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OnePlus 8T
The OnePlus 8T lacks a specific feature or upgrade that makes it stand out when compared to its 8-series counterpart. What OnePlus did with the 8T device was to take everything that made its siblings fantastic, and made improvements in strategic areas to create this nice piece of tech.
OnePlus for an awfully long time has been adding bits of improvement in its T series flagship phone. And it has followed this pattern with the 8T instead of delivering significant upgrade.
If you are looking for the best OnePlus has to offer, then the 8T is the device for you. Even though it features the same processor and tech present in the OnePlus 8, there are enough changes to satisfy customers. For example, the OnePlus 8T has larger battery, a better camera setup and an improved screen tech.
The OnePlus 8T packs a 6.55-inch screen with a 1080 x 2400 AMOLED panel and a 120Hz refresh rate. These makes the 8T’s display perfect for playing games, watching movies and other media stuffs. The device also has an amazingly fast and responsive in-display fingerprint scanner too.
Considering the 8T’s design, OnePlus added a new Aquamarine Green color to the device. The position of the rear camera block has been changed to give a new rear look compared to OnePlus recent devices. However, this is not really a game-changer.
What Else?
Battery-wise, the 8T has a big 4500 mAh battery that can last a full day when fully charged. The phone is also equipped with fast charging technology, so you can top up your phone battery fast in case of an emergency.
The OnePlus 8T isn’t the phone with the best camera setup on the market. However, you will find many will find this better than most of their current devices. Considering the variety of modes and features on this device, shooting with the 8T camera is fun.
It doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking in the way of specs or features, but it’s rare that a new phone does these days. Instead, OnePlus is offering much of what you’ll get on the best devices from rival brands while undercutting those rivals on price, and it makes for another compelling release from the brand.
In the box of the OnePlus 8T, you will find a Charge 65 Power Adapter, Charge Type-C to Type-C Cable, LOGO Sticker, Screen Protector, SIM Tray Ejector, Quick Start Guide, Welcome Letter, Safety Information and Warranty Card.
OnePlus 8T price
The OnePlus 8T release date in the US is October 23, though it’s already on sale in the UK. OnePlus doesn’t sell its phones in Australia, so you won’t be able to buy this device there.
The One Plus 8T comes in different configurations. The configuration with an 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage starts at a cost of $700/£549/AU$990. The configuration with a 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage which will be available in the US has a starting cost of $749/£649/AU$1,175.
All these configuration cost less than the equivalent OnePlus 8 device. This is the first time OnePlus has dropped its prices for a T-series. This may however be frustrating for those in the US who want the cheaper 8GB RAM model but are stuck with only the 12GB RAM model.
[wptb id="1501" not found ]OnePlus 8T Design Review
OnePlus smartphones have a distinctive look from other devices. While the 8T looks every inch a OnePlus smartphone, Ther are a few design changes that distinguishes it from older OnePlus phones.
The OnePlus 8T has a premium design. The 8T has a glass rear, protected with the use of Gorilla Glass technology. It also has a metal frame this time. This premium design is however not up to what you will expect from major brand’s top-of-the-line phone.
The slim camera bump that houses the rear camera lenses and flash, formally present at the top-center of the last OnePlus series, is now at the top-let corner of the 8T. OnePlus says this was done to give room for the installation of a new cooling technology.
The OnePlus 8T sports a 6.55-inch AMOLED display and a punch hole cut out on the display for the selfie camera.
Button And SIM Slot Locations
The volume button of this device is at the left side of the phone, while the unlock button and silence slider are found at the right. The 8T has a single speaker found at the bottom of the device along with the USB-Type C port and a dual nano SIM slot.
The silence slider is a distinct element of the OnePlus device, considering most android phones don’t feature this slider. The slider allows you to switch between notification sounds, vibration or complete silence with ease.
The 8T has an in-display fingerprint sensor that has a quick response to fingerprint, there by unlocking your phone quickly and with ease.
The 8T measures 160.7mm x 74.1mm x 8.4mm, and weighs 188 grams. This is around the size of most flagship phones, and we found it comfortable to use in two hands.
The OnePlus 8T is available in two colors: Aquamarine Green or Lunar Silver. However, depending on where you’re buying the phone you may find that only one of these is available, so you may not have a choice.
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OnePlus 8T Display Review
The OnePlus 8T sports a large 6.55-inch display with minimal around the display, which maximizes the screen-to-body ratio for a near-all-screen look.
It packs a 2400 x 1080 screen resolution, which works up to a density of 402ppi. This simply means the 8T has a nice display for playing games, watching movies and other contents. The color output on the display of this device were beautifully reproduced.
For a Smoother display when scrolling your phone, playing games or using social media, OnePlus has included a 120Hz refresh rate on the 8T. This means the display refreshes twice as fast as the 60Hz display. This feature is becoming common in top-end phones.
The brightness of the display allows for use under sunlight without straining your eyes to see what is on the screen.
As on the OnePlus 8, the 8T selfie camera is housed behind a punch-hole at the top-left corner of the display. This doesn’t take up a lot of space, and it’s right in the corner of the phone, so it’s unobtrusive.
OnePlus 8T Camera Review
The OnePlus 8T has a Quad camera setup and dual LED flash at the rear panel, each of which brings something useful to the party.
It has a 48MP main camera with an f/1.7 aperture which features both optical and electronic image stabilization.
There is also a 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, a 5MP macro shooter, and a 2MP monochrome lens.
Shots taken with the 48MP main camera seem to look great in good lighting. Autofocusing is fast and images appear pleasing with natural looking colors and contrast.
Photos taken in low-light scenarios still looks great, with decent color and detail, but not as the ones taken in day light. There’s no dedicated telephoto camera here, as you’ll find on some top-end phones, but we found the built-in digital zoom worked well for most situations where we needed it.
Wow me!
It can zoom up to 10 times, but the quality drops down significantly when you’re using that. There’s also a macro camera, which we found was able to help with shooting close-up images, but it isn’t remarkably better than most other Android phones.
The 2MP monochrome camera works alongside the main camera to capture black-and-white images, the idea being that the resulting photos look more natural that color shots with a B&W filter applied, akin to photos taken with black-and-white film.
It’s an interesting idea, and we found it to work well, although we didn’t notice a huge difference between the resulting images and the ones, we applied a filter to. More serious students of photography may appreciate it though.
You can shoot 4K video at either 30 or 60 frames per second on the rear camera, with super slow motion available at 720p, and a time-lapse mode. The optical image stabilization helps make video recording smoother than on other phones too.
On the front of the phone is a 16MP front-facing camera, and we found this more than suitable for video calling as well as taking selfies.
Camera samples
OnePlus 8T performance Review
The OnePlus 8T packs one of the top chipsets in the world, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. This chipset helps the device perform outstandingly when it comes to multitasking and gaming. Although some flagship phones feature the more recent Snapdragon 865 Plus, which is optimized for gaming. The Snapdragon 865 on the 8T stacks up to this level when you opt to get the 12GB of RAM model.
The OnePlus 8T performed powerfully in everyday tasks such as loading apps, multitasking and gaming. While the gaming performance was impressive with no stuttering, visuals felt great as well.
The phone is running Android 11 software out of the box, which allows you to make use of a wide variety of new features. As on all OnePlus phones this comes with the company’s OxygenOS custom UI overlaid, which gives Android a distinctive look.
Conectivity
As with the other OnePlus 8 phones, the OnePlus 8T has 5G connectivity, enabling you to make the most of the next-gen internet connectivity. Note, to use 5G your carrier will have to support it, you’ll need a contract or SIM deal that offers 5G, and you’ll need to be in an area that has coverage.
We recommend you get the 12GB/256GB model of the 8T if you plan to use this device for a long time. This is because using a phone for long means more apps and media, and you wouldn’t want the stress of deleting things to free up space. Also, you need the extra RAM space to be able to run your apps and multitasks without slowing your phone’s performance and response time. Note that OnePlus phones don’t feature microSD expansion.
OnePlus 8T Battery life Review
The OnePlus 8T packs a bigger 4500mAh battery, which is slightly bigger than the 4300mAh battery in the OnePlus 8. Thers is a noticeable improvement in the battery life, as the OnePlus 8T battery can power the device for a day on full charge. At the end of most days, we often had 10-20% left in the tank. However, for those making use of the phone consistently, you may experience low battery before the end of the day. Therefore, a top up may be needed.
The OnePlus 8T battery is capable of competing with the best devices on the market when it boils down to battery life.
There’s no wireless charging, but the 8T does feature the company’s Warp Charge fast charging technology. This is some of the fastest charging tech available, and if you often find that you need to get a lot of juice into your phone quickly, you’ll be happy with what you get here.
OnePlus 8T Specification
General
| Brand | OnePlus |
| Model | 8T |
| Release date | 14th October 2020 |
| Launched in India | Yes |
| Form factor | Touchscreen |
| Dimensions (mm) | 160.70 x 74.10 x 8.40 |
| Weight (g) | 188.00 |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 4500 |
| Removable battery | No |
| Fast charging | Proprietary |
| Colors | Aquamarine Green, Lunar Silver |
Display
| Screen size (inches) | 6.55 |
| Touchscreen | Yes |
| Resolution | 1080×2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 |
| Pixels per inch (PPI) | 402 |
Hardware
| Processor make | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 |
| RAM | 12GB |
| Internal storage | 256GB |
| Expandable storage | No |
Camera
| Rear camera | 48-megapixel (f/1.7) + 16-megapixel (f/2.2) + 5-megapixel + 2-megapixel |
| Rear autofocus | Yes |
| Rear flash | Yes |
| Front camera | 16-megapixel (f/2.4) |
| Pop-Up Camera | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 |
| Skin | Oxygen OS 11 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| GPS | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v 5.10 |
| NFC | Yes |
| USB Type-C | Yes |
| Number of SIMs | 2 |
| SIM 1 | |
| SIM Type | Nano-SIM |
| GSM/CDMA | GSM |
| 3G | Yes |
| 4G/ LTE | Yes |
| 5G | Yes |
| Supports 4G in India (Band 40) | Yes |
| SIM 2 | |
| SIM Type | Nano-SIM |
| GSM/CDMA | GSM |
| 3G | Yes |
| 4G/ LTE | Yes |
| Supports 4G in India (Band 40) | Yes |
Sensors
| Face unlock | Yes |
| In-Display Fingerprint Sensor | Yes |
| Compass/ Magnetometer | Yes |
| Proximity sensor | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
READ OUR FULL:
Should I Buy The OnePlus 8T?
Buy it if you:
- Want a device with high RAM and internal storage space.
- Love the OnePlus look and feel.
- Need a decent game playing phone.
- Want a gorgeous screen with decent display resolution.
- Need a device with strong battery life.
- Want a device with good sound quality.
- Have the cash to spend on this device.
- Can do without wireless charging.
- Do not need the best camera on the market present in top-end phones like the Galaxy S20 or the Huawei P40 Pro.
The Final Verdict
The OnePlus 8T is not particularly a game changer in the 8-series. But it is another great phone from the brand, with a stunning display, a unique look, good battery life and a camera that impresses. If you’re looking for a smartphone that’s a touch cheaper than most top-end phones, but still offers plenty of premium features, you’ve found it.
The 8T is a good device, but my advice to anyone already using the OnePlus 8 is to remain with this device. However, I can recommend the OnePlus 8T cyberpunk 2077 edition for those that can get their hands on it. It has a much cooler finish and similar features to the 8T with few upgrades.
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