Which flagship killer is right for you?

This story was originally published 2020/04/23
8:30 pm PDTApril 23, 2020 and last update 2020/05/03
7:38 am PDTMay 3, 2020.

OnePlus’ newest smartphones include many of the best and newest parts and features you can find in high-end phones right now, and the 8 Pro in particular has brought in some highly sought-after improvements. The 8 Pro, announced several weeks ago, has become the company’s first phone to support wireless charging and receive an IP rating, two of the oldest drawbacks of OnePlus smartphones. But as much as these features have met fan demand, they’ve also created a much more noticeable difference between the basic OnePlus 8 and the 8 Pro.

The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro are very different from each other, not so much in appearance but in their overall package, as the Chinese brand faces off against its high-end phone with more premium flagships. If you find yourself debating whether it’s worth spending more on the Pro’s few additional features, then we’ll cover it with this comparative breakdown.

Touch and feel

There’s not a huge departure from the overall footprint of previous OnePlus flagships, as the 8 and 8 Pro inherit a lot from their respective predecessors (except for the unnecessarily large OnePlus 7T camera disk). The two 2020 phones have been left with vertically aligned rear cameras, although the front has received a facelift, something like that. After dedicating himself entirely to pop-up selfie cameras for the Pro last year, OnePlus has switched to punchers, which look more modern (possibly) while avoiding all the complex mechanics of a pop-up unit.

Of the two, the standard model is thinner and lighter by about 20 grams, and should also fit your palm better, thanks to its slightly smaller 6.55-inch screen. OnePlus is looking for some flatter color options this time around, with both phones getting the standard black color along with a deep green hue. In addition to these, the Pro will also have a deep blue hue, while a light gradient is reserved for 8. Despite Samsung removing the curved display on its recent flagships, OnePlus chose to keep it on the Pro, while the curve is less steep in standard 8.

Those high refresh rate AMOLEDs

The big difference between the two phones we talked about earlier is very clear in the display section. The QHD + AMOLED display on the 8 Pro is not only higher resolution, but also has a higher refresh rate of 120Hz, while the 8 sticks with the latest generation’s 90Hz. While not garbage by any means, that 90Hz rate is still a step below what the Pro’s display has to offer. If you are wondering, you can enable 120Hz setting along with 2K resolution. The same goes for the new panel with a 10-bit color depth, which is still exclusive to the Pro and is also brighter than that of the 8.

The display on the 8 Pro also has some additional bells and whistles in the form of motion graphics smoothing technology to help make videos look better on a high refresh rate display, and something called HDR Boost. It also wraps around the sides of the phone for that waterfall effect, which is something not everyone prefers to have. However, both phones feature an HDR-enabled display, share similar color accuracy (as measured by OnePlus), and also include an optical on-screen fingerprint scanner.

More (better) cameras

OnePlus has somewhat confused the camera situation on these phones: the 8 Pro uses its predecessor’s primary sensor as its ultra-wide unit, while the 8 has borrowed its 7T camera setup, almost as-is, and swapped the telephoto camera for a macro So the final setup involves the Pro getting a new 48MP primary sensor along with an 8MP telephoto, 48MP ultra wide angle and a completely useless color filter camera. The 8, on the other hand, has a 48MP main camera paired with a 16MP ultra-wide angle and 2MP macro sensor. Both phones share the same 16MP selfie camera.

The common comment that comes from our reviews of these OnePlus phones is that the company has taken great strides to improve its image processing. Although getting rid of the telephoto camera is a step below the 7T, Ryan found that the 8’s main camera works better than that of a Galaxy phone, in some cases. With the 8 Pro, Ryne was pleased with the wide-angle and macro shots, while sometimes encountering some inconsistencies and filter-like processing. In essence, the OnePlus 8 Pro has a more capable camera array of the two, sometimes better than even the Galaxy S20, but it’s certainly not good for Pixel. For an intricate look at the image quality of your individual cameras, you can read our most comprehensive camera comparison or the Pro’s showdown against the Pixel 4 and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Fast performance and 5G

From the inside, the two phones are quite charged and identical, for the most part. OnePlus made 8GB the default RAM option last year, and that’s also the case here, with 12GB available as the most premium option. However, the two phones use different memory standards: the Pro gets the newer LPDDR5, while the non-Pro sticks to the LPDDR4X, again, not much of a difference, but it’s there nonetheless. Powered by the Snapdragon 865 chip, they are both fast phones with instant app load times and effortless general use, even on variants with the lowest memory option.

Following the industry trend, OnePlus has equipped all of its 8 series devices with 5G modems, allowing them to work with more American operators than any of the previous OnePlus phones. Most unlocked and operator-bought models of the 8 and 8 Pro will only support bands below 6 GHz, with Verizon’s OnePlus 8 5G UW as the only exception that mmWave also supports. This particular variant will be priced differently (read: higher) than its standard counterparts. Considering how compromising the 5G experience with higher frequency bands is, at least in its current state, the lack of millimeter wave in other variants shouldn’t bother you at all.

Wireless charging, but with a warning

One of the most painful points of OnePlus’ previous flagships was its lack of wireless charging. The company took its time and finally released a wireless charging version that generates 30 watts of power, double what the S20 supports, but there is a problem. Only the high-end 8 Pro has the charging coils, while the 8 doesn’t, and you’ll need the original OnePlus charger if you want those blazingly fast wireless speeds. With other Qi pads, the 8 Pro will charge at relatively low speeds of 5W and 10W.

With a difference of just 200 mAh, the Pro fares a little better with its 4510 mAh battery, up from 4300 mAh on 8. In our reviews, both phones turned out to be decent, with their batteries constantly lasting more than a day of regular use. While the ongoing quarantine may have had an effect on these results, we cannot deny that its performance was generally good. The phones continue to support the wired Warp Charge 30T charger that efficiently recharges its large batteries fairly quickly.

Prices in the USA USA

OnePlus phone prices have increased over the years, and 2020 models are no exception. In the United States, the OnePlus 8’s retail price starts at $ 700 for the basic 8GB + 128GB option, while Verizon’s OnePlus 8 5G UW costs $ 100 more for the same configuration. The most premium 8 Pro is available as an 8GB + 128GB or 12GB + 256GB option that costs $ 900 and $ 1,000, respectively. In comparison, last year’s OnePlus 7T Pro started at $ 670.

Keep in mind that OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro have added 5G support, ensuring a higher price, at least until the technology becomes more democratized. Also, the S20 with similar specifications startedat $ 1,000, while the 8 Pro tops the figure. In addition to its existing relationship with T-Mobile, OnePlus is expanding its reach in the US. USA By partnering with Verizon, it will bring the ultra-broadband variant that we discussed earlier.

Specifications

Pro or not?

The OnePlus 8 Pro is perhaps the plus OnePlus complete phone to date, making little or no compromises. He is no longer the flagship killer; that is The flagship. Even at its slightly elevated selling price, the 8 Pro manages to undermine the likes of the Galaxy S20 while largely maintaining, and sometimes even exceeding, feature parity. With inclusions like fast wireless charging and a relatively reasonable price compared to the competition, the 8 Pro presents itself as a better phone and is worth the additional $ 200. But be sure to add the cost of the OnePlus wireless charger, which starts at $ 70, to the package if you want to make the most of the phone’s potential.

Wireless charging is a convenience that’s hard to live with once it becomes second nature, but if you can and don’t care much about cameras, you’d better save those $ 200. Even without many of the Pro’s added features, the standard 8 is still a power-packed phone with much of the same silicon under the hood. Also, the phone is more compact, has similar 5G capabilities and stereo speakers, and its AMOLED display includes decent refresh rate and resolution. It’s definitely a more value-oriented phone than the Pro, but it’s a shame OnePlus hasn’t updated the camera hardware, as the improvements we get are mostly in the software.

You should not buy either phone if you have the best camera on your checklist. There are several similarly priced, and even cheaper, options that can take better photos, particularly from Google, which clearly does a better job with image processing. You can take a look at our detailed OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro reviews to dig into their details.