5 Reasons to buy the HONOR View10 over the OnePlus 5T

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At first glance, the HONOR View10 has much in common with the OnePlus 5T. Both smartphones have large 18:9 screens and powerful hardware specs inside, along with dual rear camera sensors, and both are very reasonably priced at $499.

However, if you look a bit closer at both phones, you will see that the HONOR View10 edges out the OnePlus 5T, offering owners many features that are not available on the current OnePlus handset. Here’s a quick look at five features that make the View10 the better choice, and makes it the true flagship phone killer for 2018.

The NPU brings the AI revolution to the View10

The OnePlus 5T has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor inside, which is still plenty fast, even though its now been surpassed by the new Snapdragon 845. The HONOR View10 has the octa-core Kirin 970 chip, which is a match for the Snapdragon 835 in most aspects.

However, the Kirin 970 chip has another processor connected to it, the NPU (the Neural Processing Unit). This chip is central to the View10’s many AI features. It can “learn” about the user’s app habits, and thus can automatically optimize its memory so that it can perform better over time. It can also help improve the battery life of the View10 as well, again based on learning about the owner’s use of apps.

The NPU also helps the View10’s camera experience stand out. Owners can quickly take pictures and have it automatically switch to the best camera mode, which is controlled by the NPU. It can also help process pictures at a rate of up to 33 images a second, which is much faster compared to using the CPU alone.

The camera hardware and software is better on the View10

While the NPU is a big part of the camera experience, the rest of the camera hardware is equally impressive.

As we have stated before, the HONOR View10 and the OnePlus 5T both have dual rear camera sensors, at 20 MP and 16 MP. However, on the View10, the 20 MP camera is a monochrome sensor, while the 16 MP is the RGB sensor. This allows the View10 to offer owners better detail for color pictures when both sensors are used together. It also makes for a better low-light experience in comparison to the OnePlus 5T.

Indeed, reviews for the rear cameras on both phones on Android Authority and several other tech sites say that the cameras on the View10 are better compared to the ones taken on the OnePlus 5T. Besides the extra detail coming from the monochrome sensor, the View10 has more modes to use that offer more control over the experience. As we stated earlier, the NPU in the View10 allows for pictures to be processed faster, and makes taking them easier because modes can be set up automatically.

You can add more storage to the View10

The HONOR View10 and the OnePlus 5T both have dual SIM slots, for folks who travel a lot or want multiple numbers for personal and business use. Unfortunately, for people who want to add more storage to the OnePlus 5T, they are out of luck. The dual SIM setup on the 5T doesn’t support microSD.

That’s not the case with the View10. Its dual SIM setup does allow for the option to use one slot for a microSD card.

An (IR)Blaster from the past is in the View10

Remember when many smartphones used to have IR Blaster hardware inside? These days, you will be hard pressed to find that kind of feature in any phone. However, unlike the OnePlus 5T, the HONOR View10 does indeed have IR Blaster hardware. This allows the phone, combined with an IR app, to control things like your cable TV or DVR box. For those that have a media streaming device like a Chromecast, this basically makes your phone a virtual gateway to your TV.

It’s a small addition, but for people who watch a lot of TV, it can be very useful.

Oreo and EMUI 8.0 come out of the box

The OnePlus 5T began shipping with the older Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS, and its own OxygenOS software, but it’s a pretty stock Android experience for the most part. The HONOR View10 comes with Android 8.0 Oreo, and also comes with the impressive EMUI 8.0 software on top.

EMUI 8.0 includes a number of AI-based features designed to help optimize the phone experience. It is supposed to reduce time for the owner to get to the app or function he or she wants, via  smart applications such as its navigation dock and smart screen. HONOR says the software should allow owners to get to 90 percent of the core functions in just one click.

Gamers will see some new features in the View10 with EMUI 8.0. The Game Suite allows the phone to switch to game mode, which will boost hardware and software performance for the best gaming experience. The software can also keep unwanted calls and notifications from showing up on screen while you are playing.

That’s just scratching the surface on what’s possible with EMUI. Simply put, there’s a ton of features you won’t find in the stock-like OnePlus 5T software. 

Conclusion

While both the HONOR View10 and the OnePlus 5T offer high-end flagship features at lower prices, the View10 does include a number of features that make it the better choice for many consumers. It takes better photos, offers an NPU chip with AI features, allows for more storage, and has a better and updated software experience. It even has an old-fashioned IR Blaster, showing that while the View10 has some advanced hardware, it’s not afraid to give us a few forgotten throwback features as well.