You’re probably pretty familiar with the big Android smartphone brands, but there’s one name that deserves a lot more attention: OnePlus. This upstart company earned an early reputation for offering affordable alternatives to pricey flagships, but in recent years, OnePlus has been cranking out some great phones that can stand toe-to-toe with premium models from Apple and Samsung. The maker just released its latest device, the impressive OnePlus 8T, a 5G-capable mobile that represents one of the best values on the Android market today. Read on to find out what we love about it — and how it stands up to competition like the new iPhone 12.
With its sleek modern design, nearly bezel-less display, and advanced 48-megapixel quad camera module, you can tell at a glance that the OnePlus 8T is built to hang with the big boys. It only gets more impressive when you look at the specs. Under the hood, the OnePlus 8T runs on a Snapdragon 865 octa-core chipset which is paired with a whopping 12GB of RAM to deliver some of the snappiest performance you’ll get from a smartphone. The 6.55-inch AMOLED 1080p display features a buttery smooth refresh rate of 120Hz as well.
Yet perhaps the most exciting new feature of the OnePlus 8T (aside from its 5G connectivity, which is quickly becoming standard nowadays) is Warp Charge 65. This is a proprietary superfast charging technology that can bring the phone’s battery from 0% to 60% in just 15 minutes. A full charge to 100% takes about 40 minutes. If you often find yourself fighting over power outlets or hunting for a charging station because you forgot to juice up your phone that morning, then Warp Charge 65 is a major boon.
The competition doesn’t get much stiffer than Apple, and in our OnePlus 8T and iPhone 12 head-to-head review, the Android offering held its own quite well. Although our review team gave the slight nod to the iPhone overall, the OnePlus 8T edged out Apple’s new flagship when it came to hardware performance (which is no small thing considering the iPhone 12 is running on the latest A14 Bionic chip), battery life, and charging. We also found the OnePlus 8T to be a match for the latest iPhone when it came to overall design, durability, and display quality.
It’s also worth noting that, at just $749, the OnePlus 8T with 256GB of storage is $50 cheaper than the entry-level 64GB iPhone 12 and $200 less expensive than the 256GB iPhone, which should come as no huge surprise given that this up-and-coming brand built its reputation on delivering a lot of bang for your buck. For a limited time, you also get a free pair of OnePlus Buds true wireless earbuds — a $79 value — when you buy a OnePlus 8T.