OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro are official: 5G-ready and the company's most expensive phones yet

UPDATE: Our full OnePlus 8 review has been published.

In terms of displays, the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will differ a lot. The smaller OnePlus 8 will make use of a 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED HDR10+ display with an FHD+ resolution of 1080x2400 pixels, a 20:9 aspect ratio, and the same 90Hz refresh rate that debuted with the OnePlus 7 Pro last year. There’s a new Always On option that will allow you to view your pending notifications and the time. Up until now, OnePlus phones only had an Ambient Mode feature that briefly lit up the display on incoming notifications. 

The OnePlus 8 Pro top-dog employs a 6.78-inch Fluid AMOLED display that’s also HDR10+ compliant but uses a denser QHD+ resolution of 1440 by 3168 pixels in an 19.8:9 aspect ratio. More importantly, the OnePlus 8 Pro also introduces a 120Hz display refresh rate, bringing it up to par with the latest Galaxy S20-series. As a reminder, the higher the refresh rate, the bigger the hit on the battery, as proven by the Galaxy S20’s subpar battery life when used in 120Hz, but here’s to hoping that the OnePlus 8 Pro wouldn’t suffer from such a big battery hit when used with the new refresh rate mode. OnePlus 

The OnePlus 8 Pro is available in Glacial Green, Onyx Black, and Ultramarine Blue. The OnePlus 8 will be available in Interstellar Glow and Glacial Green.

OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro specs at a glance

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Now, the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are powered by the Snadragon 865 chipset, which is the creme of the crop at the moment and also makes OnePlus' latest 5G-capable and quite future-proof devices. In terms of memory, both devices will be available with either 8 or 12GB of RAM, as well as either 128 or 256GB of native storage on deck. The OnePlus 8 will pack a rather serious punch with 4,300mAh battery in tow, but wait until you hear about the 4,510mAh unit found inside the OnePlus 8 Pro, which should pack enough punch to last its hungry hardware for a while. On the topic of charging, both phones support the ultra-fast Warp Charge 30T which provides 30W of charging power straight to OnePlus' latest. For the first time on a OnePlus device, we've got wireless charging - the OnePlus 8 Pro comes along with ultra-fast wireless charging and can also reverse charge other devices that support wireless charging, which is a neat party trick.

OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro software

Unsurprisingly, OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro come with Android 10 right out of the box, but with the custom OxygenOS skin on top. The latter has been refreshed, says OnePlus, employing a new coat with improved Dark Mode, dynamic wallpapers that change according to the weather, and much more. OnePlus has also partnered with Google to bring full Stadia support, as well as with Amazon as the OnePlus 8 series is Alexa-ready.

OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro Camera

The OnePlus 8 Pro comes along with a quad-camera setup, consisting of a 48MP main, 48MP ultra wide-angle, an 8MP 3x hybrid telephoto zoom, and finally, a 5MP color filter camera. At the front, we have a 16MP selfie camera. The device supports 4K UHD video recording in 30 and 60fps, as well as various slo-mo modes. 

Meanwhile, the OnePlus 8 has a triple camera setup that utilizes a 48MP camera, a 16MP ultra wide-angle, and finally, a 2MP macro shooter that would let you take pictures of insects and flora from up close. 

OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro price and release date

Gone are the times of affordable OnePlus devices. The company has been slowly but steadily breaking apart from its affordable "flagship killer" mantra, and the OnePlus 8 series is its most expensive one yet. And rightfully so - with the expensive 5G-ready Snapdragon 865 chipset on deck, you simply can't fault OnePlus for charging a premium. 

The OnePlus 8 starts at $699 for the 8GB RAM/128GB storage version, while the 12GB/256GB version selling for $799. The 8GB/128GB OnePlus 8 Pro will start at $899, while the 12GB/256GB version will start at $999.