One Plus launched its “T” variant for this year’s One Plus 8 on a virtual event last week. A mid-year upgrade to One Plus 8, One Plus 8T comes in two variants starting at INR 42,999. One Plus 8T brings major changes design wise to its One Plus 8T. But, is it “to-go” smartphone?
One Plus is looking to project itself as a premium smartphone lately. The design of One Plus 8T resembles closely to other premium smartphones. But, can it compete with premium line of smartphones?
Specifications
One Plus 8T is a true flagship smartphone specification wise. On paper, One Plus 8T comes with top of the line Snapdragon 865 chipset coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 256 GB of latest UFS 3.1 storage. With 120Hz 1080p AMOLED display, One Plus is one of the smoothest smartphones in the market. Coupled with its clean Android 11 based Oxygen OS, this smartphone can handle almost any of the tasks that you throw at it. Multi-tasking, heavy gaming, it runs them all at flawlessly. More importantly, it stays that way for a very long time.
Oxygen OS – It’s Fast
One of the problems with Android high end smartphones is that at start, its fast. Its smooth. But as time goes, that smoothness fades away. That’s something that has been clogging Android smartphones for very long time. But Oxygen OS, it’s the best custom skin on top of Vanilla Android that does not fade over time.
With custom tweaks that One Plus sprinkles on the top, like its custom color scheme. It’s my favorite Android skin. Period.
Where does the problem lie?
The problem with One Plus 8T when One Plus prices itself to compete with other premium smartphones. Though One Plus has added its new 65W wrap charger, that can bring it up from 0-80% in 40 minutes, there is no wireless charging. Yes, I love wrap charge. It’s great. But when you are trying to compete with premium line of smartphones, Wireless charging is a must.
Mediocre Cameras
One of biggest drawbacks of One Plus 8T is its camera. Why does it have a quad camera setup? Just because other brands are having? One Plus 8T comes with 4 cameras at the back, a 48MP Sony IMX586 main camera with f/1.7 aperture, a 16 MP ultra-wide camera, 5 MP macro camera and a 2 MP mono-chrome camera. And yea, two flashes.
The 48 MP camera takes decent photos. The 16MP camera takes good photos. But, 5MP macro? You should avoid using it. It’s better than the one on One Plus 8, but you are better off using its main camera sensor. And yea, the 2MP monochrome, it’s there. You can use it if you want. But the two flashes? I think the second flash is there for aesthetic purposes. I am not sure why it’s there.
The main problem with One Plus 8T is for the price, its competing with the big guns. For the same price, you could get a Pixel 4a, iPhone XR, iPhone SE2, iPhone 11 and if you are ready to shell out extra money, Samsung S20, iPhone 12 etc – All of which has great cameras. One Plus hasn’t upgraded the main camera sensor from One Plus 7 eras. It’s the same sensor on One Plus Nord. Sensors apart, One Plus’s image processing could have been better. It’s bad. Especially when you are shooting people. If you are a person who likes taking lot of photos, you are better off with other smartphones.
One Plus 8T is good. But that is a problem. At this price, One Plus needs to be great. If you a type of person who needs raw performance and don’t care about its camera, then this smartphone is for you. For all other, you are better off with other smartphones out there.
