OnePlus has unveiled the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro, bringing great displays and 5G connectivity.
The OnePlus 8 Pro is the pricier of the two, and its biggest draw is its rapid high frame-rate display. A OnePlus spokesperson described the screen as the “best smartphone display you will see this year”, a bold statement indeed.
There have been a few noticeable changes, probably the biggest of which is a shift from a motorised pop-up selfie camera to a hole-punch camera embedded in the display as well as jump from a triple-camera to a quad-camera on the back of the device.
At just 3.84mm wide, OnePlus describes them as “the smallest hole-punches in the market”. The hole-punch cameras are a bit of a switch-up for OnePlus, who last year opted to load its flagship phones with mechanical, pop-up selfie cameras that added a lot of weight to the phones.
OnePlus is now able to boast official IP68-rated waterproofing for the 8 Pro. That means the phone has been independently certified to operate at up to 1.5m underwater for up to thirty minutes. OnePlus had gone to lengths to show previous handsets were waterproof but the official rating is a big endorsement that required the hardware to dispense with motorised components
The 8 Pro boasts an immensely fast 6.75in AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. In display terms, 120Hz basically means the phone’s display refreshes at twice the rate of a 60Hz display, the standard for most smartphones.
The 8 has a slightly smaller and slower display, coming in at 6.55in and 90Hz.
Meanwhile, the 8 Pro can show video up to QHD+, which makes watching Netflix or YouTube a dream.
OnePlus has loaded a quadruple camera array into the 8 Pro. The 8 Pro has Dual 48MP main camera, 8MP 3x telephoto and Ultrawide lenses and a new 5MP “colour filter”.
The colour filter is a new type of lens that allows users to take more “artistic” photos. It uses AI to add random colours to your snaps that “make your photos look completely different”.
The OnePlus 8 has a triple array, comprising a 48MP main camera, 16MP wide-angle and 2MP macro lenses. Both feature 16MP selfie cameras and can record 4K video through the rear snappers.
Other notable features include wireless charging in the 8 Pro – OnePlus’ first phone with wireless charging technology. Plug in at one per cent and you’ll get to 50 per cent in 23 minutes, according to OnePlus. It also supports reverse wireless charging, so you can use it to wirelessly charge other devices.
OnePlus has developed its own 30W wireless charging standard which will require you to buy the company’s proprietary charging cradle. The official price of that accessory has not yet been announced.
Like all of the company’s phones from now on, the 8 Pro is 5G-ready. It houses an X55 5G modem that supports both NSA and SA 5G modes, allowing peak download speeds to reach a (theoretical) 7.5 Gbps.
The 8 Pro also has a 4,510mAH battery – the biggest in any OnePlus phones to date. The 8’s battery is a little smaller, coming in at 4,300mAH.
Power comes from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor and an Adreno 650 GPU alongside a choice of either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage space.
With the launch of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro, the company will be ditching OnePlus Shelf from the built-in launcher. OnePlus Shelf was a bespoke homescreen feature for OnePlus handsets that offered customisable panels, shortcuts and widgets.
The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will both be available in the UK and the US, hitting stores on April 21 in the UK and April 29 in the US.
The OnePlus 8 starts at $699 / £599 for a model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, rising to $799 / £699 for a version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
The OnePlus 8 Pro meanwhile starts at $899 / £799 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, rising to $999 / £899 for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. So you’re paying $200 / £200 more for the equivalent Pro model than for the basic OnePlus 8.
You can pre-order the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro from the company’s official website as well as from Amazon UK. If you put in an early order from the OnePlus Store then you can also get money off accessories.
OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 8 Specs
| OnePlus 8 Pro | OnePlus 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Android 10 OxygenOS | Android 10 OxygenOS |
| Display | 6.78″ QHD Fluid AMOLED 3168×1440, 513ppi, 19.8:9 120Hz | 6.55″ FHD Fluid AMOLED 2400×1080, 402ppi, 20:9 90Hz |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Adreno 650 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Adreno 650 |
| Memory | Storage: 128GB / 256GB (UFS 3.0) RAM: 8GB / 12GB LPDDR5 | Storage: 128GB / 256GB (UFS 3.0) RAM: 8GB / 12GB LPDD4X |
| Camera (Rear) | 48MP Main —f/1.7, OIS, EIS, 1.12um —Dual LED Flash —PDAF + CAF + LAF —Sony IMX689 48MP Ultra Wide —f/2.2, 119.7° FOV 8MP Telephoto —f/2.4, OIS, 1.0um —3x hybrid zoom 5MP Color Filter —f/2.4 | 48MP Main —f/1.75, OIS, EIS, 0.8um —Dual LED Flash —PDAF + CAF —Sony IMX586 16MP Ultra Wide —f/2.2, 116° FOV —Sensor zoom 2x 2MP Macro —f/2.4, 1.75um |
| Camera (Front) | 16MP Front —f/2.4, EIS, 1.0um —Sony IMX471 | 16MP Front —f/2.4, EIS, 1.0um —Sony IMX471 |
| Battery | 4510mAh Warp Charge 30T Warp Charge 30 Wireless Reverse Wireless Charging | 4300mAh Warp Charge 30T |
| Connectivity | 5G / 4G LTE WiFi 802.11ax (WiFi 6) Bluetooth 5.1 NFC | 5G / 4G LTE WiFi 802.11ax (WiFi 6) Bluetooth 5.1 NFC |
| Other | In-display fingerprint USB-C (USB 3.1) Dual nano-SIM Alert Slider Dual Stereo Speakers iP68 water and dust resistance | In-display fingerprint USB-C (USB 3.1) Dual nano-SIM Alert Slider Dual Stereo Speakers |
| Size | 165.3 x 74.35 x 8.5mm 199g | 160.2 x 72.9 x 8.0mm 180g |
| Colors | Onyx Black Glacial Green Ultramarine Blue | Onyx Black Glacial Green Interstellar Glow |
