There are few phones that create the kind of excitement OnePlus does. Things are different from a few years back, when there was only a single OnePlus device to choose. Now, there is a OnePlus T series, a Pro series and recently, the value-for-money Nord. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, there is now a OnePlus for everyone. All the other popular phone brands are doing it too, but OnePlus appears to do it better. The OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 8 were grand products, but the new 8T takes things to a whole new level.
Screens have been at the centre of the improvements over the years, and that has resulted in smartphones having tiny bezels. Some phones, including some of the OnePlus Pro phones had sliding front-facing camera units, that allowed phones to have a truly, full screen display. Often, you might find pinhole camera displays that have a small cut-out to fit the front-facing camera in. The OnePlus 8T has this setup and you get pretty much the entire screen with a tiny portion of the notifications bar are being covered by the camera. That’s no issue.
The result is a non-obstructive 6.55-inch (1080 x 2400) AMOLED display running at 120Hz. Most phone manufacturers have been upping their refresh rate game up to 90Hz but OnePlus has chosen to go beyond, with 120Hz on the OnePlus 8T. There are several benefits to this screen, the biggest of which is smoother gameplay, smooth scrolling across apps, menus and content. It’s hard to explain, and the best way is to experience it for yourself. The screen is so responsive to the touch, and it makes all the difference in fast-paced multiplayer games.
The screen is HDR10+ complaint too, which results in images, movies and games appearing way more intense and realistic. HDR standards and the compatible screens work together to render all the gradients that conventional screens simply cannot. It helps that the display supports 1,100 nits and so, content that is HDR-complaint looks wondrous.
Performance has been no issue and it’s always surprising to see the OnePlus continue fit the fastest of mobile processors on their phones. The OnePlus 8T we are glad to report, runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865, a powerhouse of a processor. It’s a 64-bit chip, created on a 7nm fabrication process, built for the future with 5G in it. The OnePlus 8T is available as variants with 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, or with 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage. The storage is UFS 3.1-compatible so read and write speeds go through the roof. In fact, it’s thrice as fast as the last prominent standard, UFS 3.0.
Not only is the phone future-proof in performance, but also in terms of connectivity. Other enhancements include Bluetooth 5.1 support, with all the latest standards such as aptX aptX HD, LDAC, AAC supported. There is NFC as well, and most importantly, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), the latest wireless networking standard for local area networks.
The camera setup on the new OnePlus 8T is thorough. The front is the simpler one to explain. There is a single 16MP selfie camera that is helped by an electronic image stabilization system that helps you shoot stable selfies and vlog whether you’re stationary or not. This is something we only expected out of the rear cameras but is now becoming the norm even for front cameras. The camera pinhole on the screen is minimal too, so it doesn’t obstruct the view although there is a way to hide the hole by creating a black bezel on the top of screen if you like.
Photos shot for Instagram and Flickr might be using one of the rear cameras and there is an array of those now. There are even two flash units at the back so if you really need to click photos in the dark, you can be rest assured they will turn out bright. There is a 16MP, 123-degree wide-angle camera, the kind that lets you click large groups of people or spanning scenaries without any trouble. It even does wonders for indoor shooting and for architectural scenes. The camera you are likely to use most of the time is the 48MP primary camera. It’s great for closeups and to click portraits of people. There is a 5MP sensor with a macro lens for closeups and 2 MP monochrome unit as well. The cameras can shoot videos at 1080p at 60fps, but with slow-motion shooting enabled, they can shoot 1080p content at 240fps and 720p content at 480fps, letting you slow down footage by a whole lot. You can also shoot 4K videos at 30 or 60fps too.
It’s great that the OnePlus 8T launches around the time of the launch of the new OxygenOS 11, which happens to be based on the cutting-edge Android 11 OS. OxygenOS has a reputation and it’s what brought OnePlus to the spotlight for offering a clean, Android experience of course with their set of tweaks that are genuinely useful and can be customized. Some of the other improvements are aimed at gamers, allowing them to receive notifications without much interruption, and to communicate on social networks and chat programs, while inside a game.
There are other enhancements too, such as the improved haptics motor, so vibrations from the gestures and commands feel like you were pressing a real physical button.
Warp Charge is what made OnePlus popular, the ability for a smartphone to go from nearly no charge to 100 per cent in no time. OnePlus has taken things to a whole new level with the latest version of fast charging, called Warp Charge 65. OnePlus claims, a 15 minute charge using Warp Charge 65 will let you go a day without having to plug your phone in. That’s impressive, considering the OnePlus 8T comes with a massive 4,500 battery onboard, which is so much more than what most other phones come with. OnePlus is so confident of their adapter, they claim it can be used to charge even other compatible devices such as smartphones, tablets, even laptops.
The OnePlus 8T is more than just brute performance, it’s also a lot of design. It’s now available in colours we haven’t seen often before, Aquamarine Green and Lunar Silver. They both have slightly different finishes too – the Aquamarine Green with a glass finish, while the Lunar Silver has a matte AG texture that’s easy to grip.
The OnePlus 8T is the kind of phone you buy once every few years. Once you do that, you can be rest assured, its performance will apps, games and content without any kind of compromise. If you have been holding back from a phone upgrade, we think this is a good device to purchase. We are proud to bring you the OnePlus 8T, and you can find more information from your nearest Reliance Digital store and you can register your interest in the OnePlus 8T, using this feedback form.
