OnePlus 5T needs an upgrade

[Sarath]

1. Budget? 80k ; Can go upto 150k
2. Display type and size? Bigger the better
3. Dual sim? Yes
4. Preferred choice of brand? Any (except Apple unless there is a way to transfer Whatsapp to iOS in which case I will wait for iPhone 14 Pro Max)
5. What camera option you want (flash, front facing camera)? Yes
6. Preferred operating system? (Android, iOS,Stock Android etc). Android
7. Preferred connectivity options (Dual 4G,802.11AC/5Ghz(not 5g mobile network) wifi). Any
8. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, internet, gaming etc)? Multimedia, reading articles and books, surfing the web; no gaming at all
9. Any specific mobile phones in consideration? Samsung S22 Ultra started my search with the ultimate Android flagship but need to know if it is a wise choice
10. Any other info that you want to share - Yes

Spoiler

My OnePlus 5T is still running well although that could be because I am using it only for the most important of features. However lag has set in and it has started to show its age. I still don't want to part with it but the slow march of time has taken its toll on the phone. I am looking at a worthy replacement but can't think of a phone as good as the trusty old OnePlus 5T.

I even considered buying another OP5T but the stock will be so old it won't be worth it.

I have been looking at the Samsung S22 Ultra as a possible replacement but it too falls short on the battery life department. Not to mention no Aux port and is expensive as hell for what I feel is only a minor upgrade from OP5T.

I say this because what set flagships apart a while ago was that some apps would only run well on flagships while their lite versions were made for those mid range phones. Today I feel almost all phones are on par with each other with a push for useless battery hogging features like high refresh rate and true 4K 6" displays being made to fool into thinking it's worth the extra price.

Am I just being too biased towards my trusty OP5T or should I jump the ship and get the S22U

(I have large hands so the S22U is not really a big phone for me)

I have been away from the developments in the phone department for a long time so you can consider me a noob for the sake of discussion

 

[SaiyanGoku]

1. Budget? 80k

Phones at 1/4th to 1/3rd of that price would have much better battery lives. I shifted from OP3 to Poco X3 pro (compromised with IPS screen instead of OLED).

 

[Cyberghost]

You can transfer whatsapp to ios from android using paid apps wutsapper,icarefone. If you want an android phone with good battery life mid-range will be the obvious choice. Buy a phone with sd778, dimensity 920,8100 and 5000 mah battery for max battery life without comprising performance. As you use phones for long time I suggest to buy Samsung A73 when it releases. If you really want a flagship phone with better battery life go for Realme GT2 pro.

 

[omega44-xt]

I personally feel phones above S20 FE 5G don't add too much value. Newer Snapdragon chips are less efficient, so lower battery life & gets hotter on load, Exynos is considered worse:

Same phone, but former has S870 vs SD Gen 1 in latter, as close of a comparison as you can get on TSMC 7nm vs Samsung 4nm:
Compare Xiaomi 12X vs. Xiaomi 12 - GSMArena.com

So, maybe get S20 FE 5G today for under 40k, it will get android 13 update early next year. Qualcomm is moving back to TSMC fab with SD Gen 1+ launching later this year. IMO use the S20 FE 5G for 2 years then upgrade to a new phone, if you want.

Else if you want the best android phone in India, get S22 ultra, will have a better camera, an S pen but nothing else would be noticeable. BTW S20 FE 5G's cam is better than the likes of OP 9 pro, compared side by side personally (diff is visible only when compared side by side though).

 

[mitraark]

I personally feel phones above S20 FE 5G don't add too much value. Newer Snapdragon chips are less efficient, so lower battery life & gets hotter on load, Exynos is considered worse:
View attachment 21360
Same phone, but former has S870 vs SD Gen 1 in latter, as close of a comparison as you can get on TSMC 7nm vs Samsung 4nm:
Compare Xiaomi 12X vs. Xiaomi 12 - GSMArena.com

So, maybe get S20 FE 5G today for under 40k, it will get android 13 update early next year. Qualcomm is moving back to TSMC fab with SD Gen 1+ launching later this year. IMO use the S20 FE 5G for 2 years then upgrade to a new phone, if you want.

Else if you want the best android phone in India, get S22 ultra, will have a better camera, an S pen but nothing else would be noticeable. BTW S20 FE 5G's cam is better than the likes of OP 9 pro, compared side by side personally (diff is visible only when compared side by side though).

Camera Quality is a debatable issue. Photos from OnePlus 9 Pro may look washed out compared to the "artificially" vibrant Samsung photos, but with time i have come to realise the pics on my OnePlus 9 Pro has great details and colour accuracy, and it somehow feels nice because looking back at the photos taken, it reminds me of the actual moment. Just a personal experience.

The OnePlus 9 Pro now available at 56k for the 12 GB/256 GB variant is a great choice (at this price point in CAPS). The unnecessary hullabaloo over Oxygen OS dying isn't noticable to me at all (Coming from OP 3 and OP6 used by me, OP3 still alive, OP6 dead with Qualcomm Crashdump error)

The camera is great, battery life is super, 100% charge in 30 mins is awesome to have, screen is great, body feels premium. Similarly priced S21FE doesnt stand a chance against it. S22 Ultra is on a different league but IMHO not worth 40-50k extra.

Since your budget is high, consider shifting to Apple. It works so smoothly in all aspects, and all features like camera and battery are right tere at the top. Paid apps are available for Whatsapp data transfer. Although Truecaller is dearly missed on iOS.

 

[omega44-xt]

Camera Quality is a debatable issue. Photos from OnePlus 9 Pro may look washed out compared to the "artificially" vibrant Samsung photos, but with time i have come to realise the pics on my OnePlus 9 Pro has great details and colour accuracy, and it somehow feels nice because looking back at the photos taken, it reminds me of the actual moment. Just a personal experience.

The OnePlus 9 Pro now available at 56k for the 12 GB/256 GB variant is a great choice (at this price point in CAPS). The unnecessary hullabaloo over Oxygen OS dying isn't noticable to me at all (Coming from OP 3 and OP6 used by me, OP3 still alive, OP6 dead with Qualcomm Crashdump error)

The camera is great, battery life is super, 100% charge in 30 mins is awesome to have, screen is great, body feels premium. Similarly priced S21FE doesnt stand a chance against it. S22 Ultra is on a different league but IMHO not worth 40-50k extra.

Since your budget is high, consider shifting to Apple. It works so smoothly in all aspects, and all features like camera and battery are right tere at the top. Paid apps are available for Whatsapp data transfer. Although Truecaller is dearly missed on iOS.

I was not talking about colours or even brightness of pics for S20FE 5G vs OP 9 pro, those are subjective & can tweaked to preference. 9 pro just had lower details in artificial lighting when I tested them side by side, so bit higher noise & less resolved details. As I said difference is visible only in side by side comparison of pics. I mean, I'm sure difference in cam quality between my S20 FE & S22 will also be observable only when compared side by side, esp in low or artificial lighting as even cheap 15k phones produce great pics in daylight these days which can give flagships a run for their money (my mother's RN8 pro was keeping up with my old S8 in daylight shots).

Those were for primary cam only, didn't test other 2 rear cams & selfies seemed better in 9 pro. If you get an opportunity to compare the phones side by side, do the camera comparison.

For me, most phones have one issue or the other, even S22 ultra is not the perfect phone (even forgetting price) as SD gen 1 is a hot chip, same issue with S888. OP 9 pro doesn't have a compelling package for the price, so won't get my recommendation. If you want to buy it, do your research & buy it. Also, my friend did complain of bugs in android 12 update in his 9 pro, so even forgetting the Color OS base, Oxygen OS 12 got a lot of coverage due to high amount of bugs.

 

[Willjoe]

Download the updated software build from the OnePlus official page. For Android 10, Go to [settings] - [system] - [system updates]. Click the settings icon in the top right corner, click on [Local upgrade], find the . zip file and click on [Install] to confirm.


Regards