Oneplus 8 Pro, A Flagship?

Oneplus started as a company that would make phones to compete at the flagship level but for a dramatically lower price. That is how it got the title "flagship killer". At that time, it was a really clever move and a really profitable spot. But as it always goes down, more companies soon started following the trail and the market became more and more congested, and it kept becoming harder for Oneplus to make profits. By that time, Oneplus had made quite a name for itself, it still had an edge over other companies trying to follow its path.

Oneplus as a company has had a really interesting history. It has hugely affected the mobile phone industry and has had a big part in the growth and forward going of the industry. It was the company that kind of forced other Android smartphone companies to start building better phones and providing more value. 

Oneplus 8 Pro, A Flagship?

Oneplus 7 Pro

In 2019, Oneplus came up with the Oneplus 7 Pro. It was a phone with which Oneplus raised the price a little bit. I see this as an experiment by Oneplus, it was Oneplus' premium option, released alongside the Oneplus 7, which was the kind of phone they would usually make. It was probably an attempt to see how people would react if Oneplus would make a flagship phone. The Oneplus 7 Pro comes with a 6.7 inches display with a resolution of 1440x3120 pixels and 90Hz refresh rate, it comes with Snapdragon 855 processor, in the memory department, you can get 6GB RAM with 128GB storage or 8GB RAM with 256GB storage, or 12GB RAM with 256GB storage. The phone has a 4000mAh battery, a triple camera setup with a 48MP, f/1.6 main camera, an 8MP, f/2.4 3x telephoto camera and a 16MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera, in the front it has a 16MP, f/2.0 pop-up camera, the phone supports 30W fast charging but lacks wireless charging and other things like an IP certification, even though Oneplus has placed water resistance seals in the phone. Things like wireless charging and an IP certification are things that fill gaps and the things that fill gaps are things that define a flagship phone. The Oneplus 7 Pro could be called an unofficial flagship.

The Oneplus 7 Pro received a very good response from people and its 90Hz refresh rate display was widely loved, so much so that in 2020, Samsung had to put 120Hz display in its phones. This is probably when Oneplus decided to shift its market a little bit. In 2020, One plus came up with the Oneplus 8 Pro, alongside it they launched the Oneplus 8, which carries forward the legacy of the flagship killer. But about Onplus 8 Pro, it can officially be called a flagship, as it fills all the gaps that Oneplus had left open in the past. Let's first talk about the Oneplus 8 Pro.

Oneplus 8 Pro, A Flagship?

Oneplus 8 Pro

The Oneplus 8 Pro specifications include a 6.8 inches fluid AMOLED display with a resolution of 1440x3168 pixels and 120Hz refresh rate, every year we've seen Samsung provide the best displays in their phones, but this year Oneplus has managed to beat Samsung with the Oneplus 8 Pro's display, even though the display is made by Samsung itself, the capacity to display one billion colours and extra brightness has given it an edge over displays provided in Samsung phones. Oneplus' camera system has never been good enough to compete with the flagships, even though the camera system looks good enough on paper, the issue is with the software, it is probably due to the cost cutting aspect that they never invested enough in camera development. This year, they seem to have filled this gap too, with their cameras finally competing at the flagship level, the camera quality gives tough competition to the likes of iPhones and Pixels, which are considered the best camera phones in the market. The phone offers a 48MP, f/1.8 main camera, an 8MP, f/2.4 telephoto camera with a macro mode, a 48MP, f/2.2 ultrawide camera and a 5MP, f/2.4 colour filter camera, other than that it offers a 16MP, f/2.5 selfie camera. The phone comes with the Snapdragon 865 processor and has two storage variants, one with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and the other one with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, the battery capacity is 4510mAh with 30W fast wired charging and this time around 30W fast wireless charging. It also has IP68 water and dust resistance rating. So, yeah, it has filled all the gaps this time, even with the price. It is priced in the flagship territory and starts at $899 or 54,999 rupees.

Oneplus 8 Pro, A Flagship?

Oneplus 8

The Oneplus 8 has a 6.6 inches fluid AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080x2400 pixels with 90Hz refresh rate, it runs on the Snapdragon 865 processor and has a battery capacity of 4300mAh with 30W fast charging support, the phone has a tripple camera setup, a 48MP, f/1.8 main camera, a 16MP, f/2.2 ultrawide camera and a 2MP, f/2.4 macro camera, in the memory department the phone comes in two variants, one with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and the other one with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. It does not support wireless charging, nor does it have IP certified water and dust resistance. The phone starts at a price point of $649 or 44,999 rupees. 

Conclusion

We can now finally count Oneplus in for competing in the flagship market. Considering the impact that Oneplus has had on the market in its time till now, I think it's going to be pretty interesting watching the industry grow in the future. We are going to see some really good phones coming from Oneplus, just like the Oneplus 8 Pro is, and that too for a comparatively lower price, other companies are probably going to work on lowering down the price of their flagship phones now. The competition in the flagship market is going to get tougher henceforth.

Best Buy Links

OnePlus 8 Pro (Onyx Black 8GB RAM+128GB Storage)

Rs.54,999

OnePlus 8 (Glacial Green 6GB RAM+128GB Storage)

Rs.39,999

OnePlus 7 Pro (Nebula Blue 8GB RAM+256GB Storage

Rs.52,999