Phone Comparisons: OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus has announced its new flagship smartphones today, and we’re here to compare them. In this article, we’ll compare the OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro. These two phones are quite similar in some way, like in the design department. Don’t let that fool you, as the internals are quite different here. They may seem similar as well, but they’re considerably more different in the spec department than the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro were.

There’s no doubt that both phones have plenty to offer, though. We’re here to find out which of these two devices is the best fit for you. The OnePlus 8 is considerably more affordable, but the 8 Pro definitely packs more of a punch. Price tags grew quite a bit for both devices, though, so keep that in mind before we get into it. That being said, let’s kick off the OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro comparison, shall we.

Specs

	OnePlus 8	OnePlus 8 Pro
Screen size	6.55-inch fullHD+ Fluid AMOLED display (90Hz)	6.78-inch QHD+ Fluid AMOLED display (120Hz), MEMC
Screen resolution	2400 x 1080	3168 x 1440
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
RAM	8GB / 12GB (LPDDR4X)	8GB/12GB (LPDDR5)
Storage	128GB/512GB (UFS 3.0); non-expandable	128GB/256GB (UFS 3.0); non-expandable
Rear cameras	48MP (f/1.7 aperture, Sony IMX586, OIS/EIS, PDAF) 16MP (f/2.2 aperture, 116-degree FoV, ultra-wide lens) 2MP (macro camera, 1.75um pixel size, f/2.4 aperture)	48MP (Sony IMX689 sensor, f/1.7 aperture, 1.12um pixel size, OIS, EIS, PDAF, laser autofocus) 48MP (Sony IMX586 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 120-degree FoV) 8MP (telephoto zoom, 3x optical hybrid, f/2.4 aperture, OIS) 5MP (color filter, f/2.4 aperture)
Front cameras	16MP (Sony IMX471, f/2.4 aperture, EIS, fixed focus)	16MP (Sony IMX471, f/2.4 aperture, EIS, fixed focus)
Battery	4,300mAh, non-removable, 30W fast battery charging	4,510mAh, non-removable, 30W fast battery charging, 30W fast wireless charging, 3W reverse charging
Dimensions	160.2 x 72.9 x 8mm	165.3 x 74.4 x 8.5mm
Weight	180 grams	199 grams
Connectivity	LTE, 5G, NFC, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C	LTE, 5G, NFC, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C
Security	In-display fingerprint scanner (optical)	In-display fingerprint scanner (optical)
OS	Android 10 OxygenOS	Android 10 OxygenOS
Price	$699 / $799	$899 / $999
Buy	OnePlus	OnePlus

Design

These two smartphones are extremely similar-looking. It is possible to tell the difference based on several things, but to most people, they’ll look the same, essentially. Both devices are made out of metal and glass. Both phones include a curved display on the front, while the back side is also curved. Bezels are extremely thin on both of them, and you’ll notice a display camera hole in the top-left corner of the display… that goes for both phones as well.

Now, that display camera hole is a bit smaller on the 8 Pro, but that’s almost impossible to see. The OnePlus 8 Pro is also a bit larger than its siblings, so you can easily tell them apart when they stand one next to the other. The back side is quite revealing, though, and it makes it easy to recognize which phone is which. The OnePlus 8 Pro includes one more camera on the back, its LED flash is positioned differently, and it also includes laser autofocus, unlike its sibling.

Their cameras are vertically-aligned

As you can see, the OnePlus 8 includes three vertically-aligned cameras. An LED flash sits right below those three cameras, and they’re centered on the back. All three cameras protrude a bit, and are a part of the same camera module. The OnePlus 8 Pro has a somewhat different setup. Three of its cameras are a part of the same camera module, and are also centered on the back. The fourth one is placed to the left of those three cameras, which is where the laser autofocus and LED flash are also placed.

Both phones are slippery, but not as slippery as some other glass-made phones in the market. That’s thanks to OnePlus’ soft texture finish on those back panels. So, as you can see, these two phones are quite similar in terms of design. We can’t really select one considering how similar they are, which is why this category will end in a tie.

Winner: Tie

OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Display

The OnePlus 8 Pro not only has a higher-res display than its siblings, but that display is also larger. That’s not all, though, the display on the OnePlus 8 Pro also offers a higher refresh rate, and it comes with a MEMC chip, and a different aspect ratio. This is a category in which the two phones are definitely not as similar. The panel on the OnePlus 8 is nothing to scoff at, quite on the contrary.

The OnePlus 8 features a 6.55-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) Fluid AMOLED display. This display offers 90Hz refresh rate, and we’re looking at a 20:9 aspect ratio here. This display does support HDR10+ content, by the way. The OnePlus 8 Pro includes a 6.78-inch QHD+ (3168 x 1440) Fluid AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. This display comes with a 19.8:9 aspect ratio, and it also supports HDR10+ content. The MEMC chip’s goal is to make things even smoother, especially for content that is not made for high refresh rate displays.

Both of these displays are great. They offer punchy colors, great viewing angles, and those deep blacks that you’d expect out of OLED displays. Content on the OnePlus 8 Pro’s display does feel smoother, though, thanks to a higher refresh rate, but most of you won’t care about that. 90Hz refresh rate is still above average, and will be more than enough for most people. The difference in resolution is almost impossible to see, which says a lot about the OnePlus 8’s panel. Still, this category does go to the OnePlus 8 Pro’s panel, the higher refresh rate is the main reason why, and also that MEMC chip which does play an important part in this story.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Performance

So, what about performance? Will you be losing out if you get the regular model instead of the ‘Pro’ one? Well, no, not really. Let’s get over the specs part first. Both of these phones are fueled by Qualcomm’s most powerful processor at the moment, the Snapdragon 865. That is a beastly SoC, and in the case of both of these phones, that is backed by plenty of RAM as well. Both phones come in 8GB and 12GB RAM variants. Truth be said, the OnePlus 8 Pro offers faster RAM than the regular model, LPDDR5 vs LPDDR4X, but that won’t make much difference in real-life usage.

These two phones are extremely fast, and truth be said, we did not notice any difference in the performance between the two of them. They fly through everything you throw at them, be it games, multitasking, media consumption, image processing, video processing, you name it. OnePlus has once again put great focus on the performance aspect of its flagships, and that definitely pays off. Most flagships that are currently available are quite fast, and these two are amongst the fastest one, without a doubt.

Both phones also offer high refresh rate displays, which only helps with the smoothness part. Those two displays put more strain on the processor and battery, especially the one on the ‘Pro’ model, but that is not something that should bother you. The Snapdragon 865 is a beastly SoC, and the strain caused by a high refresh rate display is not noticeable by any means. All in all, feel free to get either one of these two phones if you’re into performance, as both will deliver what you expect, and then some.

Winner: Tie

OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Battery

The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro ship with 4,300mAh and 4,510mAh battery packs, respectively. Is that enough to keep them going throughout the day? Well yes, it is. The OnePlus 8 comes with a smaller display, lower resolution, and lower refresh rate, which is why it has a smaller battery. It makes sense, right? Well yes, it does. Let us put it this way, that very same battery was included in the OnePlus 7T last year, and that device offered the same display size, and refresh rate, but a less efficient processor.

That being said, the battery life on the OnePlus 7T was great. Well, the same can be said for the OnePlus 8 as well. This phone will get most of you over 6 hours of screen on time every day, though that will depend on your usage, of course. The OnePlus 8 Pro is not far from that either. That handset may offer ever-so-slightly less impressive battery life, but truth be said, it should be able to get over 5-6 hours of screen-on-time for most of you. OnePlus did well when it comes to optimizing that QHD+ 120Hz display, that’s for sure.

Both of these phones offer fast battery charging as well. Both devices offer Warp Charge 30T, which is OnePlus’ proprietary fast wired charging. The OnePlus 8 Pro also offers 30W wireless charging, and 3W reverse wireless charging. Having that in mind, we’ll give this category to the OnePlus 8 Pro. It may be just a little bit less impressive in terms of battery endurance, but it makes that up with extremely fast wireless charging.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Cameras

In case you’re buying one of these two phones based on their camera prowess, get the ‘Pro’ model. That’s not to say that the regular model has poor camera quality, not at all, but the ‘Pro’ stands out. OnePlus included a brand new Sony sensor in the OnePlus 8 Pro, as its main sensor, the IMX689. That sensor is not included in the regular model. Interestingly enough, that sensor was also included in the OPPO Find X2 and Find X2 Pro. Both of those phones have proven to offer great camera quality, and the ‘Pro’ is not far from it.

The pictures taken with the OnePlus 8 Pro are… well, really good. You’ll great dynamic range, and really sharp images, especially in good lighting conditions. The phone can take impressive shots in the dark as well, and if you utilize ‘Nightscape’ mode for low light photography, you can get some truly bright shots. If you want, you can even make those images taken during the night more like they were taken during the day. Some people won’t like that, though, of course. The OnePlus 8 does not lag that far behind when it comes to image quality, though.

The ‘Pro’ model is superior in low light environments

It can take some really impressive shots in daylight, but it is noticeably inferior to the ‘Pro’ model in a nighttime environment. It loses in details when the light goes away, images end up being softer. The ultrawide camera on the ‘Pro’ model is also superior. The ‘Pro’ model actually uses the main sensor of the regular model as its wide-angle camera, with a wide-angle lens, of course. That is a really good sensor, and even in nighttime conditions, you’ll be able to get some great-looking wide-angle images. The regular OnePlus 8 model has an inferior sensor in that regard as well, and that is visible during the night. Still, you can get solid ultra-wide night shots with this phone as well. The front-facing camera is really good on both phones, but nothing to write home about. The OnePlus 8 Pro is the winner here, though, for sure.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Audio

What about audio? Well, the two phones are basically identical in that regard. Both devices offer stereo speakers, and those speakers are the same. The main speaker is placed at the bottom of the phone, while the secondary one is front-facing, it sits above the display. Sound quality is quite similar to what the OnePlus 7 and 7T series were able to provide. So, it’s really, really good, but nothing mind-blowing. Those speakers get plenty loud, while they’re quite clear as well. Dolby Atmos support is included, and it probably helps. Distortion is quite minimal, and it is noticeable only on high volumes.

If you plug in your headphones via a Type-C port, or connect them via Bluetooth, you’ll get some solid sound output. Do note that your headphones need to be good enough, though, of course. Highs and mids are more impressive than lows here, but the sound is quite pleasing overall. You’ll feel enough bass as well. All in all, both of these phones offer really good sound quality, just don’t expect them to blow everything out of the water.

Winner: Tie

The overall winner

	OnePlus 8	OnePlus 8 Pro
Design	✓	✓
Display		✓
Performance	✓	✓
Battery		✓
Cameras		✓
Audio	✓	✓

That brings us to the end of our OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro comparison. The ‘Pro’ model is the winner of this comparison, no doubt about that. The phone is superior in the camera, battery, and display categories. The battery domination is due to the wireless charging, nothing else, though. In any case, both of these phones are great options. If you’d like to spend less, and get a slightly smaller device, the OnePlus 8 is the phone for you. If you’d like to get the best OnePlus has to offer at the moment, and the price is not a problem, get the ‘Pro’ model.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro