Samsung Galaxy S8 and OnePlus 5 are two of the most impressive smartphones to launch in 2017.
The Galaxy S8 sports a stunning new industrial design that simultaneously builds on the previous Galaxy S handsets – and looks like nothing we've ever seen before.
The beautiful Infinity Display ensures the phone's mammoth 5.8-inch is always manageable, even while using the handset one-handed.
Samsung has also shipped one of the most impressive smartphone cameras on the market.
However, for all of its brilliant features – the Galaxy S8 did have a number of flaws, most notably the rear fingerprint scanner, which will leaving you wondering whether anyone tried to unlock the phone with it before the design was signed-off.
Meanwhile, OnePlus 5 is the follow-up to the OnePlus 3T, which debuted some five months in the UK.
The Chinese startup has built a stunning flagship smartphone with almost all of the same premium features and materials as its closest competition.
Unfortunately, that has come at the expensive of the borderline-budget price tag OnePlus has become known for.
Express.co.uk has reviewed both smartphones.
However, for those unable to decide between the Samsung Galaxy S8 and OnePlus 5, we've compiled a list of some of the key differences between these two rivals.
Curved ScreensIf your heart yearns for a dual-curved display, then there is only one real choice in this category.
Samsung calls its stunning new edge-to-edge design, the Infinity Display – and it certainly lives up to the lofty title.
Photos and videos look stunning on the eye-watering 5.8inch OLED Ultra HD display.
And thanks to the dual-curve design, Samsung has managed to squeeze a palm-stretching phablet-sized screen into a phone that's easily manageable one-handed.
But while the 5.8-inch display is a complete joy to use, it's not flawless.
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Websites that aren't optimised for mobile devices can sometimes have text that runs across the curves, distorting them and making them a little uncomfortable to read.
There's also a slight light bleed of blue light that can run the length of the curve at certain angles.
Once you've noticed this quirk, it soon becomes irritating. Samsung had a similar issue with last year's Galaxy S7 Edge with the company saying that due to the curved display, light can spread around to the curved areas of the screen.
This usually appears when the device is used in a particularly dark or gloomy environment.
Fortunately, the OnePlus 5 – which sports a flat 5.5inch 1080p AMOLED display – does not suffer from any of these quirks, although some owners have complained about a jelly-like effect to some of the animations.
It's also not as vibrant, or as sharp as the Ultra HD display on the Galaxy S8.
Related articles CameraThere's one very clear difference between the camera on the Galaxy S8 and the one included with the OnePlus 5 – there's only one of them.
Samsung decided not to follow the growing trend of doubling-up on dual cameras.
The Galaxy S8 sports virtually the same 12MP Dual Pixel rear camera it debuted the previous year with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
But that's no bad thing.
The Galaxy S7 was one of the best smartphone cameras on the market and, one year later, that has not changed.
Samsung Galaxy S8 is capable of taking some truly impressive photographs – even in challenging low-light conditions.
And while the hardware has remained unchanged, the South Korean technology company says it refined and improved the computational photography that takes place behind-the-scenes every time you hit the shutter button.
Photographs from the Galaxy S8 are consistently clear, colourful and packed with crisp detail.
Samsung has a reputation of ratcheting-up the contrast and over-sharpening images by default, and while that is undoubtedly still the case with the Galaxy S8, the results are very pleasing.
Colours are not as naturalistic as the Google Pixel or iPhone 7 Plus, but photographs look phenomenal – and are more than good enough for your various social media feeds.
The default Samsung camera app has also been overhauled and simplified.
Samsung has ensured everything is within reach, allowing the app to be used one-handed, which works really well.
There's also a Pro mode for those who want to manually tinker with the ISO, Shutter Speed, and more.
OnePlus has also added a Pro Mode in the default camera app that ships with the OnePlus 5.
The Chinese startup has also added a new Pro Mode to the default camera app that exposes granular controls for the ISO, shutter speed, white balance, focus and exposure.
OnePlus also includes a useful reference line in the centre of the display so you can line-up shots with precision.
Pro Mode offers a staggering amount of control that should please photography buffs.
And unlike Samsung, OnePlus has jumped onboard with the idea of a dual-camera for its latest flagship phone.
OnePlus has incorporated a 16 megapixel Sony IMX 398 with a custom 20 megapixel telephoto lens. This new rig enables the OnePlus 5 to perform a two-times lossless zoom, which dramatically improves the potential of your smartphone photos.
Whether you're taking a snap at a concert or a historical monument, the ability to zoom without reducing the resulting pictures to a grainy mosaic of pixels is a brilliant feature that you'll instantly appreciate.
Like its hardware, OnePlus appears to have looked to Cupertino for inspiration when it comes to the software that powers the camera.
Tue, June 20, 2017 ONEPLUS has revealed its new OnePlus 5 which features flagship specs at bargain price - here's how it looks in pictures.
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The shortcut to move between 1x and 2x zoom, as well as the on-screen dial for granular adjustments, are both shamelessly lifted from the camera app in the iPhone 7 Plus.
Likewise, OnePlus has included its own version of the Portrait mode that ships with the latest iPhone Plus model.
Dubbed Depth Effect on the OnePlus 5, this clever feature intelligently blurs the background behind a subject in a bokeh-style effect, creating a photograph that traditionally could only be achieved with a DSLR camera.
It's an absolutely stunning effect – when it works.
Unfortunately, that doesn't happen quite as often as we'd like. To be clear, this isn't an issue limited to the OnePlus – Apple hasn't completely nailed this either.
During our time with the phone, OnePlus 5 struggled to find the face at times – especially when the subject wasn't looking directly into the camera.
Like the iPhone 7 Plus, the OnePlus 5 will preview the Depth Effect in real-time within the camera app, so you can gauge how the photograph is going to turn out before you hit the shutter button.
When the software manages to accurately delineate the subject from the background – it results in a jaw-dropping effect. It's also extraordinary OnePlus has managed to replicate this level of functionality on a smartphone that retails for £270 less than its Apple counterpart.
OnePlus 5 is also capable of capturing video in 4K Ultra HD resolution, which should ensure your family home movies are future-proof.
Overall, the Galaxy S8 is a more reliable, competent camera.
But the ability to zoom and recreate a DSLR-style bokeh effect with software might be enough to coax some to the OnePlus 5, which is a close second in terms of quality.
There's no competition here, OnePlus 5 uses the same reliable and lighting-fast fingerprint scanner from the OnePlus 3T.
Meanwhile, the fingerprint scanner is easily the worst feature about the Galaxy S8.
When Samsung dropped the physical Home Button from the front of the Galaxy S8, it was forced to relocate the fingerprint sensor that had previously been embedded inside the button.
This hugely-popular security measure has been plonked on the rear of the phone – next to the camera lens. And it's the single most frustrating thing about the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Unlocking this phone with the fingerprint sensor is teeth-grinding, eye-rolling exercise in anger management.
First of all, the small sensor is not in a natural position for your index finger – forcing you to blindly reach and fumble around the back of the phone to authenticate the login, inevitably covering the camera lens in greasy fingerprints.
Samsung has tried to alleviate some of this frustration by including options to use either use face recognition (which is not secure enough to be used for contactless payments) or an improved version of the iris scanner that shipped with the Galaxy Note 7.
In our tests, the face unlock often failed to recognise us at all. And when it did, the system was slow and sluggish.
Iris fared much better, however, accessing the interface that scans your eyes requires multiple clicks or swipes on the lockscreen, at which point, it's almost just easier to just tap a four-digit PIN code instead.
Every conceivable way to unlock the Samsung Galaxy S8 is an annoyance.
It might sound like a pernickety niggle, but considering how many times each day you unlock your smartphone – trust us, this is not a minor problem.
Price is another major differentiator between these two smartphones.
OnePlus 5 is the company's most expensive handset yet, but that pales in comparison to the Galaxy S8.
The Slate Grey version of the OnePlus 5 ships with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of in-built storage for £449.00 SIM-free.
Meanwhile, the high-end Midnight Black variant has 8GB of RAM coupled with 128GB storage and retails for £499 SIM-free.
The Samsung Galaxy S8, also available in Midnight Black as well as Orchid Grey, will set you back £689 SIM-free.
The larger 6.2-inch variant, Galaxy S8+ (available in the same colours) will set you back £779 when bought SIM-free from Samsung.
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