OnePlus 7T offers Note 10 Plus display quality on a budget

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus has one of the best displays we have ever seen on a smartphone. It’s crisp, bright, and all-around beautiful. But how awesome would it be if you could get similar display quality without spending a similar price tag? Believe it or not, that’s precisely what you get with the OnePlus 7T.

OnePlus announced the 7T today in India. The device strikes a balance between familiar and innovative. It is beautiful, the performance is top-tier, and the display gives more expensive devices a run for their money.

Historically, OnePlus has released good displays despite their comparatively lower resolutions. This helps keep costs down while improving battery performance. OnePlus took this approach again with the 2,400 x 1,080 display on the 7T. This time around, the latest OnePlus device receives the same 8.6 rating as the Note 10 Plus in our evaluation.

The Note 10 Plus’ display is a higher resolution at 3,040 x 1,440, but you can barely tell with the naked eye. What truly matters in a display is perceived quality. With the 7T’s display beating the Note 10 Plus in every other category, the perceived quality is nigh one-to-one.

The two devices have very similar gamma, max brightness, and color temperature, though the 7T comes out on top ever so slightly in all three categories. Where OnePlus really beats Samsung is with the color accuracy. The 7T’s display is far and away the more color realistic display of the two.

Pair the more natural display with slightly better outdoor viewing, and it’s easy to see how the devices received the same score despite the Note 10 Plus’ higher resolution.

Read next: OnePlus TV review: An ambitious first try with a few stumbles

In the end, it comes down to personal preference. Some people will always prefer the punchy and over-saturated colors of Samsung’s devices. For those of us who want a more accurate looking display, the OnePlus 7T is the better option. Plus, it’s hard not to fall in love with what OnePlus has brought to the table this time around when the 7T comes in at a fraction of the cost.