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With the world in lockdown, sadly, we haven’t got to see the newly launched OnePlus 8 series yet.
Like almost everyone else in India, we’ll have to be patient to get the two devices. But the international media was lucky enough to get review units and we can summarise their impressions and conclusions for you as the phones may soon be available for purchase and delivery.
The OnePlus 8 Pro feels like the big device it is with its 6.78 inches of screen. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn thought the display superlative with its 120Hz refresh rate. Unlike the S20+ display which doesn’t combine the high refresh rate with the highest resolution, the OnePlus 8 Pro does give the user the choice to choose maximise although this will impact battery life. Because OnePlus has set expectations so high for its phones, he focused on what goes beyond the specs and speed you can take for granted now: Qui wireless charging support, fast charging at 30W, and IP68 water resistance are now finally included on this smartphone. The cameras are a big improvement but still fall just short of the top three or four. He described working with the OnePlus 8 Pro as being “the fastest Android phone experience money can buy.”
Android Authority says both the new phones represent what the OnePlus 7T Pro should have been in the first place. The design is really similar to the OnePlus 7 Pro but the phones are now narrower and taller. On the screen, the hole-punch in the corner is much nicer than a pop-up camera. The screen on the 8 Pro is the one with the high refresh rate but it apparently has some issues with palm rejection leading to some unintended scrolling. There’s a possibility this can be improved with a software update. The colour accuracy and other parameters of the displays have been the best Android Authority has tested. OnePlus is obviously trying to position itself as competition against the Galaxy S20 and give users a good set of reasons to pay the extra money it is adding to the price tag. (India prices are not known yet).
Well known YouTuber MKBHD says OnePlus has finally turned out a flagship — not a flagship killer, but a real complete flagship. But this also means it must now be subject to the same evaluation that a flagship would. OnePlus is known for putting in the highest end specs, and of course that’s what it’s done. The design is still familiar along with the OxygenOS experience which is much loved by those who know and care about how software should work on a phone. He’s appreciative of the fringe features that OnePlus has tended to leave aside all this time — like wireless charging — and really likes the display because of its high refresh rate plus high touch sensitivity. The screen is also now brighter and excellently colour calibrated. The 4,500mAh battery worked just fine for him.
Engadget described OnePlus 8 Pro as being ‘obsessed with speed’. The phone is now more expensive at $900, the most costly OnePlus phone to date, so they ask what you’re now getting for all that additional money? And that would be speed. Apart from the Snapdragon 865 processor and 12GB of RAM it’s really the screen that contributes to the feeling of speed. The screen is actually Samsung-made and so colours are spot on and it looks beautiful. On it, the difference in fluidity over previous 90Hz displays is quite noticeable. The difference between this and the iPhone is ‘night and day’. There’s virtually no lag between the instant you put your finger on the screen and it responds. But they also notice the accidental touches from the sloping sides of the screen.
GSMarena describes The OnePlus 8 as being somewhat smaller but look similar. Both have curved edges. The OnePlus 8 feels a little like the 7 Pro when held in the hand. The dimensions are slightly different however. The colour variants Interstellar Glow and Ultramarine Blue are really attractive. The display is a 6.4-inch one and has a 90Hz refresh rate. It’s a FullHD, not QuadHD. The 8 Pro has a ‘motion smoothening’ feature which interpolates frames when watching video to make it seem faster. GSMArena and others describe this feature as being ‘so-so’ and aren’t certain they would want to leave it enabled. The 8 has a 4,300mAh battery and no wireless charging or reverse charging. The 8 Pro has much better low light photos and faster focusing. In addition to the wide angle and 3X telephoto, there is an additional colour filter lens which reviewers are still unsure about. All reviewers agree that the other cameras are an improvement. On the OnePlus 8, there is a 2X macro rather than a telephoto lens, though why, it’s not clear.
For more features and nuanced differences, including comparisons with the previous series, detailed reviews will have to be awaited.
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