OnePlus 8 preview: Everything we know so far

When will the OnePlus 8 be out?

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Following recent leaks about a mid-April reveal, OnePlus has officially revealed when it will launch the OnePlus 8 line.

The OnePlus 8 online reveal will happen on 14 April. OnePlus likely would have held some kind of live event (or multiple events), but given the current pandemic, that’s definitely not going to happen. We ought to see the phone release by the end of April, then.

How much will the OnePlus 8 cost?

With the OnePlus 7T starting at £549 and the OnePlus 7T Pro at £699+, the company’s phones may undercut some of the flagship alternatives, but they’re setting new peaks for the line.

Will OnePlus go further with its next phones? It’s certainly possible, but at some point that "bargain flagship" advantage will fade away if so.

But with talk of a mid-range OnePlus 8 Lite in the mix, perhaps the company will offer a cheaper entry-level option to broaden the appeal of the entire line… and give the standard OnePlus 8 a little more leeway to aim higher, if need be.

CEO Pete Lau tells Business Insider that the company’s 5G-enabled phones won’t cost more than $1000 in the States, but the top end of that estimate is still a fair bit higher than the current price range for the 7T line.

What will the OnePlus 8 look like?

Journalist Roland Quandt and WinFuture have shared what look to be official leaked renders of the standard OnePlus 8 in a trio of colours, including the stunning "Glow" variant seen at the top of the screen and a subtle green.

The images show a OnePlus 8 design that skips the current waterdrop notch in favor of a tiny camera cutout in the upper left corner. It also shows a curved display, which we haven’t seen on the core OnePlus models in the past. The back here looks pretty similar to that of the OnePlus 7 Pro, with the vertically stacked triple-camera setup and an otherwise understated approach.

The photo in the section above purports to show actor Robert Downey Jr. – official OnePlus brand ambassador – wielding what is believed to be the OnePlus 8 Pro during a recent commercial shoot for the handset. OnePlus has a history of staged "leaks" in the past, so the probability of that seems quite high here.

Meanwhile, this is purportedly an official leaked render of the OnePlus 8 Pro that comes via OnLeaks and iGeeksBlog. As you can clearly see, it has a punch-hole camera in the display rather than the distinctive pop-up selfie cam of the OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro.

It’s very similar to the OnePlus 7T in design, but looks super-thin – and this green colour option is a beauty.

What about the OnePlus 8’s screen?

The OnLeaks/CashKaro leak suggests a screen that comes in around 6.5in. The OnePlus 7T has a 6.55in display, so it could well be identically sized.

We expected to see the 90Hz display tech carried over from the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7 Pro, but the company will go one better: OnePlus has announced a 120Hz Fluid Display for its 2020 handsets.

Created in collaboration with Samsung Display, the AMOLED panel will surely be one of the smoothest around thanks to the increased refresh rate. Founder and CEO Pete Lau shared a video that showcases the potential benefit compard to a standard 60Hz panel, but seeing (in person) will surely be believing. According to Lau, the panel will use MEMC tech to automatically smooth out lower-frame-rate videos on the screen, plus it’ll have a peak brightness of over 1,000 nits.

A late March leak from Ishan Agarwal points to a 6.55in 1080p panel for the OnePlus 8 at 90Hz, with a larger and crisper 6.78in QHD+ screen at 120Hz for the OnePlus 8 Pro.

How much power will the OnePlus 8 pack?

OnePlus has consistently used the latest and greatest Snapdragon chips, with the OnePlus 7T sporting the Snapdragon 855+.

Given that, it’s no surprise that the OnePlus 8 will use the Snapdragon 865, as confirmed by CEO Pete Lau to Business Insider. It’ll bring incremental improvements over the previous version, ensuring that the OnePlus 8 stays snappy and with the times.

What kind of cameras will the OnePlus 8 have?

Ishan Agarwal’s spec leak suggests that the OnePlus 8 will ship with a triple-camera setup on the back, packing 48MP, 16MP, and 2MP cameras. That suggests that the OnePlus 7T’s telephoto camera is being swapped for a depth sensor.

Meanwhile, the OnePlus 8 Pro will reportedly opt for a quad-camera setup on the back, with dual 48MP cameras joined by 8MP and 5MP shooters. Hopefully both phones inch closer to the kind of consistent greatness that we see with pricier, premium flagships. Agarwal points to a 16MP selfie cam on both models.

Is there anything else I should know about the OnePlus 8?

Only the OnePlus 7 Pro (not the standard OnePlus 7) offered a 5G edition, but that’ll change with the OnePlus 8 line.

OnePlus CEO and co-founder Pete Lau tells CNET that the company is "all in on 5G," and that all OnePlus 8 models will have 5G support. OnePlus is also investing $30M into 5G development.

Interestingly, however, the OnLeaks/CashKaro report suggests that OnePlus will finally embrace wireless charging with the OnePlus 8. That’s been one of the rare perks missing from the OnePlus line compared to pricier flagships, and it’s honestly not something we’ve expected to see. As the tech has flourished, maybe it’s become cheaper to integrate. Or maybe OnePlus doesn’t mind inching further away from "budget flagship" status.

Agarwal’s leak suggests a 4,300mAh battery on the OnePlus 8 and a beefier 4,510mAh battery on the OnePlus 8 Pro… along with wireless charging. However, he says no wireless charging on the standard model. He also suggests that the Pro model will finally have an IP68 water resistance rating for the very first time, but no such luck with the standard OnePlus 8.

What about the OnePlus 8 Lite?

Lite? Say what now? OnePlus has always tended towards flagship phones, even bumping up to super-premium flagships with this year’s OnePlus 7 Pro and 7T Pro models. But in 2020, the company may shift down and offer a cheaper mid-range option, as well.

OnLeaks and 91Mobiles have shared concept renders based on leaks about a supposed OnePlus 8 Lite, as seen above. It’s said to have a flat screen around 6.4-6.5in, with a centered punch-hole selfie camera cutout and a pair of back cameras.

Leaker Ishan Agarwal tells 91Mobiles that it’s expected to sell for about £400 and pack a lower-end MediaTek chipset – and he believes that it will indeed still pack a 90Hz display. It could launch after the pricier OnePlus 8 models, however, as the report suggests a release around July.