Our Hands-On Review of the OnePlus 8 Pro Smartphone
The OnePlus 8 Pro Android smartphone is a momentous product for its ambitious maker. It’s no longer a value-packed offering with shortcomings like its predecessors, but a legit contender for the best of its kind — an excellent 5G powerhouse that makes its $899 starting price tag feel like an awesome deal.
Key Specs
• 6.8-inch Liquid AMOLED display with a resolution of 3,168 by 1,440 pixels; 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, under-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset
• 8/12 GB of RAM; 128/256 GB of storage
• Quad camera with 48 MP main, 48 MP ultra wide, 8 MP telephoto, 5 MP color filter sensors; 16 MP selfie camera
• 4,510 mAh battery with fast wired and wireless charging tech
• Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos compatibility
• Android 10 with OxygenOS custom interface
After spending a couple of weeks with the OnePlus 8 Pro, I believe that it’s the best big Android phone worth your attention today. It ticks all the boxes that a top-shelf smartphone should, like wireless charging and a fully waterproof build, but for less than its rivals.
Here’s why we love the OnePlus 8 Pro.
It’s Sleek and Durable
The most exciting bit about the design of the OnePlus 8 Pro is its fully waterproof build — it has an IP68 rating, which is on par with Apple’s and Samsung’s top smartphones. This is a big deal for OnePlus, because the essential feature was notably missing in the 8 Pro’s predecessors.
Save for the in-display selfie camera that’s common for many Android phones these days, the OnePlus 8 Pro looks just like last year’s model. It's large screen takes up the majority of the front of the phone, while the back is made with glass. The latter is available with a gorgeous blue or green matte finish, as well as a standard glossy black.
It Has a Marvelous Display
The gigantic 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display of the OnePlus 8 Pro is nothing short of spectacular and among the industry’s best. It is sharp, vibrant, and visible even under direct sunlight. Its 120 Hz maximum refresh rate, on the other hand, makes onscreen interactions fluid, instant, and consistently dazzling.
I enjoyed the 8 Pro's screen every time I powered it on. From scrolling through emails and webpages, to watching HDR-enhanced content on Netflix, to gaming on the go (a number of popular Android titles support graphics with high refresh rate), it excelled on every occasion.
OnePlus has complemented the screen with equally immersive stereo speakers, compatible with Dolby Atmos. I enjoyed the sonic experience — the sound came out crisp and surprisingly powerful.
It Has an Excellent Camera
All OnePlus smartphones from 2019 had top-notch camera performance and the 8 Pro continues this trend. The device’s main camera setup has a quartet of sensors with versatile optics, including one that’s tasked with adding cool effects to your photos.
Thanks to the intuitive camera app, making the most out of the capable hardware will be effortless.
During my testing, the 8 Pro captured high-quality images with accurate colors and accurate dynamic range. The sharp 4K video was also solid, with a brisk frame rate and reliable stabilization. It’s worth noting that, unlike high-end phones from LG and Samsung, the 8 Pro can’t capture 8K video.
It’s Monstrously Powerful
The OnePlus 8 Pro is among the most powerful Android smartphones available today. It packs Qualcomm’s most powerful chipset, combined with ultra fast RAM and storage to guarantee that there’s no task that can slow it down.
In line with my expectations, apps and games opened instantly on the smartphone during my testing. Switching between a multitude of them was also a breeze. Overall, when it comes to processing power and performance, the OnePlus 8 Pro is as mighty and futureproof as a 2020 Android smartphone gets.
It Changes the Wireless Charging Game
Thanks to its gigantic battery, the OnePlus 8 Pro easily made it through a full day of heavy use between battery charges. If you are mindful about the display’s resolution and refresh rate (there’s an option to lower both), the phone will last even longer.
Ultra fast wired charging has been a calling card for OnePlus smartphones for a long time, and it’s now available on the 8 Pro. The Warp Charge 30T tech gets the device’s battery up to 50% in just a tad over 20 minutes.
The OnePlus 8 Pro is also the brand’s first smartphone to have wireless charging. Dubbed Warp Charge 30 Wireless, the feature is the fastest in the business — it’s fantastic and well worth the long wait for its arrival.
Warp Charge 30 Wireless requires a OnePlus wireless charger — the company’s first accessory of this kind. When connected, the 8 Pro will charge from 0 to 50% in just 30 minutes. That’s super fast — and faster than the wired charging capabilities of most smartphones out there.
Wrap-Up
If you are shopping for a big-screen, big-spec Android smartphone and don’t want to spend upwards of $1,200 on a Samsung Galaxy S20+ or Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (this one starts at $1,400), you need to consider the OnePlus 8 Pro.
In case you find the Pro too pricey, consider the OnePlus 8 instead. It has the same design and top-tier specs, but a slightly smaller 6.6-inch display with lower resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate. It's also not waterproof and not compatible with wireless charging, but it starts at $699.
T-Mobile and Verizon offer OnePlus 8 variants that are tailor-made for their 5G networks. Curiously, unlike the unlocked model, both carrier-specific iterations have an official IP68 rating for water resistance, thus making them worth their slightly higher pricing.
OnePlus offers the 8 Pro with 128 GB or 256 GB of non-expandable storage. I highly recommend that you opt for the larger option, because it includes more RAM (12 GB vs 8 GB in the entry-level variant).
Read More:
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More of Our Favorite Smartphones of 2020
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