OnePlus revealed its new flagship, the OnePlus 5, on 20 June. The next "flagship killer" has some stiff competition on its hands this year though, perhaps more so than ever, with Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+ already out there, as well as LG's G6 and Sony's Xperia XZ Premium.

We've put the OnePlus 5 up against Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in this feature to see how they differ and what similarities they might offer.

OnePlus 5 vs Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Design

  • Both aluminium, premium designs
  • Subtle antenna lines on both 
  • iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are waterproof 

The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both come with a slim aluminium build, offering lovely rounded edges, subtle antenna lines on the rear and no 3.5mm headphone jack. The Lightning port sits at the bottom for charging, flanked by speakers either side, while a circular home button with the built-in Touch ID fingerprint sensor is present on the front beneath the display. 

The iPhone 7 measures 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm and weighs 138g, while the iPhone 7 Plus is larger and heavier at 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm and 188g. The smaller handset has a singular camera lens, while the larger has a horizontal dual-rear camera setup. Both devices are IP67 water resistant and come in six colour options, comprising rose gold, gold, silver, black, jet black and red.

The OnePlus 5 features an aluminium build too, again with subtle antenna lines though rather than rounded edges like the iPhone, it has a chamfered hard edge. The fingerprint sensor is positioned beneath the display within a capacitive button and the OnePlus 5 comes with a horizontal dual-rear camera like the iPhone 7 Plus.

The OnePlus 5 measures 154.2 x 74.1 x 7.25mm and weighs 153g, putting it in the middle of the two iPhones in terms of size and weight, though both are ever so slightly slimmer. It comes in two colour options of Midnight Black and Slate Grey. OnePlus hasn't added any form of IP-rated water resistance but USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack are both on board the OnePlus 5.

OnePlus 5 vs Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Display

  • OnePlus 5 same size and resolution as iPhone 7 Plus
  • No Mobile HDR on board either
  • OnePlus AMOLED, Apple opts for LED-backlit

The Apple iPhone 7 comes with a 4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with a 1334 x 750 resolution resulting in a pixel density of 326ppi, while the iPhone 7 Plus has a 5.5-inch LED back-lit display with a Full HD resolution for a pixel density of 401ppi.

Neither Apple model has Mobile HDR on board, though remember these two handsets are due an update in September. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both offer excellent displays with good vibrancy, viewing angles and colour representation, despite not offering the highest resolutions.

The OnePlus 5 comes with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display, like the OnePlus 3T. The company also sticks to a Full HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401ppi, making it the same as the iPhone 7 Plus but sharper than the standard iPhone 7. Colours should also be a little more vibrant and punchy, even if not as realistic as the iPhone thanks to the AMOLED panel.

Like the iPhones, no Mobile HDR compatibility has been mentioned for the OnePlus 5, with the new "flagship killer" offering a very similar display to the OnePlus 3T. It does have 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass though, like the iPhones, meaning the display blends more seamlessly into the edges of the device. 

OnePlus 5 vs Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Camera

  • Dual-rear camera on iPhone 7 Plus and OnePlus 5
  • OnePlus 5 has higher resolution cameras
  • 4K video recording present on all three devices

The Apple iPhone 7 has a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 7-megapixel front camera, while the iPhone 7 Plus has a dual-rear camera featuring two 12-megapixel sensors, one wide angle and one telephoto, and the same 7-megapixel front camera.

Both devices feature a Quad-LED True Tone flash, optical image stabilisation, auto-HDR, exposure control and 4K video recording on the rear, while the front snapper is capable of 1080p video recording and it comes with a Retina Flash. Despite not offering the highest number of megapixels on the market, both the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus offer excellent results in the camera department.

The OnePlus 5 features a dual-rear camera, which is horizontally aligned like the iPhone 7 Plus. Also like the iPhone 7 Plus, there is one main sensor and one telephoto sensor, though OnePlus offers higher resolutions at 16-megapixels and 20-megapixels respectively. The front camera is also 16-megapixels. 

The new OnePlus handset has a dual LED flash, up to 4K video recording capabilities from its rear snapper and up to 1080p from its front, as well as auto-HDR and manual control for the rear.

OnePlus 5 vs Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Hardware

  • Powerful hardware on all three devices
  • More RAM on OnePlus 5 
  • Higher storage capacity available for iPhone over OnePlus

The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both feature Apple's A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture and embedded M10 motion coprocessor. Apple doesn't disclose RAM information, though it is thought the smaller device has 2GB of RAM and the larger has 3GB.

Both Apple devices are available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB storage options, none of which offer microSD. The iPhone 7 has a battery life of up to 14 hours 3G talk time, while the iPhone 7 Plus has up to 21 hours 3G talk time. Like the RAM, Apple doesn't disclose mAh battery capacities, making them a little harder to compare spec-for-spec.

The OnePlus 5 comes with Qualcomm's latest 835 chip. There are two models available, one with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, while the other has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. OnePlus is another company that doesn't offer microSD support so whatever the capacity option  you choose, that's all you get.

The battery capacity is 3300mAh. The OnePlus 3T lasted through a normal day and then some on its 3400mAh battery so despite a slight reduction for the OnePlus 5, it is likely to last a little longer than the iPhone 7, though probably around the same as the iPhone 7 Plus. Quick top ups through Dash Charge are also offered on the OnePlus 5.

OnePlus 5 vs Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Software

  • iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus run on iOS
  • OnePlus 5 runs on OxygenOS, a customised version of Android Nougat

The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus run on iOS 10 and they will see an update to iOS 11 when it launches later this year. The OnePlus 5 meanwhile, runs on the OxygenOS, which is a customised version of Android Nougat. 

Which software platform you'll prefer will be based on your personal opinion and what you want to do with your device. If you have other Apple products, you'll find seamless integration using iOS but if you want to be able to customise your device in terms of software, the OnePlus 5 and Android will provide more flexibility than Apple.

OnePlus 5 vs Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Price

  • OnePlus 5 £150 cheaper than iPhone 7
  • OnePlus 5 £270 cheaper than the iPhone 7 Plus 

The Apple iPhone 7 starts from £599, while the iPhone 7 Plus starts from £719. For the 128GB model, you're looking at £699 or £819.

The OnePlus 5 starts at £449 for the 64GB model and increases to £499 for the 128GB model. It is therefore between £150 to £200 cheaper than the same storage capacity in terms of the iPhone 7, or between £270 to £320 cheaper than the iPhone 7 Plus.

OnePlus 5 vs Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Conclusion

The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are excellent devices, offering premium waterproof designs, great cameras and good performance.

The OnePlus 5 offers higher resolution cameras though, not that more megapixels necessarily means better, along with more RAM, a likely larger battery capacity and it is around £200 than the smaller iPhone and £300 cheaper than the larger model.

Despite a few similarities in design, the OnePlus 5 and the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are very different devices, especially in terms of software. The choice between them is therefore likely to come down to your budget and which software experience you favour.