The | The comparison
Like every season, the latest OnePlus 8 series made a lot of noise when it launched, but was quickly compared to its respective predecessors to question its value proposition. The OnePlus 7T is considered one of the best affordable flagships of last year, the OnePlus 8 had big shoes to fill. With most of the specifications so similar in the middle, many have questioned the new flagship's higher asking price. To help you with this comparison, we compared the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 7T over the course of a quick few weeks to try to understand how these differences really affect the user experience. It also shows how mature OnePlus products have been over the year.
Prices in India
ConfigurationOnePlus 7TOnePlus 86 Go, 128 Go-Rs 41 9998 Go, 128 GoRs 34999 Rs 44 9998 Go, 256 GoRs 37999-12 Go, 256 Go-Rs 49999 Colors Color Ice Blue, Frosted Silver Glacial Green, Onyx Black, Interstellar Glow The OnePlus 7T launched at a starting price of Rs 37.999 but quickly found a price drop that brought it down to Rs 34.999 for the 128GB + 8GB variant. The OnePlus 8 has a starting price of Rs 44.999 for the same configuration. However, there will be an India-exclusive 6GB RAM variant that will be available later at a low price of Rs 41,999. Discover the OnePlus 8 on Amazon Discover the OnePlus 7T on Amazon
Design and display
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(Image credit: Future) The new OnePlus 8 brings a familiar yet refined design that not only makes the phone much lighter and more compact, but also slimmer. The curves on the back fit the screen perfectly and feel very premium. It's incredibly light and easy to use for a phone with such a large screen. The OnePlus 7T takes a much simpler brand approach with a large, flat screen on the front and curved on the back. Its camera module is one of the most iconic smartphones around, but the rest of the phone is uninspiring. On paper, the two phones have very similar screens, but the only distinction of a curved panel on the 8 makes all the difference in terms of handling and its premium proposition. It has a slightly smaller punch notch, rather than the waterdrop type on the 7T, and it gets slightly brighter. Both have a 90Hz refresh rate. The OnePlus 7T has the louder speakers of the two, and its bottom-firing main speaker is still one of the loudest we've seen on a smartphone. The OnePlus 8 has much more balanced sound output, but at lower levels. The design choices of the OnePlus 8 are one of the main differentiating factors between the two devices. While the 7T is not to be outdone, the 8 is certainly the most polished and refined phone that looks classy and expensive. Plus, its Interstellar Glow finish is to die for and is exclusive to 8.
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(Image credit: Future) Both devices are powered by the latest Qualcomm chipsets available at the time, with the Snapdragon 855 Plus powering the OnePlus 7T and the Snapdragon 865 powering the OnePlus 8. In terms of raw performance, it'll be hard to spot a disparity between them. It is only in extremely heavy games with high refresh rates that the differences will be visible. We will call this round a draw; both will suffice for the most demanding users. 8 also supports 5G, but this shouldn't be a deal breaker for consumers in India.
Cameras
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(Image credit: Future) Things get a lot more interesting with cameras. The 48MP primary shooter, as well as the 16MP secondary ultrawide shooter, are exactly the same between the two phones. Unfortunately, the OnePlus 8 misses out on the 12MP telephoto lens and instead opts for a 2MP macro lens. This means that you lose detail once you start zooming. It's not always obvious in 2x, but it becomes visible later. Not only that, the 7T's extra-large camera can also serve as a macro lens when needed, and actually provides better results than the OnePlus 8's dedicated camera, with easier focusing, higher resolution, and better colors. So technically the old OnePlus 7T is better in one aspect, and the same in others, giving it the win in this round.
Battery duration
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(Image credit: Future) We're looking at a 4,300mAh battery in the OnePlus 8 and a 3,800mAh battery in the OnePlus 7T. As expected, the 8 lasts a bit longer and should easily last a day. Our 7T is struggling to hit this figure now, and usually requires recharging at the end of the day. The charge is also similar between the two. The Warp 30W charger can take the phone from 0 to full in about 70 minutes, with most charging done within the first half hour. We would have liked OnePlus to speed up charging on the 8, as most of its competitors have caught up.
Verdict
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(Image credit: Future) With a delta price of almost Rs 10,000 between the two devices, most value-seeking consumers are better suited to the OnePlus 7T. OnePlus 8 is a much more mature execution in terms of design, and that should be a priority to consider. It's also likely that the 8 will get a further Android version update, but that won't be a factor until three years later.