OnePlus 8 Review: Not Your Old Flagship Killer
Purchase Price: $699
buy on oneplus.com
Product Specs +
- 6.55 inch 1080p by 2400p
- 402ppi
- Fluid AMOLED
- Snapdragon 865
- 12GB of RAM
- 256 GB of storage
- 4300 mAH battery
- OxygenOS based on Android 10
Camera Specs +
Rear Cameras
- 48 MP F/1.75 Main
- 2 MP F/2.4, Macro
- 16 MP, F/2.2, Ultrawide
Selfie Cameras
- 16 MP F/2.45
Video
- Shoots 4k at up to 60 FPS
Clicking the buy button for the OnePlus 8 was a time machine to the past for me because I still remember my experience purchasing the original OnePlus One in 2014. Gone are the days of an invite system akin to how one would acquire a golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. OnePlus has made their devices more widely available for consumers and has become a household name in the technological world thanks to expansion with carriers. But the process of purchasing the phone itself wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Today, the OnePlus 8 retails for $699 and the OnePlus 8 Pro retails for $899. In the six years that have passed since its original launch, OnePlus has increased their pricing structure and changed their business methodology. In a race to compete with other brands, they’ve also expanded their product offerings. With the increase in cost and availability, is the OnePlus 8 worth the higher price in 2020?
a promising start
The OnePlus 8 is sold in two color options: interstellar glow and glacial green. Upon checkout, I had decided to review the interstellar glow version because of the multitude of colors it reflected on the back. While I still think the hues on the phone are stunning and make it stand out, this device is also a massive fingerprint magnet and should be used with a case.
The OnePlus 8 has a 6.55 inch curved screen, which makes it a relatively tall phone yet still comfortable to hold in the hand. This was my first experience using a curved display and while I think it makes the phone look aesthetically pleasing, I do admit that it’s just not too practical. I constantly found myself accidentally tapping apps I didn’t intend to open or phantom swiping. To be frank, a flat display would have worked just fine.
There’s also an optical fingerprint reader and face recognition as biometric login options. Both of which perform very fast on the device. I had a moment of skepticism during my review period as I was wearing a mask covering half my face and found that the facial scanner still accepted my request to enter. Despite the convenience of a quick unlock, it made me wonder if security could potentially be an issue. Nevertheless, that was the only instance in which I questioned the verification of facial recognition and found it to work the way it's supposed to in every other situation.
On the inside, the OnePlus 8 houses a Snapdragon 865 with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. There’s also 5G capabilities, which I’ve been able to use being on T-Mobile and I have to admit, it’s pretty fast. If you’re not familiar with OnePlus devices, they run on OxygenOS, which is their own skin on top of Android that closely resembles stock but also grants you the flexibility to customize many different things. The phone has a 1080p AMOLED display that provides users with immersive viewing angles. Colors are vividly and well saturated yet not to the point of oversaturation like what you would see on a Samsung Super AMOLED display.
Pretty darn snappy
Consuming media on the OnePlus 8 is also an enjoyable experience thanks to the 90 Hz refresh rate. There are plenty of new devices coming out with this number; some phones with even higher rates like the OnePlus 8 Pro at 120 Hz. What makes the OnePlus 8 series special, at least at the time of publication, is that OnePlus has partnered with Epic Games to enable Fortnite gameplay at 90 fps. I decided to test this out by playing Fortnite with my nephew who is a huge Fortnite fan. I quickly discovered that in order to play at the full 90 Hz refresh rate, the game had to be toggled to low graphical settings. If you want a higher graphical output, you have to drop down to 60 Hz. Despite the tradeoff, I found the gameplay to be buttery smooth for about 45 minutes until my phone began overheating and lagging. While gaming on the OnePlus 8 is certainly enjoyable it certainly wasn’t designed to be a gaming phone.
One of the most important features on any device should be battery life. I average more than 700 notifications a day and admittedly am on my phone a lot more than I should be. The OnePlus 8 houses a 4,300 mAH battery that was good, but not great. The phone would withstand usage most days for me but I occasionally still found myself charging intermittently before bedtime.
Room for improvement
There’s also a number of possible improvements I hope OnePlus will address in future devices. Despite having Dolby Atmos speakers on the OnePlus 8, I felt sound quality was average at best. There’s also no IP68 rating which I don’t think is a dealbreaker but definitely nice to have. However, the biggest annoyance I had with this $699 phone was the lack of wireless charging. For this price point, wireless charging should be included and even though the OnePlus 8 uses a 30 watt Warp Charger, the omission of wireless charging was one feature I was pretty disappointed in.
The last facet I think is critical to any phone review is the camera test. The OnePlus 8 has a 48 MP main camera in addition to a 16 MP ultrawide camera and a 2 MP macro lens. There’s also a 16 MP hole punch selfie camera that performs fairly solid. I found that the OnePlus 8 has difficulties capturing depth in photos, especially around a subject’s hairline. The seams merge with the background and the artificial bokeh has a hard time distinguishing when to be applied. Colors also appeared flat and emitted cooler tones that often made photos look unrealistic. There's definitely better mobile cameras on the market.
still a good buy
So does the OnePlus 8 warrant a $699 price tag? Yes, with some caveats. If you’re switching from a OnePlus 7 or 7T, it probably isn’t worth the jump. The average quality camera and lack of wireless charging were deterrents for me at that price point but it still makes a great device for those who may not care as much about mobile photography. Despite this, I’d most definitely still recommend this phone.
Shot on OnePlus 8
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Lida
Always the number cruncher, the former narrative journalist turned data scientist, can’t help but find herself bursting with excitement with each new generation of tech gadgets. After all, predicting future trends is Lida’s forte. Any gadget that survives Lida’s torturous, adult working woman itinerary of over 700 notifications a day deserves praise!