As per tradition, OnePlus would launch another flagship in the second half of the year. The OnePlus 8 Pro was well-received in design and performance, but what about the OnePlus 8T? More importantly, how different is it from the former?
Priced at RM2699, the OnePlus 8T may not be one of the "flagship killer" that OnePlus has come to be known for. However, it doesn't compromise on the tech specs and features. If you want to know more, read on for our OnePlus 8T review.
Design - Quite premium but conservative
Most flagships nowadays would feature a dual-curved display, an aesthetic design to make the phone's face value much "higher". For the OnePlus 8T, the company opted to go with a flat display instead. But we're okay with that. In fact, we prefer flat displays. The back has a simple design and a glossy surface that looks quite good. But the rear camera module is noticeably thick, so using a protective case is recommended.
This is what's inside the box
A flat display with the cutout front camera on the top-left
Aquamarine is a gorgeous colour
The usual speaker grille, USB-C port, and SIM card slot at the bottom
Both the mute slider and power button are on the right
The SIM card tray only supports dual-nano SIM, no MicroSD card slot here
Other than that, there's nothing much to comment when it comes to the design. The OnePlus 8T still has the usual power and volume buttons, as well as the mute slider on the right side. There's also a pair of stereo speakers, which are great for movies and games. Lastly, the box includes a 65W Warp Charger brick.
Tech specs and features - That OxygenOS
Here are the official tech specs for the OnePlus 8T:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset
- 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM
- 256GB UFS 3.1 internal storage
- Measures 160.7 x 74.1 x 8.4 mm, weighs 188g
- 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED display
- 48MP (main) + 16 (ultrawide) + 5MP (macro) + 2MP (black and white) quad rear camera
- 16MP front camera
- Features up to 120Hz refresh rate, 65W Warp Charge, HDR10+, Dolby Atmos sound system, In-display Fingerprint Sensor,
- Supports 5G,4×4 MIMO, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC
- OxygenOS 11
- 4500mAh battery
Obviously, the OnePlus 8T packs some high-end hardware. Apart from the Snapdragon 865 chipset, the memory configuration is a rather impressive 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM, along with 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The Full HD+ display also supports up to 120Hz refresh rate, providing amazing visuals overall.
As for the features... Well, like the design there's also not much to talk about. However, the one thing we found disappointing was the camera app. For some reason, it doesn't come with Pro Video mode and the light rail mode, which has become quite common these days. The macro and monochrome (black and white) lens were not very useful either, but we'll discuss that later.
Refresh rate setting
Customise the settings to your preference
In terms of software, some users would say OxygenOS 11 feels the closest to the stock Android experience. But our experience with other Android devices this year tells us otherwise. For the OnePlus 8 series and 8T, they're actually more similar to Samsung's OneUI. Not that it's a bad thing though, as the OxygenOS 11 performs quite well.
Performance - Excellent overall performance, except for the camera
With the Snapdragon 865 chipset at its disposal, it's no surprised that the OnePlus 8T performed well in both 3DMark and Geekbench 5. It passed with flying marks in the former with 7155 points on Sling Shot Extreme - OpenGL ES 3.1. Then in Geekbench 5, it had a score of 892 and 3192 points for Single-Core and Multi-Core respectively.
But general performance is not the only thing it excels in. The chipset is also great for playing mobile games. While the phone would get warm after a few minutes, it's not to the point of burning your fingertips. We didn't encounter any issues while gaming and having dual speakers certainly made gaming or general entertainment more enjoyable.
The scores for Geekbench 5 (left) and 3DMark (right)
You can play graphically intensive mobile games like Genshin Impact at max settings
There's even Fnatic Mode for charging your phone while gaming lol
In terms of battery life, the OnePlus 8T's 4500mAh battery can easily last for more than a day, even if you play mobile games or use the GPS quite often. Also, remember that 65W Warp Charge brick included in the box? With this charge, it only takes around 35 minutes to fully charge the phone. When it comes to battery performance, you won't be disappointed at all.
Regarding the camera app, we mentioned earlier how the macro and monochrome lens are a letdown, right? No matter how we tried, the macro lens doesn't seem to make close-up shots any better, making us wonder why OnePlus included it. The same goes for the monochrome lens because there's a filter that does the same thing. On top of that, monochrome photos lack detail when taken at night. Well, just take a look at the samples below and judge for yourself.
Close-up of a hamster
Fur details are on point
Selfie in portrait mode is good
Portrait mode photos taken with the main camera are exceptional
Who's the hensem boi?
Colour contrast is good as expected
This is not a macro shot but rather a zoom-in shot
Close-up of a leaf
Another close-up in macro mode, but the photo quality is rather poor
Another photo with good colour contrast that doesn't look digitally enhanced
Ultra-wide mode
Both the main and ultrawide mode would go into night mode automatically, but the loss of detail is evident
As long as you have enough lighting in low-light environments, it shouldn't be a problem
Conclusion - Tough competition, really
Overall, the OnePlus 8T is a pretty decent flagship for RM2699. It has a simple design, smooth OxygenOS UI, powerful chipset for mobile games, and fantastic battery performance. However, there are several other options in this price range, so it's definitely not going to be an easy first choice for consumers.
In our opinion, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G and the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro are strong competitors. The former has much better camera performance with the same Snapdragon 865 chipset but is more expensive at RM3399. If you choose the non-5G variant, it is the same price but uses an Exynos 990 chipset instead. The Mi 10T Pro is probably the option to go if you want the best bang-for-buck. It has similar tech specs and features but is just RM1999. If there's one aspect that could be a deal-breaker, it would be the fact that it uses an IPS display rather than OLED.
At the end of the day, the choice is up to you. The OnePlus 8T's regular software updates should extend the phone's longevity, and RM2699 isn't that bad for a flagship. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech gadget reviews at TechNave.com.
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