Many manufacturers have tried to make their flagship models a little simpler this year. The Pixel 5 is a prime example of this. But OnePlus, having announced the budget model Nord, did not stop and introduced a real flagship – OnePlus 8 Pro.
At the same time, you can remember the predecessors of this smartphone, which really cut corners in order to make the price tag a little lower. But 8 Pro was the first device on which they did not save. So now it can compete with the latest Galaxy and iPhone.
In addition, since the 8T smartphone does not have a Pro version, the OnePlus 8 Pro will be the most advanced version in the lineup. This means top specifications, a powerful processor and, for many countries, support for 5G networks.
But, rather than comparing the OnePlus 8 Pro to its possible competitors, it’s better to take a look at what the smartphone is all about and discuss its specs.
Source: CNET
Release date and price
OnePlus 8 Pro was announced back on April 14, 2020, and now it’s finally on sale. It’s currently the most expensive OnePlus device, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially when you look at OnePlus’ systematic, albeit gradual, increase in flagship prices. This means that the brand is losing its budget and affordable status and, perhaps, is now counting on a completely new audience.
The price tag of the new OnePlus 8 Pro is closer to the iPhone 11 and Galaxy 20. But it is worth considering the presence of additional models, in addition to the base one, which also led to a price increase.
Display
Perhaps the most attractive aspect of the OnePlus 8 Pro is the so-called “Liquid Display”. The company has applied new technologies to its development, and is so proud of it that they boldly call it the best screen you will see in 2020. Of course, it is still difficult to believe this, because we still do not know what awaits us with the rest of the smartphones, but after evaluating it in practice, we definitely understand why OnePlus makes such statements.
The screen diagonal is 6.78 inches and the resolution is 1440 x 3168 QHD. The aspect ratio is 19.8:9 and the image depth is 513 pixels per inch. All this is very standard for modern flagships, but the features of the OnePlus 8 Pro do not end there.
Of course, the next characteristic to pay attention to is the screen refresh rate. Almost all flagships are getting 120Hz now, with rare exceptions like Huawei P40 Pro and Google Pixel 4XL. But the OnePlus 8 Pro offers 120Hz, which is enabled by default. True, initially it only works on Full HD +, for QHD it needs to be enabled additionally in the settings. Similar settings are possible on the Oppo Find X2 Pro.
According to the company, a lot of work has been done in order to strike a balance between high smartphone performance and battery life. If you look at what happened in the end, it becomes clear that all this was not done in vain. Power consumption is a bit faster when using QHD+ and 120Hz, but the difference is minimal compared to the consumption caused by gaming or watching videos.
But on this screen, everything looks impressive.
Source: YouTube
Appearance and design
OnePlus 8 Pro looks like the rest of the top-class smartphones. The front panel is occupied by a display with a diagonal of 6.78 inches, its borders go to the side panel, so that the screen has curved edges. The back of the case is also covered with glass, but matte, if we talk about green and ultramarine models. Between the two glass sides is metal. The smartphone feels expensive, but it is very pleasant to the touch and not even too slippery. However, it comes with a transparent silicone case, which doesn’t add much to the premium look, but is comfortable and protects the camera that sticks out of the case.
By the way, the camera is located in the center on an oblong die, next to which there is a flash and another additional camera.
The format of the smartphone is very large, you have to hold it with two hands. It’s also longer and wider than the Galaxy, Huawei, and iPhone.
The only port is the input for charging – USB-C. There is no headphone input. But two SIM cards are supported. Dynamics is also two. On the right is the power button, which also activates the camera and Google Assistant, and on the left are the volume buttons.
OnePlus has ditched the pop-up selfie camera as well, in favor of a punch-hole in the top left corner of the screen. Thanks to this, the smartphone has become lighter, and the mechanism does not take up extra space.
Among OnePlus smartphones, the 8 Pro was the first to receive an official IP rating, namely IP68. It is protected from dust and immersion in water up to a meter deep for up to 30 minutes.
In addition to the colors listed above, there is also a black model, but it is not available everywhere.
Source: CNET
Camera
The smartphone received 4 main cameras: 48 MP ultra-wide-angle, 48 MP main, telephoto and a camera with a color filter. This is also the first such set-up for a OnePlus smartphone. The cameras are also not simple, both 48 megapixel modules were created by Sony. The standard one received an f / 1.78 aperture, optical stabilization and additionally electronic. All this is at least because the camera shoots video in 4K.
The ultra-wide module is also 48MP and offers f/2.2 aperture and a 119-degree field of view. It may not be the widest angle we’ve seen on smartphones, but it does the job well.
At the bottom is a new lens, a color filter, it has a resolution of 5 megapixels and f / 2.4 aperture. Its task is solely to create the ability to apply a filter directly in the camera application.
Another, fourth camera is located to the right of the main plate and acts as a telephoto, it provides a triple optical zoom and 30x digital.
In terms of digital zoom, many smartphones offer more, for example, the Galaxy S20 Ultra can give you a hundred times. But it must be taken into account that its quality is most often either tied to resolution, or lower than satisfactory. And OnePlus says that users are not interested in high values, and 30x zoom will be more than enough.
The cameras are much better than the previous 7 Pro and 7T Pro models. Color reproduction is much more realistic, without excessive saturation and brightness.
The default mode uses a 48 MP main camera but with a 12 MP resolution. As in most cases, a higher mode must be set manually.
The 12MP mode offers excellent dynamic range and colors. 48 megapixels work best in good outdoor lighting.
The high resolution detail is impressive, but not on par with the Pixel or Huawei.
The night mode works quickly and gives mediocre results. It only slightly brightens the image, and the photo may appear blurry.
The wide-angle camera also suffers from color realism. If we compare the result with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, the quality will be about the same, but Samsung will give a more saturated color. The same, by the way, applies to the OnePlus 7T.
Source: CNET
Battery
OnePlus 8 Pro received a very high-quality 4510 mAh battery. It’s the longest-lasting battery of any OnePlus model, and can easily get through a day’s work. The capacity, by the way, is greater than that of all three competitors – Galaxy, iPhone and Huawei.
As we noted above, with standard use during the day, that is, running games, videos, chatting in social networks and instant messengers, calls and taking pictures, the battery can withstand a day of work. Sometimes even more than 10 percent of the charge may remain.
In 90 minutes of Full HD video playback at maximum brightness with Wi-Fi on, the OnePlus 8 Pro loses only 10% of its charge. If you change the resolution to QHD +, the value does not change.
Since there are two more video quality enhancement modes in the settings, namely the effect of more saturated colors and graphics smoothing, they make the load on the battery higher. Therefore, even when watching a video, it is worth remembering the settings, depending on the possibility of recharging.
OnePlus 8 Pro is equipped with Warp Charge 30T technology and it allows you to charge the battery from 0% to 50% in 23 minutes. This, of course, applies to wired charging and the device that is included in the kit. But the OnePlus 8 Pro, like a real flagship, can be charged without a wire, Warp Charge 30 Wireless is responsible for this, and it allows you to charge up to 50% in 30 minutes. But for this you need to separately purchase wireless charging.
Last but not least, like other flagships, OnePlus 8 Pro can also charge other devices.
Source: CNET
Performance
OnePlus 8 Pro is not inferior in power to many. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. Depending on the modification, you can get either 8 GB / 128 GB or 12 GB / 256 GB of memory.
The OnePlus 8 Pro handles games effortlessly, whether it’s demanding titles like Fortnite or PUBG.
LPDDR5 RAM is 30% faster and 20% more power efficient than the memory used in the OnePlus 7T Pro.
The average Geekbench 5.1 score was 3305, compared to the One Plus 7T Pro’s 2564. But more impressively, the OnePlus 8 Pro outperformed the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, which can be considered a success.
The smartphone supports 2 SIM cards, but they can only use 5G in turn.
The system on the OnePlus 8 Pro is remarkably fast, even with the Oxygen OS user interface, which doesn’t change much from classic Android, by the way.
Instead, the system adds customization options.
OnePlus 8 Pro received two speakers for stereo sound, one at the bottom, the second at the top above the display. The speakers are also equipped with Dolby Atmos technology.
Outcome
The OnePlus 8 Pro is the first true flagship from OnePlus, and it shows in everything from the specs to the design. Almost everything that is on modern top smartphones can be found on this device, plus it is absolutely not inferior to the most popular models.
OnePlus 8 Pro will remain relevant for at least a few more years, moreover, it is definitely not in danger of slowing down and dropping performance in the near future, even despite the growing demands of applications.
Particularly impressive is the battery life, which should not be overlooked either.
OnePlus 8 Pro is a great smartphone for those who are looking for an original and powerful flagship. It’s a pity that the company’s pricing policy has changed, but otherwise, you can see only pluses in this new product.