The two OnePlus 5 colors are almost identical

The new OnePlus 5 comes in two color options, and damned if they're not almost identical. Should you opt for the $479 6GB / 64GB OnePlus 5, you'll get a "slate grey" chassis. Crank your purchase up to 8GB / 128GB for a cheeky $60 extra, and it's "midnight black" — similar to the murdered-out hue of the midnight black 3T.

Dark grey, and a slightly darker dark grey.

There's really very little difference between the two hues, though. Even side by side, it's touch to tell which is which — perhaps partly because OnePlus has gone to great lengths to ensure the antenna bands blend seamlessly with the metal unibody on both versions of the phone.

Essentially, you're looking at a dark grey, and a slightly darker dark grey. Colors shift slightly depending on whether you're looking in daylight or artificial lighting. But regardless, without the context of seeing both alongside each other, it's almost impossible to tell which you're looking at.

It's likely more colors will follow, based on OnePlus's pre-release teaser of at least three additional hues. In the meantime, you needn't worry about how your launch-day OnePlus 5 will look. The more meaningful differences between the two SKUs can be found on the inside.

Alex Dobie
Executive Editor

Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.