- Launched at the start of containment, the OnePlus 8 is the new premium smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer OnePlus. It is renowned for its terminals with good performance / price ratio.
- 5G, with a rather impressive 6.55 '' screen and comfortable autonomy, the OnePlus 8 offers complete photo functions but without the "wow" effect.
- Sold for 699 euros, it is above all a bit expensive to really stand out in a very competitive market.
OnePlus from 7 to 8. The Chinese manufacturer is launching the eighth iteration of its smartphone, available in two 5G compatible models, the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. "20 Minutes" had time for containment to test the first of the two, which is also the most "accessible". The OnePlus 8 is thus sold at 699 euros (8 GB / 128 GB) and 799 euros (12 GB / 256 GB).
Screen and audio at their best
The device asserts a beautiful elegance. Black (128 GB) or Green (256 GB), it surprises with its lightness (180 g). Its front and back sides are covered with Gorilla Glass 5 protected glass. Its 6.55 '' Full HD + screen (2400 x 1080 pixels; 90 Hz) is immediately attractive. First, by its generous diagonal but not too much (6.55 '', or 16.63 cm) which gives the terminal good maneuverability without being too bulky. Then, by his images. Amoled quality requires, the OnePlus 8 thus offers a flattering visual rendering, with very marked contrasts, but also a vast colorimetry. The almost borderless screen here shows its full potential.
We are far from that cluttered with black bands of the new iPhone SE (2020). Watching many episodes of season 2 of The Blacklist on Netflix (we had the time!) Turned out to be very pleasant. All the more pleasant as the smartphone offers excellent sound quality. On its two stereo speakers, the original and flustered voice of James Spader finds its full grain, while the soundtrack is reproduced with a beautiful amplitude, even at fairly high volume. The downside: the OnePlus 8 does not have a mini-jack socket and does not provide a mini-jack adapter for plugging into its USB-C socket. Consequence: it would be better to favor Bluetooth for listening to headphones.
The photo could have gone further
Obviously, it is also on its photo quality that we expected the OnePlus 8. Equipped with three rear modules * (the same as on the OnePlus 7T) and a front module of 16 megapixels (f / 2.45), the OnePlus 8 is a master key that will satisfy most.
The photos are generally very satisfactory, well defined, bright and colorful without excess, even if the HDR mode tends to saturate them. But the most demanding users risk quickly reaching the limits of the terminal. The reason ? We expected more from a manufacturer that has always positioned itself as a better brand on the smartphone market. We also note that among the many photos we took during confinement between the four walls of our small garden, some suffer from the same ailments: an excess of smoothing. This is regularly noted for portraits, selfies, zoomed photos (up to 10x) or those taken with the "Night landscape" mode.
For the rest, the versatility of the OnePlus 8 should be emphasized: the possibility of taking photos in ultra-wide angle or macro will accommodate future unconfined holidays, wherever they take place. And the 4K video mode (up to 60 frames / second) of the smartphone will be a good ally to immortalize the dives of friends or children in the pool. Station: if OnePlus claims that its OnePlus 8 is waterproof, no IP certification is there to attest…
Backed up by a comfortable 4,300 mAh battery, the OnePlus 8 goes well beyond a day of autonomy. What's more: its manufacturer equips it with a 30-watt wired charger that allows a full charge in about an hour.
The end of low prices
Verdict? Good smartphone, beautiful screen, beautiful images, beautiful autonomy ... but a smartphone which we expected a little more in the field of photography. Too bad, because at 699 euros, OnePlus let imagine a terminal that could offer more than some more expensive competitors. This had always been the philosophy of the Chinese manufacturer who seems to have definitely changed its strategy by abandoning its role as " flagship killer ", that is to say the "high-end smartphone killer" which had made its reputation. By the way, OnePlus may well lose part of its identity there and leave this role to a competitor like Xiaomi…
* 48 megapixels (25 mm ultra-wide angle equivalent: f / 1.7), 16 megapixels (13 mm wide-angle equivalent; f / 2.2) and 2 megapixels (macro; f / 2.4).
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