Bought OnePlus 5T? Your $500 Phone Can’t Stream HD Content

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OnePlus 5T, the first bezel-less smartphone from OnePlus, has received a humongous response from consumers and critics alike. OnePlus phones are known for offering premium specs at mid-range prices. If you have just bought the OnePlus 5T, you must be impressed with its insanely fast speed and impressive durability. But did you notice that the device is incapable of streaming HD content from popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play Music?

OnePlus 5T does not support Widevine L1 certification

Not many buyers were aware of the unexpected omission. The revelation came after a OnePlus 5T owner posted on the Chinese company’s official forum that the 5T as well as older OnePlus smartphones don’t come with Widevine L1 certification. The L1 certification is required to access HD content from DRM protected platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

It means your brand new smartphone doesn’t deliver the best streaming experience. It streams videos merely at standard definition. That’s quite surprising considering many Android phones costing less than $300 are able to stream HD content from Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. The OnePlus forum member added that YouTube streaming was not affected by the omission.

The OnePlus 5T supports Widevine L3 certification, which means it can only play SD streaming. It is unclear why a company as popular as OnePlus missed out on such an important feature. The lack of Widevine L1 support is a major drawback considering tens of millions of people use streaming services like Netflix and prefer to watch videos in HD.

OnePlus 5T to get HD streaming via a software update

In a statement to The Verge, a OnePlus spokesperson said that a software update was in the works to bring Widevine L1 support to both the OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5. The representative did not offer any other details such as when the software update would be rolled out to the public. The company did not explain why the Widevine L1 support was not added from the start, or why older phones such as OnePlus 3 and 3T will not get the update.

This is just one of the many issues OnePlus 5T owners have complained about since the phone’s launch. Users had earlier pointed out that taking photos and videos in Snapchat would cause the camera to zoom in 2x. It prevented users from taking normal pictures and videos. OnePlus has since fixed the issue from its side, but Snapchat hasn’t addressed it via a software update.

Have you installed the OxygenOS 4.7.4 update?

Just a few days ago, OnePlus began rolling out the OxygenOS 4.7.4 update for OnePlus 5T handsets. It is being rolled out in a phased manner. You can check whether the update is available for your device by going to Software > System Updates. The over-the-air update is 285MB in size. It is the second software update for OnePlus 5T in less than a month.

The biggest highlight of the latest update is the improvements to the camera app. It also brings improvements to the vibration motor, battery, and Face Unlock besides system and UI optimizations. Many users had complained that their OnePlus 5T would take out-of-focus shots, which has been fixed now. The update also reduces the noise in low-light photos and videos.

The OxygenOS 4.7.4 has also improved the quality of speaker and earphone. The reliability of fingerprint sensor and GPS has improved further. The update also optimizes the battery usage over WiFi. OnePlus is also planning to roll out Android Oreo for OnePlus 5T in the next few weeks. The software is currently in the Open Beta phase.

OnePlus to launch Star Wars Edition later this week

The OnePlus 5T has a starting price of only $500, but it is capable enough to compete with the best smartphones in the market. It doesn’t have a physical home button. The handset offers a 6-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. OnePlus has moved the fingerprint sensor to the rear panel. The phone comes in two versions – one with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage and another with a huge 8GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor powers the OnePlus 5T. The phone sports a 16MP and a 20MP lens on the back panel. It is capable of taking Portrait Mode photos with blurred backgrounds. OnePlus has also included an impressive 16MP camera on the front for selfies. The device offers a 3,300mAh battery with Dash Charge technology.

OnePlus has announced that it would start selling a Star Wars Limited Edition of OnePlus 5T later this week in Europe and India. The Star Wars edition would cost the same as the regular model. The phone honors the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It has a white back panel with Star Wars graphic placed near the bottom. The lock button has a red finish while the volume rockers have been painted black

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