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Why I got a OnePlus instead of an iPhone |
The pop-up camera is one of the revolutionary features that led me to purchase this phone. |
Tuesday, May 14th 2019
I originally purchased the OnePlus 7 Pro Nebula Blue 8 GB RAM + 256 GB Storage with a case for $700. This phone was purchased upon initial release. This is my update to how this phone has worked for me. I will start with the things I love and end with the things that bother me. This phone has been great overall and I would definitely purchase it again. The majority of my review is positive.
What I love about the OnePlus 7 Pro
The pop-up camera is one of the revolutionary features that led me to purchase this phone. It works great and I have really enjoyed the camera setup on this phone. I think that it stands up to the major competitors and it is not significantly worse than any other camera on a phone. It is weak in this area, but it isn’t enough to pull me away from this phone. The front-facing pop-up camera is very high quality and I have seen no problems with using it to take selfies. I love not having a punch-hole and my screen being completely uninterrupted.
The speed of the phone is steller. I have had next to no issues with this phone. There were some software issues with Verizon when the phone was first released, but it was resolved within a few months. The phone continues to be very fast and has not slowed down. Warp Charging is a huge plus. I wish other phones had the ability to charge as quick as this one. It has changed the way I charge my phone. I often do not charge it at night. It charges as soon as I wake up or when I get home from work. It goes from 20% to about 90% in about an hour. This is a good break from my phone anyways. It sits and charges while I am getting my life organized. I have even charged it while I take a 20 minute nap and it charges as much as I feel recharged from a quick nap.
The slider for Silent, Vibrate, and Ring is something I always use. It is so easy to change from silent mode from ring for times when I can’t have my phone bothering other people. It is great because I can update this without being tempted into checking the rest of my phones e-mail and messages.
The battery has been very solid, but at this point the battery isn’t as good as it once used to be. I am recharging the phone at least once per day. If I started at 90% at the beginning of my day I expect to be at about 20-30% by the time my evening is beginning. This is not ideal if I am traveling or depending on my phone for navigating or taking photos. I am usually able to top up the phone and get myself back up to about 50% and feel comfortable there. The battery will likely become an issue in the next year, but it seems that every phone suffers from this eventually. Batteries are temporary and diminish over time.
What bothers me about the OnePlus 7 Pro
The curved AMOLED display is nice looking, but I do not like the touch-screen interaction works. I often struggle to get the screen to respond to my fingers in the way that I would hope. In the sun you can really see and notice the curves. It bothered me at first and I have gotten used to it, but it is still there. The screen has been durable. I used the screen protector that came with the phone for about 6 months and then removed it. I choose not to replace the screen protector because I could find no good replacement. Plus, I wanted to get the best screen experience possible. I have only dropped my phone one time that caused damage. It fell into smooth rocks in my back yard. It led to a scratch that is about 1 inch. It is only noticeable when the light bounces off the screen at a certain angle. It is a good example of glass scratching at a level 7.
The MMS video sharing capability with iPhones is not good. My wife has an iPhone 8 and we like to share videos of day-to-day life interactions. The videos do not load well from either phone. They are not greatly compatible. We are both on Verizon unlimited plan. This is the biggest reason why I will strongly consider the iPhone for my next upgrade. This would allow for greater compatibility with my wife’s phone.
The speakers are good and loud, but they are annoying when held in hand. The front facing speaker is less powerful than the bottom speaker. The bottom one is only on the bottom right side of the phone and the front speaker isn’t very good. It is sometimes hard to hear the other person on the phone. You have to hold the phone in just the right way to hear them clearly. This is very annoying at times.
Phone calls with AUX connected to USB-C is annoying. When you answer the phone, the person’s voice goes through the speaker system of my car, but it does not allow for the speaker of my phone to activate. This means I have to click back and forth between speaker phone in order to communicate while in the car. I used to be able to answer the phone using my Samsung Galaxy S7 without any issue.
I am considering taking a leap into the iPhone environment. I have been a Samsung user since I put down my Blackberry Curve in 2010. I started with the Samsung Galaxy S1, S4, and have been owning the S7 for the past couple years. I will be tracking over the next year what the pros and cons of switching will be. The Note 10 is currently my front runner with the Pixel 4, iPhone, and One Plus 7 Pro falling just behind. With the release of the Galaxy S10, I have been tempted to purchase a new phone. I have not done it because the Galaxy S7 has continued to perform. I have noticed some slowdowns, but all-in-all I am content with my current device. To maintain performance, I must factory reset my phone about once every 6-9 months. I am holding out because the next iteration of iPhone might be good enough to switch me over. I have removed the Galaxy S10 for now just because I don't see myself switching to it anytime soon. I had some time with the S10 at BestBuy and I actually do not care for it. The power button is way too high on the S10+ and the user interface is odd to me. I'm sure I would get used to it, but it just doesn't have a good feel. I am likely to install and use the Nova Launcher. It has become a huge asset in my Samsung Galaxy S7 experience. I think the Note 10 and iPhone will be the two phones I will have to compare and purchase in fall 2019.
I am also now considering the One Plus 7 as it is a phone known for great performance. The main concerns I am facing with the new series of phones is the curved displays on Samsung devices. I strongly dislike the curved screen because it gets in the way and distracts from the basic utility of the smart phone. This is a dilemma because I really look forward to the Note 10 and the One Plus 7 pro, which both have curved displays. I think the stylus will be a huge plus for my use-case, but I am not sure if I can get past the curved display. The Apple environment offers a lot in the case of longevity and simplicity. The One Plus 7 could be a perfect phone for me if I can accept the loss of the headphone jack and wireless charging. I really do not use wireless charging as much anymore. It used to be convenient, but since moving my chargers outside of my bedroom it isn't as useful as it used to be. I struggle with moving to the One Plus brand because I feel a strong brand connection with Samsung and Google. I really want to like the Pixel series of phones, but have experienced first-hand the struggles of the Google Pixelbook and can't imagine the frustrations that would come from a device I would be required to use every day.
I have decided to go with the OnePlus 7 Pro. After looking at the specs, screen, and camera quality I am completely sold. I do not use wireless charging and believe that the warp charge will more than meet my needs. I was concerned about the pop-up camera, but after seeing the “keynote” I am not worried about the moving parts. OnePlus has done the hard work, testing, and research to make me the consumer rest-assured. I am excited about the 90 hz refresh rate and the extra fast 3.0 UFS data transfer. I look forward to connecting this phone directly to my USB 3.0 for transferring photos and loading and offloading content. I am planning to purchase the 8GB memory version of this device as soon as the phone is available for order from OnePlus to be used on Verizon. I have pre-ordered my skin and case from dbrand and also received my Unboxed Therapy 20% promotion coupon. The case will run me $30 and the phone should be just around $700 after the student discount that OnePlus offers. I am planning to get back about $70 on my Samsung Galaxy S7. I am very excited for this super-fast phone that will upgrade my daily driver and really boost my productivity!
| iPhone Switch Pros |
|---|
- |Superior performance and smoothness|
- |Simple interface with software that just works|
- |FaceTime with family members (not any better than Google Duo in my experience)|
- |Compatibility with Apple Watch (big pro for healthcare practice)|
- |Air pods|
- |Future use and purchase of iPad Pro with pencil or iPad mini for note taking (also possible healthcare note taking)|
| iPhone Switch Cons |
|---|
- |Loss of paid Android applications|
- |Need to purchase new apps ($16, Pocket casts will take the place of iTunes)|
- |It will match my wife's phone|
- |Far less customization than Android|
- |Loss of the headphone jack|
- |Cost overall (~$1000 iPhone, ~$500 Apple Watch, ~$200 Air Pods ~ $3K when all said and done)|
- |Less usefulness of the Pixelbook (Android messaging app)|
| Mitigating the iPhone Cons |
|---|
| Apps that will need to be purchased ($16 total) |
| Our Groceries ($5) |
| Voice Recorder & Audio Editor ($5)(It transcribes audio! Very useful.) |
| Pocket Casts ($6) |
| Dark Sky Weather App ($3 annually) |
Cost Breakdown
- (as found on BestBuy.com for switching to the iOS environment as of Sunday, March 10th)
| Device | Cost |
|---|---|
| iPhone XS Max | $1100 |
| iPad mini, 64GB, wi-Fi + Cellular | $529 |
| Apple Watch Series 4 + cell | $530 (+$10 cell) |
| Air Pods | $160 |
| Apple Pencil 2nd Gen. | $130 |
Total Cost = $2,449
Total Cost with 10% tax = $2,694
Pixel 3 or 4 Switch Pros
- Pixelbook instant tethering for mobile hotspots (heard it is glitchy and somewhat unreliable)
- Maintain my paid Android applications
- Superior camera (A+)
- Google call screening (won't get used all that often now, but maybe in the future)
Pixel 3 Switch Cons
- Glitchy Google software (It’s a love-hate relationship with my Pixelbook. I imagine the Pixel phone will be the same too)
- The notch (it will get smaller or be gone in the 4)
Conclusion for the Pixel
Pro
- Camera (+1)
- Pixelbook (+1)
+2
| Con | Points |
|---|---|
| Glitchy software | -1 |
| Watch isn't as good | -1 |
-2
Note 10 Switch Pros
- Squid mobile application support
Note 10 Switch Cons
- Squid mobile application currently lacks easy device-to-device movement. I have to manually backup to Dropbox and restore onto my cell-phone. (I stopped doing this because it takes too much time and is glitchy)
Conclusion for the Note 10
Pro
- Familiar Software (+1)
- Display (+1)
- Pixelbook (+1)
- Stylus and notetaking (+1)
+4
| Con | Points |
|---|---|
| Apple Watch | -1 |
-1
Cost Breakdown
- (as found on BestBuy.com for switching to the Note 10 as of Sunday, March 10th)
| Device | Cost |
|---|---|
| Note 10 | $1100 |
| Galaxy Watch Active | $200 |
| Galaxy Buds | $130 |
Total Cost = $1430
Total Cost with 10% tax = $1575
- One time paid for apps are moving to subscriptions. The apps that I have previously purchased may lose developer support or move to a subscription. In this case, staying with android for my paid for applications will no longer be as strong of an incentive.
- I like a good camera, but I am not going to buy a smart phone only because it has the best camera. I remember one of the first HTC devices having a great camera, but was slow. It was the only phone I ever returned after trying for a couple days.
Final Conclusion for All Phones
Device
- Note 10 (+3)
- iPhone (0)
- Pixel (0)
The Note 10 was the leading device, but I ultimately settled on the OnePlus 7 Pro as the best phone for me.
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