the OnePlus 7T, gone are the OnePlus 6-like curvy edges and you instead get a slightly boxy aesthetic (which is very reminiscent to the OnePlus 3/3T). Sure the edges are still curved slightly, the device looks more rectangular now. You still get a handy form-factor like the OnePlus 7, and weighs just 190 grams.

The back has a new gradient shade of light blue (which OnePlus calls Glacier Blue, you also get a Frosted Silver trim) that engulfs not just the back of the phone but also the edges. The glass is all matte that adds to the overall look and feel, without attracting fingerprints.

Also at the back, you'll notice a circular camera bump which houses the triple-camera setup that looks quite daunting in my opinion and adds to the device's character. More on this later

Louder and better stereo speaker setup

The OnePlus 7 truly took my heart away with the stereo-speaker setup it was equipped with. It was loud and the presence of Dolby Atmos just make the whole viewing experience more engrossing. And with the OnePlus 7T, all this has just gotten better with the speaker getting louder with addition to more clarity.

Latest hardware and software

As expected, the device is rocking the latest and greatest processor by Qualcomm available in the market right now -- the Snapdragon 855 Plus (octa-core processor) paired with 8GB of RAM. The 855 Plus is a slightly overclocked variant of the 855, maxing out its full potential.

For storage, you get UFS-3.0 based memory of 256GB, which as per OnePlus's claims, is blazing fast, which we also experienced while browsing through the gallery and files on the file manager.

The device comes loaded with Android 10 right out of the box, along with its Oxygen OS skin which people love so much. OnePlus has also included support for new Android 10 gestures, (that were totally butter-smooth) that made the entire user experience so much simpler.

From changing screen menus at the blink of an eye to loading games instantaneously, this phone surely spoils you. My words can't do justice to the performance that OnePlus 7T along with its hardware and software is able to deliver.

Battery life

OnePlus has also upgraded the battery on the OnePlus 7T. While OnePlus 7 had 3700mAh battery, the OnePlus 7T gets a 3800mAh battery. What OnePlus has also upgraded is the way it charges. It brings along the 5V/6A WARP charging that was on the OnePlus 7 Pro that charges 70 percent in just 30 minutes.

My usage involved taking phone calls, constantly connected texting friends and family, as well as scrolling through Twitter and Instagram all this being at 50 to 60 percent screen brightness. Also, the phone was constantly connected to my smartwatch and headphones using Bluetooth. OnePlus 7T was easily able to last the whole day with my day ending with 50 percent battery still left.

Camera

OnePlus has brought the goodness of the 7 Pro to the 7T with a triple-camera setup at the back. You get a Sony IMX586 48-megapixel primary shooter, along with a 12-megapixel telephoto shooter and a third 16-megapixel ultra-wide shooter. The ultra-wide shooter also gets the OnePlus's Night Scape (something that was only seen in the primary camera on the OnePlus 7 Pro).

We tried putting it side-by-side the iPhone XR and the results were just wow! (OnePlus 7T's images are to the left)

The cameras are thoroughly impressive, they capture amazing amounts of detail, with well-balanced lighting and contrasts.

Look at the colours popping on the images shot on OnePlus 7T on the top versus the one on the iPhone XR at the bottom.

The telephoto shooter not just helps in capturing shots from afar without loss in detail, but is it also the shooter responsible to capture bokeh-licious portraits, and the camera didn't disappoint.

The cameras were able to perform particularly well in low-light and the inclusion of Nightscape to the wide-angle lens made it a complete package.

In fact, I tried capturing a low-light shot without Nightscape in a pitch-dark rickshaw travelling at roughly 40 kilometres per hour, and just look at the colours and the illumination in the image.

For selfies, the OnePlus 7T is equipped with a Sony IMX471 16-megapixel shooter which is really great to capture some crispy selfies. The software onboard also does skin-smoothening that made me look better in the image (you can choose to turn it off in the settings if you want).

Overall, an insane camera package that you can count on to get the perfect shot.

What I didn't like about the OnePlus 7T

No wireless charging

With more flagships getting wireless charging in them these days we were hoping OnePlus would finally include it on the OnePlus 7T. Sadly, it looks like we might have to wait for the OnePlus 8 to see wireless charging being equipped on OnePlus phones.

WARP Charging created a revolution delivering blazing fast charging speeds, but I feel its time to create the revolution in the wireless charging space too!

No USB-C to headphone jack dongle in the box

Music is one of the main reasons people use their phones for. And many users today still use a phone with a headphone jack. While we understand that OnePlus is trying to cut costs to give us the best phone in an affordable package, a headphone dongle could really come in handy for people switching from a phone with a headphone jack. It would only make the transition more bearable, and not make them wait to listen to music on their new phone.

Conclusion: Should you buy the OnePlus 7T?

It all comes down to this. Should you buy the OnePlus 7T? Well, if you're using a phone that is in dire need of an upgrade, OnePlus 7T will provide quite an amazing experience. From the butter-smooth 90Hz display to the crazy-fast performance, the phone just doesn't quit.

If you're using OnePlus 7 or 7 Pro, you can probably still hold on to it, as the upgrade between the two isn't particularly groundbreaking. The only noticeable difference you'll experience between the OnePlus 7 and the 7T is with the camera and the high-refresh-rate display. (Both of these features are already there on the OnePlus 7 Pro). Snapdragon 855 on the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro is still a killer processor that can take on snappy gaming and multitasking with ease.

Overall, at a starting price point of 37,999, OnePlus 7T is the next affordable flagship you should be putting your eye on if you're in the market for a new phone.