OnePlus is now launching the eighth edition of its popular smartphone series. But this time, a lot has happened. What should immediately catch most people’s eye is probably the price of the new smartphone from the Far East. For example, you have to spend at least 899 euros on the counter to purchase the OnePlus 8 Pro. In comparison, the pioneer, the One Plus One, cost just 269 euros at the time of market launch. But is the much higher price for the Chinese company’s latest “flagship killer” worth it? We would like to take a closer look at this in our test.
The way in another direction
With OnePlus you can truly speak of a success story. The Chinese company started out as a small start-up that wanted to enrich and stir up the world of smartphones when it was founded in 2013. With the market launch of its first smartphone, the OnePlus One, the company was already able to build a reliable and enthusiastic fanbase around itself. In the meantime, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer is one of the big players in the smartphone market. The first smartphone in the success story was the OnePlus One in April 2014, which already showed the clear line the company is following. The goal was always to create a smartphone that could score points with an unrivalled price-performance ratio.
But now something seems to have changed. The elephant in the room is the price. Comparing the prices of the market launch, the new OnePlus 8 Pro costs more than three times the price of the OnePlus One. Here, something seems to have changed in the company strategy. This change already began last year with the OnePlus 7T. While the first six generations of the smartphone made compromises in favour of important and practical functions, the OnePlus 7, for example, offered a really good camera for the first time. This was always a weakness of its predecessors. However, the camera of a smartphone in particular causes high costs, which are reflected in the final market price. In addition to a good camera, this year’s OnePlus Pro is supposed to boast other features such as IP certification and wireless charging.
The data sheet
What immediately stands out at first glance is the power that is under the hood of the OnePlus 8 Pro. The Chinese company relies on the powerful Snapdragon 865, which not only offers a lot of power, but is also prepared for the future. With an integrated X55 modem, the powerful processor becomes a 5G processor. Thus, the new mobile phone standard can come for buyers of the OnePlus 8 Pro. The high-end smartphone’s RAM also makes for big eyes. After all, up to 12 GB RAM is possible in the new OnePlus. The basic version still offers a proud 8 GB. The fact that the memory can’t be expanded is sobering. The buyer must be satisfied with the built-in memory of 128 GB or 256 GB.
Details
| Software | android 10 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 |
| Display | 1,440 x 3,168 pixels on 6.78 inch (OLED) |
| Working memory | 8 GB or 12 GB |
| Internal memory | 128 GB or 256 GB |
| Battery capacity | 4510 mAh |
| USB | USB-C |
| Weight | 199g |
| Price | 899 Euro (128 GB) or 999 Euro (256 GB) |
The scope of delivery
The first impression
When you hold the OnePlus 8 Pro in your hands for the first time, it creates a truly wow effect. The virtually rimless smartphone not only impresses with a truly elegant design. The workmanship also leaves nothing to be desired. Nothing creaks here and I could also not notice any disturbing unevenness. Everything seems to be cast from one piece. Due to the barely existing display edges, one doesn’t notice the color of the case at first sight. If you turn it around, our test device shines in an extremely nice matt mix of blue and green. This color tone changes slightly when the smartphone is moved, which creates a unique effect. OnePlus uses matt glass on the back. Here, the manufacturer is strongly oriented towards the competition from Apple.
Beautiful but slippery back side
Although the matt effect makes the back look very chic and elegant, the matting also brings risks. Thus, the OnePlus 8 Pro does not lie very firmly in the hand. Those who do not pay attention here will quickly drop the expensive device on the floor. Fortunately, OnePlus includes a mobile phone cover. Thus, the users can protect themselves from unpleasant falls of the expensive smartphone. The mobile phone cover brings another positive aspect with it. If you place the OnePlus 8 Pro on a level table, it shakes. This is due to the protruding camera. Thanks to the mobile phone cover, this problem is eradicated.
Practical slider
Similar to the iPhone, smartphones from OnePlus also have a practical switch that mutes the smartphone. This feature is the perfect solution in many situations. If you need to get into a meeting quickly, you will be happy about the possibility to mute the smartphone in a flash. However, the slider has one advantage over Apple products. Thus, with the OnePlus 8 Pro one not only has the choice between mute and loud. The user can choose between three different modes. Besides “mute” and “sound”, the “vibration” mode is also possible.
Reference in terms of vibration
The OnePlus 7T’s outstanding vibration motor was already noticeable. Here, OnePlus has added a shovel to the OnePlus 8 Pro. The vibration is by no means despicable and disturbing. Here, OnePlus relies on a very gentle vibration. Those who find it too soft can adjust the strength in the settings.
The display
The OnePlus 8 Pro is anything but a small smartphone. Of course, the OnePlus follows the trend of ever larger mobile phones. But large smartphones also bring great advantages. First and foremost is the large display. These invite you to play games and other entertainment. With the OnePlus 8 Pro, one looks at a 6.8 inch large, almost borderless display. Here it directly competes with the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Display with 120 Hz
When the Galaxy S20 came on the market, it impressed many with its high refresh rate of 120 Hz. OnePlus is now also taking this step. The OnePlus 8 Pro doesn’t offer the usual 60 Hz, but also lightning-fast 120 Hz. Once you’ve operated a 120 Hz smartphone, you don’t want to go back to lower refresh rates. Apart from soft animations, the display also reacts incredibly fast. This is not only noticeable when operating in general, but also when gaming.
Almost borderless
The display bezels of modern smartphones are becoming ever narrower. This is also the case with the OnePlus 8 Pro. Thus, the front of the smartphone consists of 90 percent display. Not much of the 10 percent frame can be seen. This is certainly also due to the rounded display edges.
High resolution/high brightness
The OnePlus 8 Pro uses QHD resolution. The 3168 x 1440 pixels ensure a razor-sharp image. Thanks to the pixel density of 513 pixels per inch, you can only guess at small dots. Apart from the high pixel density, the smartphone offers extremely convincing brightness values. You can manually turn the display up to a proud 609 cd/m². But the OnePlus 8 Pro can also add a little more. If you use it in bright sunshine, you can look forward to an automated adjustment of the brightness of the smartphone. Up to 1039 cd/m² are possible here.
Saturated colors and great contrast
Thanks to OLED technology, the OnePlus 8 Pro can display not only vibrant, but above all rich colours. These come across very naturally. But also the black levels are, typical for OLEDs, breathtaking. In combination with the great brightness values, a contrast ratio of 158:1 is achieved. Thanks to this high contrast, HDR content is also delivered in breathtaking quality. The OnePlus 8 Pro doesn’t have to hide behind the industry leader Samsung in terms of display. The Chinese have done a great job here.
The battery
Another advantage of a large smartphone is also the size of the battery. After all, a large housing can also accommodate a large battery. The OnePlus 8 Pro offers a battery with a capacity of a proud 4510 mAh. But the amazing thing is not the capacity per se, but the charging behaviour of the OnePlus 8 Pro. Thus, the big battery is already fully charged within 70 minutes. This is also due to the powerful provided power supply with a proud 30 watts. Those who do not have that much time can still make a short pit stop with their OnePlus. After 30 minutes of charging, over 60 percent of the battery is available again.
First wireless charging
What has become commonplace among the high-priced competition is something that OnePlus had never before experienced – wireless charging. Now the OnePlus 8 Pro can also be charged wirelessly. The manufacturer offers a special wireless charging station for this purpose. It charges the smartphone with a proud 30 watts. This means that it is in no way inferior to the potent power supply unit from the scope of delivery in terms of performance. Thus, it’s hardly surprising that the charging process here only takes about 80 minutes. This is a revolution in the field of wireless charging.
Permanent battery
In order to put the battery through its paces, I carried out a small endurance test. Here the display brightness was set to 200 cd/m². Moreover, the OnePlus 8 Pro permanently surfed the internet and played videos. During the whole procedure, there was an internet connection via LTE. The OnePlus 8 Pro held out for a proud eleven hours in this marathon run. But this result has to be put into perspective. The smartphone only shows such endurance in 60 Hz mode. If the refresh rate is set to 120 Hz, the battery is empty after about nine and a half hours.
Very strong performance
From the first moment of use, you can feel the power of the Snapdragon 865, with its maximum clock speed of 2.84 GHz, providing butter-soft performance on the OnePlus 8 Pro. In combination with the 12 GB memory, the smartphone is up to any challenge. So it’s not surprising that it finishes with top marks in the common benchmarks. Thus, the OnePlus 8 Pro achieves a proud 11,440 points in PCMark. However, you don’t have to be a passionate gamer in order to benefit from the strong processor. It’s already noticeable in everyday tasks how everything runs smoothly and smoothly. You jump from one application to the next without having to accept annoying loading times.
Enhanced camera
The current trend in smartphones is towards more and more camera lenses. The OnePlus 8 Pro also follows this trend. But one thing is very different. OnePlus takes a different approach than its competitors from Apple or Samsung in the arrangement of the camera lenses. While the camera lenses of the iPhone 11 or the Samsung S20 fit in the form of a chunky square in the upper left corner of the back, OnePlus uses a different solution. The Chinese flagship smartphone centers the four lenses in the middle of the back.
The four lenses
The OnePlus 8 Pro offers a total of four different camera lenses. The main camera offers a proud 48 megapixels. The camera’s ultra-wide angle sensor also offers 48 megapixels. In addition to these two lenses, the smartphone also has a telephoto lens with a triple optical zoom and a color filter lens. OnePlus attaches great importance to the way its color filter lens works. According to the manufacturer, it uses a revolutionary laser system for light processing. This distinguishes it strongly from the competition. The powerful photo lenses also allow videos to be shot at 60 fps in 4K resolution.
Convincing picture quality
The OnePlus cameras were always okay to good. However, this was not surprising. After all, the price-performance-winning smartphone had to make savings at some point. The OnePlus 7T changed all that. As the price increased, the camera also improved noticeably. With the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Chinese smartphone experts are now putting a shovel in the works. Although it does not come close to the quality of an iPhone 11 Pro, for example, the pictures are really great.
Convincing pictures with ultra wide angle
Saturated colours and convincing contrasts
Sharp macro shots
Up to 30x zoom possible
Night shots
The strengths of the four camera lenses are particularly evident in daylight. The photos are not only rich in contrast, but also show great, natural colours. However, in the absence of light, you can also notice the somewhat weaker picture results. In this case you should definitely make sure that you hold the camera steady. Whilst the pictures in daylight can keep up with top smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, quality differences show up in favor of the competition in low light conditions. The Selfie camera also knows how to convince. Here, however, no real differences to the predecessor model can be seen.
Praiseworthy equipment
With the OnePlus 8 Pro you get an Android smartphone that is suitable as a daily companion. The newest Android 10 is pre-installed, but you don’t get a stock Android with it. OnePlus gives the Google operating system with Oxygen OS its own signature. Besides a slightly customized design you also get practical additional functions. You can choose between 128 GB and 256 GB in the OnePlus 8 Pro. A total of almost 30 GB are occupied from the initial setup. Thus, the user has at least about 100 GB, respectively about 220 GB of storage space available. Those who choose the variant with a small memory will be annoyed that a MicroSD slot is not available. This is due to the water density. Those who use several SIM cards will be happy that the OnePlus 8 Pro is dual SIM capable. In addition to Dual-SIM, the OnePlus 8 Pro also offers 5G compatibility.
The features
The price of the new flagship OnePlus is very different from the manufacturer’s early smartphones. With an entry price of almost 900 euros, it costs about three times as much as the first OnePlus smartphone. However, the new OnePlus 8 Pro also stands for uncompromising technology. Unlike the first OnePlus One, it does not concentrate on the essentials, but offers a strong all-round package. Here, OnePlus is apparently increasingly orienting itself towards the competition.
Musical entertainment
The user looks in vain for a headphone jack on the new OnePlus smartphone. This is where alternatives must be found. Either one connects the appropriate headphones via the USB-C port or one uses Bluetooth headphones. Unfortunately, OnePlus does not include an adapter (USB-C on jack). This decision is not really comprehensible in view of the high price. Speaking of audio entertainment, one can say a few words about the integrated loudspeakers. OnePlus has done a really good job here. The stereo loudspeakers offer a rich sound.
Connection standards
The OnePlus 8 Pro also offers the latest in wireless connectivity. In addition to WiFi 5 and WiFi 6, it supports Bluetooth 5.1 and NFC. Especially the new Bluetooth standard is very commendable. OnePlus has taken a pioneering step here. The built-in USB-C port is also up to date with version 3.1.
For the first time protection against dust and water
Another first for the OnePlus 8 Pro is the protection against water and dust. On the quiet, users of past OnePlus smartphones were already aware that the device is very well protected against external influences. Now OnePlus has had this protection certified. With its IP68 certification, the OnePlus 8 Pro is officially protected against water and dust.
fingerprint sensor or face recognition ?
When unlocking the OnePlus 8 Pro, the user can choose between three different options. First of all, the classic entry of a numerical code. In addition to this antiquated option, OnePlus now also offers face recognition and a fingerprint sensor. Face recognition can by no means keep up with Face-ID from iPhone. This is because OnePlus only creates a two-dimensional image of the user. This offers only a low level of security. The optical fingerprint sensor, on the other hand, is convincing. OnePlus hides it under the display glass. It worked consistently reliable and lightning fast throughout the test.
Conclusion of the OnePlus 8 Pro review
With the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Chinese company has launched a real smartphone cracker onto the market. It does not have to hide behind the competition from Samsung, Apple or Huawei. But the whole thing also has a bland aftertaste – the high price. Once the OnePlus was considered a so-called “flagship killer” at a low price. Now, one has to pay a proud 899 euros for the cheapest OnePlus 8 Pro with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage space. Those who want more can choose the version with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB memory. But this costs 999 euro. These prices are nevertheless justified. The OnePlus 8 Pro is convincing throughout in the test. This starts with the great workmanship and ends with the breathtaking display. Thus, the former flagship killer itself has become the flagship.
OnePlus 8 Pro
Workmanship
Hardware
Multimedia
Performance
Battery
Value for money
91/100
With the OnePlus 8 Pro, the flagship killer itself becomes the flagship for the first time. Apple, Samsung and Co. have to dress warmly!
