OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro rumor review: design, specs, price and release date
OnePlus is poised to kick off its 2020 smartphone releases with the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8T in about six months but leaks and rumors about the two devices started coming surprisingly early. So much so, that it’s time for a roundup of everything we think we know so far.
Of course, there’s plenty more to come in the upcoming months so we’ll make sure to have this post up to date. If you think one of the OnePlus 8 models might be your next smartphone, this is the place to keep yourself informed. Now let’s get to it!
There are some major and minor changes coming to the OnePlus 8 line at the same time. How is that possible? Easy. The major changes are coming to the regular OnePlus 8 and the minor ones to the OnePlus 8 Pro. The non-pro version receives a design overhaul that pretty much makes it a clone of the Pro version. There are a couple of big changes.
First, the display is now with curved edges just like on the last two Pro versions. If this leak proves to be true, it will surely be a divisive one among the OnePlus fanbase. Plenty of users don’t like curved displays and up until now, they had the option to get an almost identical spec-wise OnePlus with a flat display. With that option gone, many might choose to skip this generation, hoping to outlast the curved display trend.
The second change is the new camera bump which is also basically the one from the OnePlus 7T Pro. Gone is the big circular one from the 7T, which isn’t really a big drawback as it wasn’t well-liked overall.
Render of the OnePlus 8 based on CAD drawings
There’s another major change, however, that’s coming to both the 8 and the 8 Pro: a hole in the display for the selfie camera. Yes, gone is the pop-up camera from the 7T Pro and the teardrop notch is following suit. Similar to what Samsung did with the Galaxy S10 series, renders show that the 8 Pro will have a pill-shaped hole, housing two cameras, while the 8 will have a small circular one. Will those renders match the reality, we’re yet to find out. Overall, it’s clear that the OnePlus 8 generation will closely follow the established aesthetics of the 2019 pro models. However, with such close resemblance, one question inevitably arises: Why even have two models? Maybe the internals will give us an answer.
OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro specs
If there’s one thing we don’t need leaks to tell us it’s that the next OnePlus phones will come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865. The new system chip should be announced soon and offer better GPU and CPU performance among other goodies, just like every year. 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for the base versions of the two phones is also a sure bet, although 10GB for the 8 Pro base model won’t surprise us either. 5G will likely still be available on a separate model in select markets. Okay, no major differences so far, let’s dig deeper!
Displays
Despite the OnePlus 8 allegedly receiving a curved-edge display as well, this is likely where the biggest difference between the 8 and the 8 Pro will be. Rumors suggest that next year the Pro OnePlus flagship will come with a 120Hz display. The experience improvement that will provide over 90Hz display is marginal, but those willing to upgrade from older devices will definitely notice a difference. The OnePlus 8, on the other hand, is expected to still rock a 90Hz, which is still awesome as far as we’re concerned.
When it comes to size, we expect only minimal changes for the two devices that will likely come from thinner bezels or slightly different aspect ratios. The OnePlus 8 Pro’s display should be around 6.7-inches and the OnePlus 8’s at around 6.5-inches.
Cameras
Another department where a difference between the 8 and the 8 Pro could be found. The Pro is rumored to have a 4th Time-of-Flight camera. That’s a common addition we’ve seen on smartphones recently. It should improve the phone’s AR capabilities and perhaps make for better portrait shorts but overall it’s not a feature users are seeking.
Alleged schematics of the OnePlus 8 on the left and the OnePlus 8 Pro on the right
The other three cameras will be the usual suspects: main, telephoto and ultra-wide-angle cameras and that trio is what the OnePlus 8 will likely be getting. If we’ll see a jump in picture quality will mostly depend on OnePlus’ camera software so we’ll have to wait until the devices are released to see if there was an improvement.
Wireless charging
Wireless charging is arguably the most important feature OnePlus devices are missing compared to other flagships but it seems that might change in 2020. The official reasoning coming from OnePlus is that it’s inefficient and slow compared to their Warp Charge wired charging, but it’s also believed to be a cost-cutting measure. Either way, some rumors suggest that the OnePlus 8 Pro will be the first phone from the brand with wireless charging.
Price and release date
Assuming that OnePlus sticks to its usual release schedule, we can expect the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro to be announced around the middle of May 2020. However, this year, with the introduction of its Pro model, OnePlus started alternating the availability of its phones in the US. First, it was only the OnePlus 7 Pro, then only the OnePlus 7T. With how similar the 8 models are shaping up to be, we can expect this to continue in 2020 with only OnePlus 8 Pro being officially released in the US.
And as for the price… that’s a hard one. Naturally, there’s nothing official yet, not even rumors. But judging by the upgrades that are coming, especially to the Pro model, we can expect another price bump. Hopefully, if that’s the case, OnePlus will manage to keep it within $50 and $100 or more.
The price of the non-Pro can potentially stay the same, but the curved-edge display makes us think that’s probably not going to be the case. What we’re saying is is that if you’re waiting to buy a OnePlus 8 model you better start mentally preparing for a higher price tag than what we’re used to seeing from OnePlus.
It will be unfortunate if this trend that OnePlus is following continues next year as well. Its once super-affordable flagships are now closer price-wise to what the big names in the field are offering and soon there might be no difference at all.