OnePlus 8T Review: The Right Compromises? By JuanBagnell

Amidst all the lost their way, jumping sharks and opacification editorials you'd think OnePlus personally drove out to each and every tech reviewer's home to kick their beloved pets. Continuing on a slightly different trend for my reviews, if you're actually interested in using your money to buy an OnePlus 8t, I'm trying to focus this conversation for you. If you're not interested in buying an at, you can still watch, but I'm not going to play that influencer game, where I use a review of one product to confirm the bias of a larger audience who likely already bought a more ad revenue popular product. That game is tired because the 8t is a stonking great phone full stop. There are no tragic dealbreakers here. There are no critical missteps and for all the whining about op losing its way.

The mission of offering a high performance handset at a reasonable price is alive and well. OnePlus has not strayed. Far from its original mission, the rest of the smartphone industry started competing better op deserves a ton of credit for carving out this niche as the brand evolves and becomes a more traditional smartphone manufacturer. It loses some of that tech nerd focus, but we shouldn't misrepresent the actual products, because we wanted the label to mean something else. That's a silly emotional reaction, not a practical assessment of really using the phone and reporting on the pros and cons, and we should want every phone to bring unique pros and cons, because having different options is better for competition.

We do not want every manufacturer to offer the same thing as one popular manufacturer, but I digress. The OnePlus 8t rocks, but it's one of the more unfamiliar phones. I've used from the brand part of the OnePlus course correct, walking away from the lean stock, android feel and using a more customized skin than on OnePlus past IMO. This more than anything else, showcases the pivot to a more mainstream consumer focus away from the core enthusiast reputation. The brand started with.

I think it's totally fair to bring up a Samsung comparison here. Samsung defined the South Korean style android skin, with more focus on clustering actions closer to where your thumb can reach using larger panels and menus a friendlier overall look and incorporating more animations into the general UI oxygen OS now plays with similar elements, but it's not a one-to-one UI rip-off. I don't think any manufacturer has truly nailed the ergonomic challenges of building taller and larger phones, so there's still plenty of room for competing ideas on UI and navigation. The good stuff OnePlus is perfect at polishing up animations, so many little touches that just feel effortless as you swipe away from the tiny dot morph on the home screen to the multitasking icon bubbles to the settings banner shrinking as you scroll. Each of these tiny elements contribute to the primary goal of making your phone feel fast.

Oxygen OS got heavier, but it doesn't feel heavier. It still feels like liquid. My main gripe is how busy the up swipe has become. I don't love android gestures in general, but now there are five distinct actions that take place from a swipe up near the bottom of the phone. The most basic is the home.

Swipe then swipe up in pause for your recent app list then move up a little from the bottom edge and when you swipe up, you get your app drawer. But if you pause slightly while swiping up you get an app search and category view and, of course, a diagonal swipe from the corner now launches the Google Assistant, I think that's busy. We pretend that users can't look through settings or ever make changes average consumer brains, explode. I think. Instead, we should empower android owners to consider customization, where I would recommend disabling the quick search gesture using swipe down to access notifications and turn on the double tap to lock the screen.

One of my favorite adaptations from lg someone coming from an OnePlus, 5 or six is likely to struggle a bit with this, just as I've seen family get frustrated at the significant changes in Samsung UI over the last three years or the family. I have that don't particularly like the app library on iOS. The same considerations should be extended here, but we often criticize companies like OnePlus for these kinds of UI decisions, while giving larger players a pass. One small software touch. I really appreciated, though I love what OnePlus has done with notifications in gaming mode beyond a binary, allow or mute option, the formatting on a more discreet and simple notification while gaming is such a nice touch.

I never like completely turning off notifications, so it's nice that these are less of a distraction when I don't immediately need to act on them. Honestly, I wish all android notifications appeared like this, regardless of what app I'm using on the phone. I wanted to start this chat on software because it illustrates the mantra for this phone and a core piece of op DNA, snappy and quick. So many design decisions are based on that idea and where we see compromises it's often in the service of keeping the phone snappy and quick, I don't read specs so as we transition to the hardware. This is where I point out that you can go check out.

The amazing work from my pals at GSM arena pause this video open. A new tab then come on back when you're done reading. We good. The 18 marks some subtle but significant refinements over the OnePlus 8 launched earlier in the year in roughly six months, windows OnePlus offers up the best phone they can, based on the tech at hand, handling the 8 and the 8 pro at the same time likely contributed to me being a little more underwhelmed with the OnePlus 8, but with some distance and some minor improvements, the 8t, I think it makes a better argument for its existence, maybe more than any other feature. OnePlus power and charging tech contributes to this feeling of fast and brings one of my favorite side perks of the year.

I'm not breaking any news here. This thing charges scary fast and does not get nuclear hot. While doing so, I'm saying it that way for dramatic effect. I know how to pronounce the word nuclear. I still have some concerns about quick charging and battery longevity.

Furthermore, I wish there were more Sony like options for managed slow charging, but there are few devices that deliver as fast a top off. Furthermore, I understand those that are bummed out by the lack of wireless charging, but seriously warp is so fast now. Why would I ever want to put my phone down to charge slower and likely put as much or more wear and tear on my battery with QI charging? If I have to make a choice, this one's easy for me, I'll, give up wireless charging every single time, but the fun perk, the one I didn't see coming this little charge. Brick is a 65 watt charger for OnePlus proprietary warp charge standard, but it's also rated as a 45 watt charger for USB power delivery in the box for the purchase price. Not only do you get one of the fastest phone chargers available, but it can also charge a lot of laptops out there.

Even my pixel book, which has been notoriously finicky about third-party chargers, hooked up and started topping off no issues, it's silly right, it's kind of silly. This is not a make or break purchasing decision feature, but it's a great little perk for 2020, especially when we know more companies will copy apple in removing chargers from the box over the next year or two moving on. I know nerds like to prattle on about high refresh rate, displays as must-have features, and it is nice having an ultra fluid app drawer, but it's a feature I could pass on. It seems like it comes with a battery hit. It doesn't bring much of anything to media and video consumption, and I wish more game developers would start listing it if their games really can use.

Hardware like 120 hertz displays the practical daily differences between 60, 90 and 120. Hertz are minimal most noticeable when you put two phones immediately side by side which, how often do people really compare their phones that way, but the OnePlus 18 moving up to 120 hertz. That does contribute to the overall fast feel. Now we should probably chew through some of this camera conversation since the OnePlus 3, I think tech influencers have been incredibly unfair to OnePlus cameras. That trend continues with the 8t.

No camera is perfect. All cameras are collections of pros and cons. The frustrating aspect of an OnePlus review, most commentary stops at reading the specs and showing like five photos side by side. That's not the reality of shooting on an op, especially after a handful of updates, always improves camera performance. Early camera reviews on OnePlus are never accurate for long and never reflect the long-term reality of really living with one.

So we get a bunch of geeks whinging on about the different sensors and paying for gimmicks and comparing to more popular phones. But what do we really get? A perfectly competent social media, shooter OnePlus camera software is a bit hyped and saturated for my taste but after shooting on a note, 20 ultra recently, I kinda, like the contrasted look of photos from OnePlus over the hyper bright HDR from Samsung, I wouldn't say, there's a clear winner, just different output, which might cater to different tastes. IMO. If you like, seeing the occasional shadow in your photos, you can probably skip Samsung this year, but again back to the OnePlus. We can mock sensors like the macro shooter, but I like taking macro shots and the 5 megapixel lens on the 8t.

It doesn't look as nifty on a spec sheet, but it's more functional in real world conditions, and then people cry about the 2-megapixel monochrome. Photography is light. It's one of the core themes of my photography for noob's book. Take better photos available on Amazon. Kindle cough shameless plug the better you can control and soak up light.

The better your images will be. OnePlus has been working off to the side since the 3t on longer exposure night modes remember HQ mode, it was perfect and there are different flavors of night modes. I prefer a night mode that keeps photos dark and cleans out noise, but op delivers one of the best turn night into day, ultra bright versions of that feature seriously, with a distinct hardware disadvantage. The 8t is not far behind a massive sensor phone. Like the note 20 ultra, this processing is getting phenomenally good, which is great for photos.

But what about video in a video your maximum shutter speed can only be about 1 30th of a second and a perfect night mode photo can take 5 to 10 seconds to capture. Wouldn't it be nice if there were some additional camera hardware to soak up light when conditions get darker, I mean it wouldn't need to be like a crazy megapixel, dense sensor for 1080p. What like 2 million pixels, oh and see it's for night use, so that means we just need the luminance data, not the chroma color data, so monochrome would make a lot more sense. If that's what we were trying to do, do you see what I'm driving at I'm frustrated, because we've been playing with stuff like this since the Huawei p9, this isn't new and the practical benefits have been detailed many times before, but let's show it one more time. Here's a challenging shot at night at 60 frames per second.

If we want it to be brighter, let's switch to 30 frames per second and get an extra stop of light and now the same setup. With the monochrome sensor. You see we got something similar on the TCL 10 pro and also saw similar commentary from reviewers nerd knickers. All twisted up about camera gimmicks, but brighter video at night is a practical benefit. Adding a little punch to dim indoor shots is a benefit.

If you really use the phone, you can see with your eyes how it's a benefit and that's why this commentary always feels so sloppy OnePlus. They always fumble on the cameras. Yeah. They really don't. This has been a solid all-rounder shooter.

I tend to keep it in promo to walk back some extra vibrancy shoveled on, but even in full HDR. It's just a different take on HDR, and it's one I tend to prefer over Samsung post-processing. Also, the camera app layout and menus are definitely cleaner than a galaxy. The flip side, a pixel, is easier to use it's a more effortless point and shoot, but if you shoot heavy on your phones, the 8t is a processing beast, which you can drive a lot harder without getting thermal throttling, and you can miss me with iPhones using older camera sensors this year with significantly higher price tags. Every camera has pros and cons.

There is no phone winner. There is no camera winner. We should be excited that we have more options and competition for someone to find the exact right fit for their smartphone photography needs. That's all I have to say about cameras. Couple last points to wrap this up.

Network performance has been top tier, both Wi-Fi and on T-Mobile 5g, outperforming even my precious lg's in the same areas around my house, which has terrible wireless reception, no complaints there, I'm feeling pretty good one last point: wrapping this review up. It's one other tiny touch, and it just makes me so happy to pick up an OnePlus. The haptics have the unique feel I've experienced this year. In other reviews, you've probably heard me wax philosophical about the haptic feel I like lg haptics, because they feel like little dials, especially in the camera app. Some gadget haptics have more of a pop.

Some are gross and fuzzy. The 8t has a detailed pluck that feels almost like the phone is hollow or a resonant chamber. The action has an audible component like you've lightly tapped a wood block in orchestra. I would never ever make a purchasing recommendation just on haptic engine performance, but this is far and away my favorite feel on any phone this year. It's so good.

I had to save it for last, okay, so I've rambled on long enough. We should probably wrap this up. Where does that leave us with the OnePlus 8t? I mean just in general. Aren't you folks, tired of how we move the goal posts around for different manufacturers? The 8t makes some targeted. Decisions on new technologies requires a few compromises to hit a lower price and improves on the OnePlus 8, which came before it.

It's a middle premium, tier phone that does a solid job of earning its price tag truthfully. I wish the 8t had a proper IP rating, but I still trust it'll be decently. Splash resistant, the rest of the spec sheet and build materials need to be balanced against real world component costs. Do you care about build materials? Those contribute to the cost of a device? Do you enjoy features like hardware switches, those cost a little more, the 8t launched with android 11, the s20 Fe should be getting a public version around the time? This video goes live, and I wonder if Samsung will have hammered out all the touchscreen issues. The Fe seems to be suffering and, let's not forget that we rarely compare oranges to oranges on built-in storage.

Samsung has huge leverage over their supply chain and can offer up some great deals and price cuts on galaxies. That doesn't mean the 80 is a no-go. This conversation is even more aggressive. Looking at the iPhone 12. , oh wow, the iPhone 12 is only 50 more than the 8t OnePlus seems to have been beaten at their own game.

No incorrect. What happens when you match the storage? What did that due to the price? Add a fast charger, and what did that do to the price hold on? I have to. Let me do some tricky addition here: uh, nine, seven, nine plus four nine yep, the math checks out so 5g to 5g. The 8t has a slightly larger and more expensive main camera sensor, a faster refresh rate display and don't forget about all those iPhones, also suffering green tint and gray crush these days. The 8t has a 60 larger battery, which will help when you use that 5g and the 80 costs 280 dollars less.

Now, I'm not saying the 8t wins, because you know android versus iOS your preferences, but just making this a more fair fight, you have to spend 280 dollars more in apple land geeks, we have to take a step back techie influencers are in such a rush to spit out hot, takes and pick winners, we're missing the basics in reviewing and comparing these gadgets. I feel personally that the compromises on the 8t have been exaggerated, while similar complaints on apple and Samsung have been glossed over or excused. So if you're in the market for a phone- and you were seriously considering throwing some of your money at a 8t, I think you're, making a solid choice, don't just gloss over a spec sheet, but consider your use see if the features line up with your needs and wants. This is a unique vibe. You can't get with a competing handset, so saving a little cash to get the same processor in a different phone doesn't mean you're.

Getting this same experience, where at my money I feel better about the 8t than I did, the OnePlus 8 just for the battery tech and charger upgrade alone. So I'm happy to call that progress over the course of 2020. This is a great phone. We just have to sort out a more competitive market, which is a good thing for consumers. More competition is always better, as always, thanks.

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Source : JuanBagnell