OnePlus 8 Pro: 5 reasons to pick up this ‘fully formed’ Android [Video]

Damien Wilde | May 25 2020 - 9:00 am PT

When the OnePlus 8 Pro was officially unveiled, it came with a few question marks over what corners it might cut — as seen with previous OnePlus flagships.

However, rather than cut corners, OnePlus decided to give fans more or less what they have wanted and begged for. That just happened to be a flagship OnePlus smartphone that directly competes with the very best in the business on all fronts. No longer is there a “but” when recommending this latest release to people looking for a new flagship.

The result is one of the best smartphones on the market today — and a bumped price tag to match. When we’ve become accustomed to OnePlus smartphones with slightly lower, attractive prices with a few notable compromises to account for the discount, it might come as a shock that you’ll have to stump up a hefty extra lump sum to get hold of the OnePlus 8 Pro.

With that in mind, if you’re on the fence, just on the lookout, or want some reasons why the OnePlus 8 Pro is worth picking up, here are 5 reasons to go out and get one. Alternatively, if you are looking for something slightly more affordable, then we still recommend the OnePlus 7T over the slightly newer OnePlus 8.

120Hz QHD+ display

Arguably the standout of the OnePlus 8 Pro has to be the display. The QHD+ 102Hz AMOLED panel is absolutely stunning in person. When in full flow it’s a real game-changer in ways that 90Hz simply isn’t. The difference between 60Hz and 120Hz is so stark that it’s really hard to switch back to the lower framerate once you’ve tried it.

Unlike the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, you can actually run the display at full resolution and 120Hz. It makes this is the best display on the market by far. Nothing else really gets close — save the Oppo Find X2 Pro which has essentially the same panel. We definitely need more 120Hz displays across the smartphone market.

Wireless charging

For years, fans and detractors alike have complained about the weird aversion OnePlus seemingly had to add wireless charging support to its smartphones. That has finally been addressed with the OnePlus 8 Pro, as this is officially the only OnePlus smartphone to come with Qi charging out of the box.

You can access 30W wireless charging with a pricey $70 proprietary charger that is only available from the OnePlus store. To be completely honest, it does defeat the purpose of wireless charging, so you can top up using a normal wireless charger up to 10W speeds. It’s nice to have the option alongside the superfast 30W Warp Charging via a wire. Thankfully in 2020, no longer are your wireless chargers rendered useless with a OnePlus smartphone.

Performance

Performance has never really been an area that past or even present OnePlus phones have ever had a major issue, and the OnePlus 8 Pro is no different. The combination of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset, plenty of RAM, OxygenOS, superfast UFS 3.1 storage, and the 120Hz refresh rate display is heavenly.

Everything is slick and instantaneous. It helps that OxygenOS is optimized to take advantage of the impressive internals and hardware too. If you want the fastest experience on Android, then the OnePlus 8 Pro is the only way to go.

Design

OnePlus has really knocked their production quality up over the past few years, and while I lament the removal of the nifty pop-up camera, the OnePlus 8 Pro is certainly the best of the bunch so far. The fit and finish are exceptional. I would urge anyone to look at the Glacial Green color-shifting real panel and not find it attractive. From the curved glass display to the soft satin Glacial Green finish, this really is an undeniably gorgeous slab of tech.

Killer colors have been par for the course over recent releases, and the 8 Pro series has some more excellent options to choose from. If you’re not a fan of green, you can pick up the OnePlus 8 Pro in Onyx Black and Ultramarine Blue — both being equally impressive.

5G

I was reluctant to actually suggest that 5G is a reason to buy any smartphone, simply as the global infrastructure is still developing. However, there’s no denying that 5G is the future of wireless communications, web, and therefore our smartphones. Staying slightly ahead of the curve means that you can hold onto your device for longer — potentially saving yourself money in the long-term.

Because all flagship smartphones using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset in 2020 will also come with the Qualcomm X55 5G modem, you get superfast connectivity as standard. Of course you’ll need access to a 5G network — which is quite hard right now — but you’ll still be able to access superfast download and upload speeds when installed in your area.

Where can I get the best deal on the OnePlus 8 Pro?

In the US, the OnePlus 8 Pro is not officially being offered by any carrier. That means that to get hold of one, you’ll have to buy directly from OnePlus, or for the first time in the US, Amazon, starting at $899.