OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro have been officially announced via an international online event today. Being one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2020, the phone features top of the line hardware including the new Snapdragon 865 flagship processor, a capable camera setup at the back, and wireless charging – a first for a OnePlus smartphone.
Since both devices are official, let’s take a detailed look at the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro’s specifications, camera, and design.
OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro Design
The OnePlus 8 series doesn’t feature revolutionary changes in design. Last year, the OnePlus 7T had a round camera housing with a flat display and the Pro model had a curved display with a pill-shaped camera. However, this year, both the models feature the same basic design, which includes a curved display and a centrally placed pill-shaped camera. What’s also similar is the punch-hole camera up front.
The company has increased the haze level of the 3D glass at the back to the highest level in the industry. The Matte Frosted glass is smooth to touch and fingerprint resistant too and OnePlus says it’s similar to the Silk White finish.
You get the iconic alert slider on the right side above the power button, USB-C port at the bottom but no headphone jack. While the OnePlus 8 is splash resistant, the OnePlus 8 Pro has IP68 certification – a first for a OnePlus device.
The standard OnePlus 8 features a triple camera setup at the back while the OnePlus 8 Pro comes with a quad-camera setup with Laser Autofocus too.
OnePlus is marketing the OnePlus 8 as a compact flagship with 8mm thickness and shorter and tighter curves around the body for better grip. The phone is pretty light at 180grams making it easier to carry around for everyday use.
OnePlus 8 series comes in interesting color options this year which includes Interstellar Glow, Glacial Green, and Ultramarine Blue, in addition to the standard Onyx Black option. Note that the interstellar Glow color option is limited to the OnePlus 8.
OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro Display
The display is one of the highlights of the new OnePlus 8 series. Last year, the OnePlus 7 Pro got A+ from DisplayMate and unsurprisingly, the new OnePlus 8 series gets the same rating this year too!
DisplayMate said that the OnePlus 8 Pro “sets or matches more than 10 Smartphone Display Performance Records in virtually all key categories for the best displays on the market, including color accuracy, image contrast, display brightness, and screen reflection, with 4 categories marked Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect.”
The Pro model comes with a Samsung-made 6.78-inch Fluid AMOLED display with 2K 3168 x 1440p resolution, 120Hz high screen refresh rate (with 240Hz touch sampling rate) and HDR10+ support. OnePlus 8 Pro also features a new MEMC chip for upscaling video and gaming to a higher frame rate. The standard OnePlus 8 features a 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED display with FHD+ 2400 x 1080p resolution, 90Hz screen refresh rate, 1100 nits peak brightness, and HDR10+. Both the phone’s AMOLED panels are rated JNCD~0.4 which means its extremely color accurate.
Both the phones use Goodix’s ultra-thin in-display fingerprint sensor.
OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro Specs
Both the smartphones come with the Snapdragon 865 flagship processor with Qualcomm’s X55 modem. This means both of them will have support for the new-age 5G network.
Under the hood, both the models feature 128GB and 256GB UFS 3.0 (confirmed) ROM options. However, when it comes to the RAM, the OnePlus 8 will feature LPDDR4X standard with 8GB and 12GB RAM variants while the Pro variant has the new LPDDR5 standard with the same RAM options.
The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro has stereo speakers and Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 support with aptX audio. The phone also features a new haptic vibration 2.0 that’s better than its predecessor. Both phones will run Android 10 out of the box, with the new OxygenOS version and Dark Mode 2.0 which adds support for more apps.
OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro cameras
The OnePlus 8 Pro features a significantly better camera setup this year. The company has introduced two high-resolution cameras on the Pro variant, one of which is the new IMX689 48MP Sony sensor – the same one from the OPPO Find X2 series. The second 48MP lens is the IMX586 for excellent ultra-wide-angle shots including ultra wide angle night samples. In fact, OnePlus CEO has already shared a couple of ultra-wide-angle night camera samples from the Pro’s camera today and they looked pretty good. The OnePlus 8 Pro also adds a special color filter sensor which enables you to play around with color filters on your camera samples.
OnePlus 8 Pro camera specs
- 48MP IMX689 Sony Sensor with f/1.78 (OIS + EIS)
- 48MP IMX586 Sony Sensor with f/2.2 and 120-degree FOV
- 8MP Telephoto sensor with f/2.4 – 3x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom (OIS)
- 5MP Color Filter sensor with f/2.4
- Laser AF and Dual LED flash
OnePlus claims that the 8 Pro features an even better HDR tech than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The Pro model also comes with a Hybrid Image stabilization (OIS+EIS) and 3 microphones that support audio zoom.
As for the OnePlus 8, you will get a standard triple camera setup as its predecessor. You also get the same Hybrid OIS + EIS technology for stabilization.
OnePlus 8 camera specs
- 48MP IMX586 Sony Sensor with f/1.75 (OIS + EIS)
- 16MP Ultra Wide Angle Camera with f/2.4 and 116-degree FOV
- 2MP (1.75-micron pixels) Macro Camera with f/2.4 (up to 3cm)
- Dual LED Flash
Both models support a maximum video recording resolution of 4K 60fps.
As for the front camera, the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro will have a 16MP selfie punch-hole shooters with f/2.0 and f/2.4 apertures respectively.
OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro Battery
Both the new OnePlus models increase the battery capacity this year. This is a much-needed upgrade given their support for 5G and higher refresh rate displays.
The OnePlus 8 has a 4300mAh battery with 30W Warp Charge 30T fast charging.
The OnePlus 8 Pro comes with a 4510mAh battery with 30W fast charging and 30W Warp Charge 30 Wireless. It can go from 3% to 55% in just 30 minutes of wireless charging. The phone will likely support 3W reverse wireless charging too (yet to be confirmed)!
OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro Pricing
OnePlus has increased the pricing of the new OnePlus 8 series. The OnePlus 8 starts at $699 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB variant with the 12GB and 256GB model going for $799. As for the OnePlus 8 Pro, it starts at $899 for the 8GB + 128GB model and goes up to $999 for the 12GB + 256GB variant.
This will be a significant increase in pricing as compared to its predecessors. But the presence of 5G, premium features such as a MEMC chip, 120Hz display, SD865, and even wireless charging has finally pushed the entire OnePlus 8 series out of the affordable price segment.
In the US, the OnePlus 8 series will also be sold by Verizon for the first time. Open sales will kick off in North America from April 29. In Europe, pre-orders kick off from April 14 and open sales start from April 21.
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