Introduction

Ease of Use

Front of the OnePlus 7 Pro

For a phone which falls into the “mid-range” category, the OnePlus 7 Pro feels very well built, while also featuring an elegant design on the whole.

The problem of the “notch” has been tackled in an unusual way for this phone. The OnePlus 7 Pro features a whole screen display, with the selfie-camera popping out from a drawer in the top left of the camera. It’s quite a novelty to see it emerge from the housing - OnePlus says that it has been tested to use over 300,000 times (that’s 150 selfies a day for 5.5 years, if you’re interested), so it should be nice and secure. You might reach the magic 300,000 times a bit quicker if you want to use Face Unlock, though - so that’s something to think about.

For this review, I’ve been using the Nebula Blue colour way, which is very attractive and causes a nice sheen and gradient as the light hits it. The phone uses a glass back and rear panel, which again makes it look very elegant, but it does feel heavier than many other phones on the market.

Rear of the OnePlus 7 Pro

In order to access the OnePlus 7 Pro’s camera, you can slide up from the bottom right hand corner of the screen from the lock mode. The native camera app offers a lot of functionality, with good options available depending on whether you want to keep it simple or take a little bit more control.

By default, the app opens in Photo mode. This acts like a basic point and shoot, making all the decisions for you. From here, you can move between the different lenses. By default, the 1x lens is selected, but you can easily tap to move to the wider 0.6x lens, or the 3x telephoto lens. To do this - tap the tree icons (three threes for wide angle, two trees for standard, one tree for telephoto). You can also pinch out on the screen to go beyond 3x with a digital zoom up to 10x.

Along the top of the screen (or to the left if you’re holding it in landscape orientation), there’s a series of icons that control various things. You can set a timer, change the aspect ratio, or turn on the flash. The ability to control HDR will be up here too, if you’ve added the control from the settings menu - which is worth doing in case of HDR going a bit far in certain situations.

The OnePlus 7 Pro In-hand

In order to take a photo, you can either use the on-screen virtual shutter release button, or you can use either the volume up or down button to take a shot. Tapping around the screen changes the focus point, and you’ll also see an exposure compensation slider pop up when you tap, allowing you to increase or reduce the brightness of your image.

At the bottom of the screen you’ll also see that there’s the option to switch to the front-facing camera. Tap this, and the hidden selfie camera will emerge. As well as being tested for durability, there are some other things which have been done to ensure it stays safe - for instance, it will automatically detect if the phone has been dropped and retract it to keep it safe. It will also warn you not to physically push the unit back into the phone if it notices you doing that, too. The camera should retract by itself when switching back to the main camera, or indeed if you leave the camera app altogether.

Where you see the Photo mode, you’ll notice that you can move to the left or the right to select different shooting modes. To the left there’s Video, while to the right, you’ll find Portrait and Nightscape. When in Video mode, you’ll be able to adjust the frame rate and flash from the top panel.

The OnePlus 7 Pro's Camera Mode

Portrait mode is for creating a shallow depth of field effect. Although called Portrait, you can also use it for other types of subjects, too. You can also switch on a beauty mode, too. Nightscape is similar to other low-light modes we’ve seen on other smartphones, such as Google’s Night Sight or Huawei’s Night mode. It blends together several short exposures to create the impression of a long exposure.

To reach further shooting modes and options, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and several more will be revealed. As well as all of the other modes already discussed, there’s also Pro, Time Lapse, Panorama and Slow Motion to be found here. The last three are fairly self-explanatory, but the Pro mode is well worth exploring if you’re a little bit more of an advanced user.

The OnePlus 7 Pro's Shooting Modes

In Pro mode, you’ll be able to change a number of different shooting parameters to suit the situation. There’s ISO, white balance, shutter speed, focusing and exposure compensation. To make changes, you tap each parameter and then use a sliding wheel which appears to make adjustments. It’s also in this mode that you can activate raw format shooting - the option for which appears in the top bar.

Also in the slide up menu is the ability to access further settings. In here you’ll find a number of useful options - one such option is being able to configure which shooting modes appear in the start up screen, so for example if you think you might use Pro mode a lot, you can add it here to save having to delve into the expanded menu. It’s also here that you’ll find options such as Manual HDR control, plus you can turn on lens correction for the Ultra Wide lens.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 48 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 10Mb.

We’ve been impressed by the quality of OnePlus cameras before - as is the case with many other smartphone manufacturers, the company often markets its devices on the back of the quality of the onboard camera.

Previously, we were impressed considering the camera was found on a mid-range model, but for the OnePlus 7 Pro, it feels as if the company has stepped up a gear and produced something very likeable for not too much more of a price increase, which is even more impressive.

To see a triple-lens set up on what is essentially still a mid-range phone is great, and there seems to be no sign of the penchant for extreme wide-angle lenses to abate any time soon - it’s fantastic to have that flexibility to shoot at a range of different focal lengths.

On the whole, images are bright and punchy with a satisfying amount of detail. They look particularly good on the screen of the OnePlus 7, being marginally less so on a computer screen. If your main intention is to share your images on social media sites, or print at small sizes, you’ll likely be enamoured with what the OnePlus 7 is capable of producing.

As for the different lenses, the telephoto zoom is not quite as good as that found in the Huawei P30 Pro, but considering the OnePlus 7 Pro is available for a significant chunk less, that’s still pretty good.

Being able to take control of shooting parameters in Pro mode is very handy for complex situations, but other modes which deserve a special mention are Nightscape and Portrait. While Nightscape puts in a solid performance, again it’s not quite on a par with others on the market - particularly those found inside Google Pixel phones and the Huawei / Honor models. Portrait mode is also a reasonable performer, but it’s not quite as flexible as we see elsewhere, with no option to alter how blurred the background is, or choose different bokeh styles.

Noise

JPEG	RAW
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

Optical Zoom - 1x

Optical Zoom - Wide

Optical Zoom - Tele

Flash

Flash Off

Flash On

Selfie Camera - Flash Off

Selfie Camera - Flash On

Macro

Portrait Mode

Night

Standard Long Exposure

Nightscape Mode

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the OnePlus 7 Pro camera, which were all taken using the 48 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The OnePlus 7 Pro enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some OnePlus RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Conclusion

There’s a heck of a lot to like about the OnePlus 7 Pro. The company has always sold its wares on the basis of providing much of the same specifications as flagship smartphones but at a fraction of the price. Although it’s not quite as cheap as previous models, it still represents good value for what you get and shows that you don’t have to spend upwards of £800 to get a well-performing smartphone.

We’ve liked previous OnePlus cameras, but now we’ve got something ultra flexible with the introduction of a triple-lens setup. Having a super wide-angle lens is fantastic and really appeals for taking holiday and travel shots - something which a lot of people will surely be doing. It’s nice to see modes such as Nightscape here, but if you’re somebody who takes a lot of low-light shots, there are just about other better performers currently on the market.

On the whole though, image quality is fantastic. The native camera app is one of the best ones on the market, offering a range of flexible shooting modes, as well as solidly-performing automatic mode for those that simply want to point-and-shoot.

Despite being a mid-range phone, you don’t have to compromise on looks either, with the glass back and front of the OnePlus 7 Pro being very elegant. You might want to invest in a case for it though, as dropping glass is of course never a good idea.

The pop-up selfie camera is likely to be a “love it” or “hate it” situation. It’s an interesting solution to the “notch” problem, and is certainly unusual. OnePlus is confident that the camera can cope with over 300,000 retractions, but it’ll be interesting to see if anybody comes a cropper with the device.

There’s a huge amount of competition in the smartphone market at the moment. OnePlus is not one of the “big players” (like Samsung, Apple and Huawei), but it consistently produces good smartphones and has a loyal fanbase. The OnePlus 7 Pro offers something which builds on the previous OnePlus models, and although it’s no longer the bargain that it once was, it still offers great value for money.

For those a little distrustful of some of the big players at the moment, or simply don’t want to fork out a lot of cash, the OnePlus 7 Pro comes highly recommended.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the OnePlus 7 Pro from around the web.

Specifications

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