OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro Review: Perfection is always a phone away

OnePlus has ever held a special identify in my heart. I watched the visitor announce its first telephone in virtual reality, and the OnePlus 7T was the first loftier-end handset I always reviewed.

It'southward safety to say that I like this visitor and I want the best for it. With that beingness said, OnePlus still hasn't made a perfect phone for people who aren't tech enthusiasts.

While I praised last twelvemonth'southward OnePlus 7T for being a return to the company's lower-toll roots, it'due south articulate that with the 8 and 8 Pro the Chinese manufacturer isn't satisfied existence a lower-cost alternative with high-end features.

This time effectually OnePlus isn't but punching to a higher place its weight course; it's featured in the championship fight.

The OnePlus viii serial with final year's OnePlus 7T.

Because of OnePlus' underdog history, tech reviewers often praise its phones because they offer beefy high-finish specs for a lower price than other flagships. This made the visitor's flaws easier to forgive because consumers were getting a bargain.

Sadly, that's not the instance anymore with this twelvemonth'south very bold OnePlus viii and eight Pro. Both are packed with premium parts and top of the line cost tags to get along with this refresh.

This means OnePlus has to stride up since information technology can't rely on a low toll to soften the accident of small issues.

Both phones are kickoff-rate, simply I'm not sure if they take enough star power to become mainstream with the likes of Samsung, Apple tree and Google.

2 hearts that beat as one

When comparing hardware, both smartphones share a lot of the same internals. The main differences stem in the camera setups, then trickle down to a few less noticeable hardware specs. In day-to-day use, you don't find a huge imbalance betwixt the two.

For example, while both phones characteristic loftier-end screens, they're not exactly identical. The OnePlus 8's 6.55-inch brandish simply has a 90Hz refresh rate and a 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution. It also only gets to 1,100 nits of brightness.

The OnePlus 8 Pro, on the other hand, features a 120Hz refresh rate, i,300 nits of effulgence and a 3168 x 1440 panel packed into its half-dozen.78-inch display.

Both smartphones feature a hole-punch brandish in the top left corner where a pocket-size 16-megapixel camera sensor sits. It's as well worth mentioning the pigsty-punch display sits right at the bottom of the OnePlus 8'south status bar, making information technology appear uncentered. If that type of affair irks you, steer clear of the lower-finish model.

The eight Pro has DDR5 RAM while the regular 8 utilizes LPDDR4X RAM. In practice, the Snapdragon 865 processor pushes content around extremely efficiently on both of these phones.

If you look closely you lot'll detect the OnePlus viii's front end-facing photographic camera isn't centred.

Both the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro also support 5G and Wi-Fi 6. While 5G back up isn't widely bachelor in Canada and won't be for some time, the OnePlus 8 series can just work on 'Sub-6' networks. This ways y'all can accept reward of Rogers' initial 5G in Canada, but y'all won't find much of a difference compared to LTE speeds. When the carriers begin rolling out 3.5GHz networks side by side yr, the OnePlus 8-series' 5G modem will come into its own.

Brandish

6.78-inch Fluid AMOLED, 3168 10 1440 pixels, 19:viii:nine aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate

6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED, 1080 x 2400 pixels, xx:9 aspect ratio, 90Hz refresh rate

6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED, 2400 x 1080 pixels, xix.5:9 aspect ratio, 90Hz refresh rate

Processor

Snapdragon 865

Snapdragon 855+

RAM

8GB/12GB of RAM

8GB of RAM

Storage

128GB, 256GB

Dimensions (in.)

165.iii 10 74.35 x 8.5mm

160.2 10 72.9 x 8mm

160.94 x 74.44 x 8.13mm

Rear Facing Camera

48-megapixel (f/1.78, OIS,EIS) + 8-megapixel (f/2.44, telephoto, OIS) + 48-megapixel (f/2.2, 119.7-caste ultra-wide angle) + v-megapixel (f/2.4, colour filter)

48-megapixel (f/1.75, OIS,EIS) + 2-megapixel (f/2.4) + 16-megapixel (f/ii.2, 116-degree ultra-broad angle)

48-megapixel (f/1.vi, OIS) + 12-megapixel (f/2.two, telephoto) + 16-megapixel (f/2.ii, ultra-wide bending)

Front Facing Camera

16-megapixel (f/2.45)

16-megapixel (f/2.0)

Bone

Android 10 (OxygenOS 10.5)

Android 10 (OxygenOS 10.v)

Android 10

Bombardment

4510mAh

4300mAh

3800mAh

Network Connectivity

GSM/HSPA/LTE/SUB-6 5G/Wi-Fi 6

GSM/HSPA/LTE/SUB-half dozen 5G/Wi-Fi 6

GSM/HSPA/LTE

Sensors

Fingerprint (in-brandish), accelerometre, gyro, electronic compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometre, gyro, electronic compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometre, gyro, proximity, compass

SIM Type

Dual nano-SIM

Nano SIM

Launch Date

Apr 14, 2020

April 14, 2020

September 26, 2019

Misc

Colours: Onyx Black, Glacial Greenish, Ultramarine Blue, Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, improved haptic vibration engine, alert slider

Colours: Onyx Black, Glacial Light-green, Interstellar Glow, Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, improved haptic vibration engine, alarm slider

Colours:Frosted Silver, Glacier Blue | Face Unlock, stereo speakers, enhanced haptic engine, Dolby Atmos

OnePlus 8 Pro

6.78-inch Fluid AMOLED, 3168 x 1440 pixels, xix:8:nine aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate

OnePlus 8

6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED, 1080 x 2400 pixels, twenty:ix aspect ratio, 90Hz refresh rate

OnePlus 7T

half-dozen.55-inch Fluid AMOLED, 2400 x 1080 pixels, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 90Hz refresh rate

OnePlus 8 Pro

Snapdragon 865

OnePlus 7T

Snapdragon 855+

OnePlus 8 Pro

8GB/12GB of RAM

OnePlus 8

8GB/12GB of RAM

OnePlus 8 Pro

128GB, 256GB

OnePlus eight Pro

165.three x 74.35 x 8.5mm

OnePlus eight

160.two x 72.9 10 8mm

OnePlus 7T

160.94 x 74.44 x viii.13mm

OnePlus 8 Pro

48-megapixel (f/ane.78, OIS,EIS) + 8-megapixel (f/2.44, telephoto, OIS) + 48-megapixel (f/2.ii, 119.seven-degree ultra-broad angle) + 5-megapixel (f/2.4, colour filter)

OnePlus viii

48-megapixel (f/one.75, OIS,EIS) + two-megapixel (f/2.iv) + 16-megapixel (f/2.2, 116-degree ultra-wide angle)

OnePlus 7T

48-megapixel (f/ane.vi, OIS) + 12-megapixel (f/2.ii, telephoto) + xvi-megapixel (f/2.ii, ultra-wide angle)

OnePlus 8 Pro

16-megapixel (f/ii.45)

OnePlus 8

16-megapixel (f/2.0)

OnePlus 7T

sixteen-megapixel (f/two.0)

OnePlus 8 Pro

Android x (OxygenOS x.5)

OnePlus eight

Android x (OxygenOS ten.v)

OnePlus viii Pro

GSM/HSPA/LTE/SUB-six 5G/Wi-Fi 6

OnePlus eight

GSM/HSPA/LTE/SUB-6 5G/Wi-Fi 6

OnePlus 8 Pro

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometre, gyro, electronic compass, ambience light sensor, proximity sensor

OnePlus 8

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometre, gyro, electronic compass, ambient lite sensor, proximity sensor

OnePlus 7T

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometre, gyro, proximity, compass

OnePlus eight Pro

Dual nano-SIM

OnePlus eight Pro

April 14, 2020

OnePlus 7T

September 26, 2019

OnePlus 8 Pro

Colours: Onyx Black, Glacial Green, Ultramarine Blue, Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, improved haptic vibration engine, alert slider

OnePlus 8

Colours: Onyx Black, Glacial Greenish, Interstellar Glow, Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, improved haptic vibration engine, warning slider

OnePlus 7T

Colours:Frosted Silver, Glacier Blueish | Face Unlock, stereo speakers, enhanced haptic engine, Dolby Atmos

The pair feature wired OnePlus 30T Warp erging that can accuse both phones up to 50 percent in around 25 minutes. The Pro has the larger battery clocking in at iv,510mAh, while the OnePlus eight features a four,300mAh power cell. The Pro also features wireless charging, which I'll get more into later.

Zooming in on perfection

Coming into the OnePlus 8 Pro and 8, I had high hopes riding off of my dearest for the OnePlus 7T'due south camera. Later on a few days of testing, the phones left me with a positive impression, just in that location are still some flaws in the images.

I'g a big fan of the libation wash I go from OnePlus photos. Each phone shares a similar 48-megapixel main photographic camera with f/1.seven aperture and they can produce stunning pictures.

Bearing that in heed, not every shot is as consequent and in my experience, y'all tin can get more duds than non if you aren't conscientious.

Beyond its primary sensor, the OnePlus 8 Pro is also packing an 8-megapixel 3x zoom lens with an f/ii.44 aperture, which I found worked well. You can digitally push it further, but it doesn't wait great.

The terminal OnePlus 8 Pro shooter is a 48-megapixel 119-degree ultra-broad-bending lens. Accompanying all three of these is a five-megapixel color filter photographic camera that allows for some unique photograph opportunities. Both of these are fun add-ons to the camera and not much more than.

The OnePlus eight'southward primary camera, on the other paw, is flanked past a 16-megapixel 116-degree ultra-broad-angle lens and a two-megapixel macro camera. Both of these are a ton of fun to utilize and can produce some pretty killer looking shots. Still, I'd trade either one for the 3x telephoto on the viii Pro.

For those wondering, OnePlus' 'Nightscape' style has returned over again and works meliorate than always to brighten low-light scenes.

All things considered, both of these phones are capable of producing amazing pictures, but as I said with the OnePlus 7T, you demand to take a few seconds composing your shot to really get the about out of the OnePlus viii serial cameras.

OnePlus viii Pro

OnePlus 8

The showstopper

The real star of the show is the OnePlus 8 Pro. It's hands the best phone OnePlus has ever fabricated, fifty-fifty if it doesn't characteristic a pop-up photographic camera.

It's wicked fast, feels extremely premium, works impressively well and packs all of this into an appealing form cistron. The handset is 8.5mm thin and weighs 199g, then it feels very sturdy to hold. The soft-touch on finish applied to the back of the telephone further demonstrates OnePlus' dedication to adroitness.

OnePlus fans will be happy to hear this fourth dimension around the company has certified the 8 Pro with an IP68 water and dustproof rating, and so information technology should be able to handle a bit of water if yous happen to driblet information technology in a puddle or the sink.

On the software side of things, the phone'southward 120Hz display allows for some absurd tricks. If you lot dive into the 'Display Settings' you'll notice an option called 'Motility graphics smoothing.' This is the dreaded motion smoothing you hear about so often on TVs. I only ever had one case where it added the soap opera effect to a YouTube clip. Other than that, it worked fine and sports fans and gamers will appreciate the characteristic.

Motion smoothing hasn't been picking up much adoption on smartphones, but 120Hz displays have. All of Samsung's S20 phones, among other options like the Asus ROG Phone ii, are slowly making high refresh rates an industry standard. And information technology'due south hard to go back to a phone with a 60Hz brandish later on using something with 120Hz.

Also in the Settings menu, you'll see a condolement tone toggle that works similar the Pixel 4's 'Ambient EQ' and Apple's 'True Tone.' Its function is to friction match the display'south white residue to the ambient low-cal temperature in the room. Therefore in rooms with orange light, the screen has an orangish tinge.

There accept too been some heavy-duty technologies added to the OnePlus 8 Pro to allow for wireless xxx-watt Warp Charging, arguably one of the most requested features past OnePlus fans during the by few releases.

The gist of it is that the device can charge very quickly on the company's proprietary charging stand. But it can only charge at regular speed on other Qi charging surfaces. Wireless Warp Accuse is impressive, but I would have been but as happy with standard Qi charging.

In the cease, at that place's a lot to similar about the OnePlus 8 Pro. It'south a premium handset through and through. Unfortunately for consumers, it also comes with a very premium price tag of $ane,400 CAD. This puts the telephone squarely in line with the iPhone eleven Pro and the Galaxy S20+.

I'm hard-pressed to say the 8 Pro is better than those two phones, but it comes down to subjective aspects. On a spec past spec breakdown, OnePlus matches these competitors at almost every turn this time effectually. So for most people, I don't call up the 8 Pro is a must-buy, but information technology's definitely worth comparing to Samsung, Apple and Google'due south top-of-the-line offerings the next time you lot desire a new phone.

The heavy lifter

After seeing how much the viii Pro costs and what it offers, yous can look at the OnePlus 8 in two ways. It'due south either a reasonably priced phone that's non weighed downwardly by flashy features, or it'southward a lacklustre offering abreast its college-stop sibling.

To me, information technology's more of the onetime. I remember the telephone is fantastic and while it does take some drawbacks, its more than user-centric focus likely makes information technology a better buy for the boilerplate person.

For case, the telephone still has great haptic feedback, an authentic and abrupt display, fast speeds, long-lasting battery life and a decent camera. These are all things regular people want in a phone.

My first reaction to the telephone was how gorgeous the 'Interstellar Glow' colour looks, but afterwards, it was how comfortable the device felt to hold. Its smaller frame ways it's roughly as big as last year'south 7T, although this time the curved brandish and glossy dorsum make it feel much nicer in your hand.

Despite this phone not beingness the company'southward flagship device, it still carries enough of the "flagship killer" mindset to give handsets that price hundreds of dollars more a run for their coin. If I was looking for a new smartphone myself, I would heavily consider the OnePlus 8.

However, we sadly live in a time where flagships tin can toll virtually $2,000 so the OnePlus 8 comes in at a pricy $i,099 CAD. This, unfortunately, makes the phone more than expensive than the iPhone 11, merely less than the Samsung Milky way S20. In this case, the iPhone is the improve value, but the specs and features included in the OnePlus eight are more impressive.

While I take no major qualms with the phone specifically, I wish OnePlus would take priced it a lot closer to last year's $800 OnePlus 7T.

A look to the time to come

Some people might find this section a footling subjective, only I think there are a few things OnePlus can do to smooth out its software. It even seems like the visitor is already on the way to solving some of these issues. Its next Open Ears Forum is focused on OxygenOS and the company simply launched a new IDEAS program to source more requested features.

I understand OnePlus' inherent software concept is to be every bit minimal equally possible, but I recall at this betoken information technology has implemented enough of its ain features and co-opted enough of Google'due south functionality, that it's now a weird mix of OnePlus and Google.

For case, OnePlus' ambience display appears when you lot tap on the phone's screen when it's off. Google also has an ambient display that shows up when the phone is plugged in.

This weird mishmash of features from two manufacturers is a bit odd, and from a design standpoint, I don't like information technology.

OnePlus has a killer design that'south evident in its marketing material and press guides, but it fails to push information technology appealingly in OxygenOS.

I was hoping issues similar this were going to be fixed when the company announced a new rebranding a few weeks ago, simply it seems like those design ideals haven't made their fashion into the company's software.

Other issues are simply bugs, like how both the 'Privacy' and the 'Location' section in the Setting app don't have coloured icons while every other heading does.

The phone'southward 'Horizon calorie-free' feature (which lights upwardly the curved edges of the displays when y'all become a notification) doesn't work when the phone is face downwards on a table, arguably where it would be the most useful.

I've likewise experienced some abrasive software issues that detract from the overall feel, simply they seem to be very hitting and miss. The OnePlus viii has been incredibly consistent since I set up it upwardly, while the OnePlus viii Pro has needed to exist manufactory reset once.

Weirdly, 'Privacy' and 'Location' have white icons, while everything else is customizable.

In the finish, if you need undecayed software experiences Google and Apple provide more cohesive options. Hopefully, one day OnePlus can atomic number 26 out these kinks and implement a cohesive notwithstanding minimal theme on top of Android, just for now, it'southward still working things out.

OnePlus says that a few of my main bugs will be fixed with an Apr 15th software patch.

In the glimmer of an eye

The OnePlus One came out vi years ago and in that time the company has grown considerably into not just an upstart "Flagship killer," but a fully-fledged brand with a defined fanbase and ethics.

The OnePlus 8 serial is even so catering to those fans and are hands the best phones the company has ever produced, just I bet my bottom dollar that the OnePlus 9 is going to be one of the best phones out menstruum when it hits the market.

It took Google six years to brand the Pixel 2 from when it started working on its Nexus project. I think that'southward when Google started honing its mobile design chops to create a cohesive software and hardware experience.

If OnePlus' history is any indication, it'due south building towards the same moment with its smartphones and OxygenOS, and I'g excited most it.