OnePlus launched the OnePlus 8 Series earlier this week. OnePlus is now trying to position themselves as an Ultra-Premium brand with the launch of the OnePlus 8 Series. This means the prices of the devices also went up to the Ultra-Premium segment. While the OnePlus 8 Pro might be good for the segment, the OnePlus 8 is not even an upgrade over the OnePlus 7 Pro.
You all might be wondering why we are comparing the OnePlus 7 Pro with the OnePlus 8? Well, that is because of the price they were launched at. OnePlus 7 Pro was launched at $669 while the OnePlus 8 has launched at $699. Let us just price match them now. Here, we can get the 8GB + 256GB variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro while we would be getting the 8GB + 128GB variant of the OnePlus 8.
The entire comparison here will be divided in 5 sections: Performance, Display, Camera, Battery and Price. At the end, we will have a conclusion to conclude our thoughts and specify what all the upgrades and downgrades are.
Performance
Both – OnePlus 8 as well as the OnePlus 7 Pro – were launched with the latest and greatest processor by Qualcomm – available at their respective launches. This means that the OnePlus 8 gets the Snapdragon 865 which even has 5G support while the OnePlus 7 Pro got the Snapdragon 855.
Snapdragon 865 is faster than the Snapdragon 855 – in terms of both – CPU as well as GPU. However, this does not mean Snapdragon 855 is much slower. Both are great processors and would easily last you for at least 2-3 years. Also, you might not even be able to feel much of a difference between the two in your daily tasks. There is one advantage to the 865 and that’s 5G. But the adoption rate of the 5G is still not high. And it is up to the user to decide if they really need 5G or not.
So yes, the Snapdragon 865 is overall a better processor which gives a win to the OnePlus 8. However, note that the Snapdragon 855 on the OnePlus 7 Pro is no slouch either.
Also, you might be surprised to know that OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 8 uses the same LPDDRX4 RAM and the same UFS 3.0 Storage. This means no improvements in terms of performance even through RAM and Storage.
Display
This is where the OnePlus 7 Pro shines. OnePlus 7 Pro was launched with a 6.67-inch 90Hz QHD+ AMOLED display. On the other side, OnePlus 8 was launched a few days ago with 6.55-inch 90Hz FHD+ AMOLED display. So, the resolution and size of the display on the OnePlus 7 Pro was higher was compared to the OnePlus 8.
Adding more to that, the OnePlus 8 now comes with a punch-hole on the display to accommodate the selfie camera. On the OnePlus 7 Pro, it was a full-screen display without any notches or cut-outs. The selfie camera on the OnePlus 7 Pro was housed in pop-up camera mechanism.
Camera
We have talked extensively about the camera on the OnePlus 8 being worse than the one on the OnePlus 7T. And well, almost everything applies here as well.
First, let us talk about the selfie camera as that’s what we were talking in the Display section. OnePlus 8 comes with a 16MP IMX471 sensor with f/2.45 aperture. This is the same sensor which has been used in several OnePlus devices now. And the OnePlus 7 Pro also came with the same 16MP IMX471 sensor. However, it had f/2.0 aperture – meaning more light would come in while taking selfies at night.
On the back, OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 7 Pro – both have a triple camera setup. However, their setup differs in some ways. So, let us talk about that.
OnePlus 8 comes with the 48MP IMX586 with f/1.75 aperture and a 6P lens as its primary camera. Now, this would have been okay if the OnePlus 7 Pro – a device which is about one year old now – didn’t already have a better setup. If you don’t remember, OnePlus 7 Pro came in with the same 48MP IMX586 sensor as primary. However, it was a 7P lens setup and it had a wider f/1.6 aperture.
Having a 7P lens instead of a 6P lens means that the quality of the light passing through would be quite a bit better. This would also reduce some imperfections you see around a subject. And having a wider aperture means you’ll have more light passing through the sensor. Also, the natural bokeh on the image would be much better.
Now, let’s get to the secondary ultrawide sensor on both devices. OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 8 – both use the same 16MP f/2.2 lens. However, the one on the OnePlus 7 Pro has a field of view of 117° while on the OnePlus 8, it’s 116°. That’s just a difference of 1°. But it is a difference, nonetheless.
For the third camera, OnePlus 8 went with the 2MP “dedicated” macro camera. OnePlus 7 Pro neither has a “dedicated” macro camera nor any macro functionality – like it was provided in the OnePlus 7T. However, it does have an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto lens which can give you 3x Optical/Lossless Zoom. And in our opinion, the implementation on the OnePlus 7 Pro is much better with a telephoto lens.
Battery
OnePlus 7 Pro launched with a 4,000 mAh battery with the support of 30W Warp Charging. OnePlus 8 did upgrade the battery capacity to 4,300 mAh and it still comes with the support of 30W Warp Charging. So, you might not see much of a difference in the battery department.
Price
As stated in the beginning of the article, the OnePlus 7 Pro was launched at $669 for the 6GB + 128GB variant. One can upgrade that to 8GB + 256GB variant by paying $30 more – which is extremely reasonable. This year, OnePlus 8 is launched at $699 for the 8GB + 128GB variant. For the higher 12GB + 256GB variant, you’ll now have to pay $799. So, for the same price at the launch, you were getting double the storage than what you would get with the OnePlus 8. If you got the highest 12GB + 256GB variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro, it would have still cost you $749. And that price is still lower than the highest variant of the OnePlus 8.
Also, if you didn’t already notice, we would like to point out some more things. The difference between the prices of the lowest and highest variants of OnePlus 7 Pro was $80. With those $80, you got 6GB extra RAM and 128GB extra storage. With the OnePlus 8, that difference has now increased to $100 and you’ll get 4GB extra RAM and 128GB extra storage. So again, higher price but lesser benefits.
All the prices we have mentioned here were the pricing at their respective launch events. However, during the sales, the prices of the OnePlus 7 Pro have been reduced quite a lot. The same might happen with the OnePlus 8 – but it’ll still not be worth it – because of the already bumped up pricing structure.
Conclusion
Overall, the OnePlus 8 costs higher than the OnePlus 7 Pro but there are more downgrades than the upgrades. You’ll be getting the latest Snapdragon 865 processor, 5G support, a slightly higher battery life and a macro camera. However, if the OnePlus 7 Pro is still available in your region and if you buy it, you’ll get a better display, no notches, a better camera array and a massive discount.
The purchase decision would still depend on your needs. But if we were to select one, we would still go for the OnePlus 7 Pro against the OnePlus 8. In our opinion, buying the OnePlus 8 makes absolutely zero sense right now. You’ll pay more and get less with the OnePlus 8 when compared to the OnePlus 7 Pro. If you are already rocking a OnePlus 7 Pro, there’s no need to downgrade to the OnePlus 8.
