OnePlus 8 hands-on review

Introduction

Last year's vanilla OnePlus 7T (non-Pro) was arguably the more recommended device in the 7T-family since it had most of the key features the 7T Pro had while asking less in return. Not to mention that it was a huge upgrade compared to the vanilla 7 released earlier in 2019. You can say the 7T brought back OnePlus to its former glory when its phones were affordable and packed with the latest hardware. The 7T wasn't exactly cheap, but it had all the hardware features required for a 2019 flagship- all without breaking the bank.

The OnePlus 8 this year has a lot of proving to do and by looking at the specs sheet, it's not off to a good start.

While the 7T and 7T Pro had a lot in common, OnePlus has made a significant feature separation between the 8 and 8 Pro this year - aside from the design, of course - making it easier for consumers to choose. For instance, the vanilla 8 settles for a 90Hz display when the 8 Pro makes the jump to 120Hz. The OnePlus 8 misses on the standard telephoto camera and swaps it for a macro unit. And the much-awaited wireless charging is a no-go either so we suspect this would push some hesitant users over the fence and go for the more premium model.

But how does it stand against its predecessor - the OP7T? Well, there are arguably some meaningful upgrades and it remains to be seen how well the cropping from the main 48MP sensor works compared to the 2x telephoto lens from last year. We are also eager to see if there's any jump in battery endurance with the new 4,300 mAh battery or the notorious Snapdragon 865 chipset will sip the extra juice with its standalone Snapdragon X55 modem.

OnePlus 8 at a glance

• Body: 160.2 x 72.9 x 8.0mm , 180g; Metal frame, Gorilla Glass front and back.
• Screen: 6.55" AMOLED, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio; 90Hz refresh rate.
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+): Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585); Adreno 650 GPU.
• Memory: 8/12GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128/256GB UFS 3.0 built-in storage.
• OS/Software: Android 10, OxygenOS 10.
• Rear camera: Main: 48MP, f/1.70 aperture, 1/2.0" sensor size, 0.8μm pixel size, , OIS; Ultra wide-angle: 16MP f/2.2, 116° FoV; Macro: 2MP, f/2.4 aperture, 1.75 μm pixel size.
• Front camera: 16MP, f/2.4, fixed focus.
• Battery: 4,300mAh, 30W Warp Charge 30T fast charging.
• Misc: Stereo loudspeakers, in-display fingerprint reader, WiFi 6, 5G support, Optical under-display fingerprint reader; NFC.

Anyway, follow us in the next pages to get a grasp of what's coming in our full review of the device.

Unboxing the OnePlus 8

As always, OnePlus' packaging looks good, feels good and it's fairly generous too. You get a pre-applied screen protector, the 30W Warp Charge 30T along with the USB-A to USB-C cable, some OnePlus stickers and a transparent silicone protective case to show off the new paint job.