OnePlus 8 Rapid Review

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I have had the pleasure of reviewing one of the latest offerings from OnePlus this past week. I have used many Android phones in the past, with my current personal handset being the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Find out how I got on with the OnePlus 8 right here.

Fast Facts

Height: 160.2 mm
Width: 72.9 mm
Thickness: 8.0mm
Weight: 180g
Operating System: OxygenOS based on Android™ 10
CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™865
5G Chipset: X55
GPU: Adreno 650
RAM: 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X
Storage: 128GB/256GB UFS 3.0 2-LANE
Battery: 4300 mAh (non-removable)
Warp Charge 30T Fast Charging (5V/6A)

What’s in the box?

The OnePlus 8 is well presented in a red box and includes the usual paraphernalia that comes with a smartphone. Although the letter from the Founder & CEO of OnePlus was a nice touch. It even comes with a case, which is another nice touch.

Design

First things first, the OnePlus 8 looks and feels incredible. The review handset I had came in a colour named ‘Glacial Green’ which I thought looked stunning. It is very thin, and light and yet doesn’t feel at all flimsy. As you can see in the photos below, the claim that the phone is as thin as a pencil is undoubtedly true.

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Display and sound

Another feature that truly stands out on the OnePlus 8 is the 90Hz Fluid AMOLED 6.55” display. There is not much of a bezel to speak of, so you get an edge to edge display. Everything is so crisp and colourful. Watching videos is a treat, especially videos in HDR on Netflix. There is no lag to speak of when swiping and scrolling your way around the phone.

The Dual Stereo Speakers, combined with Dolby Atmos®, provide loud, immersive sound. Listening to music, and playing games is a pleasure. In fact, I’ve been told to turn the volume down on a number of occasions.

Camera

The OnePlus 8 has a 16MP front-facing camera and three rear cameras: a 48MP primary camera, a 2MP macro lens, and a 16MP Ultra Wide Angle Lens. I’m no photography expert, but I was impressed with the quality of images that I was able to capture using the various cameras. As you can see in the slideshow below, colours are vivid, and the images are sharp.

Performance Powerhouse

An area in which this phone stands out is performance. Thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, Adreno 650 GPU, and 12GB of RAM, no task is too much for the phone.

Apps load incredibly fast, and having many apps open in the background does not seem to slow the phone down. Power-hungry games, such as Call of Duty, run at the highest graphical settings with no issues.

If anything, the phone is sometimes a little too quick. I found this when swiping through open apps in the multi-app screen. I would swipe, and the apps would zoom past, leaving me trying to catch up. I did get used to this after a little more practice.

Battery

Using the phone moderately, i.e. checking emails, tweeting, sending some texts, taking pictures, and playing some games, I was able to get through the whole day without the battery going flat. This is excellent, considering how powerful the phone is.

Thanks to the Warp Charge 30T Fast Charging technology, battery life should never be an issue. You can do a full charge of the phone in under an hour, it is incredible.

Oxygen OS – A breath of fresh air

As an Android user, I found it very simple to get up and running with the OnePlus 8 and the Oxygen OS. What was very nice to see, or not to see, was the lack of bloatware on the device. It’s buttery smooth to navigate your way around the phone. I liked the customisation options, for example, being able to change the finger sensor animation, and the streaks of light on the edges of the screen, called the horizon light, when you get a notification.

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Conclusion

Hands down, the OnePlus 8 is the best smartphone I have used to date. A combination of the gorgeous design and colour, an excellent camera, and the incredible speed, makes this phone a must buy.

Rapid Reviews Rating

You can see my unboxing of the OnePlus 8 over our YouTube channel.