The 5 best things about the OnePlus 8 Pro

The OnePlus 8 Pro is still a lot of phone for the money, even if its high price hasn’t gone down well with a large section of the company’s fan base. And the new features it adds like rapid wireless charging and proper waterproofing are unarguably big and long-sought improvements that bring OnePlus’ new flagship to the level of phones like Samsung’s Galaxy S20+, which costs hundreds of dollars more than the 8 Pro. Altogether, we still think there’s a lot to like about this $900 phone, and here are the top five, standout features we think make it shine.

Brilliant, bright display

OnePlus has made screens a priority on its recent releases, and the 8 Pro is no different. The 7.78-inch QHD+ (1440p) AMOLED display is among the best you can get on a smartphone. It’s super bright (up to 1300 nits), the refresh rate has been upped to 120Hz, and a new feature called Comfort Tone adapts the color temperature to match the ambient light in the environment. Some will be sad to see the near bezel-less display replaced by one with a punch-hole camera cutout, but it saves space for other components and makes waterproofing easier. Underneath the display is another excellent fingerprint scanner. Motion Graphics Smoothing is one feature you might not want to turn on, but that aside, the screen looks fantastic.

Solid software

OxygenOS continues to be one of the best Android skins around, even if OnePlus isn’t quite as consistent with updates as it used to be. You won’t find much that’s changed on the latest version (based on Android 10) — it’s still well designed, powerful, and has great customization options. If you normally use the OnePlus launcher but have wished it had Google Discover to the left of the home screen like a Pixel, you’ll be pleased to hear that is now the case; the Shelf is no longer. Now if we could just get an Always-on Display function, OxygenOS would be close to perfect.

Preeminent performance

This pretty much goes without saying for every recent OnePlus release. It’s just as “fast and smooth” as you’d expect thanks to the Snapdragon 865 chip, 8/12GB of RAM (LPDDR5), and 128/256GB of UFS3.0+ storage. You’ll be hard pushed to do anything that will make the thing slow down or exhibit any lag, and with the 120Hz display and all the animation speeds cranked up (as OnePlus loves to do), everything will feel lightning fast.

Fast wireless charging

The new IP68 water and dust-resistant rating is something OnePlus fans have long-requested, but the addition of wireless charging is even more significant. And it’s not just any old wireless charging just to appease customers, it’s super fast. With the proprietary charger and its built-in fan, OnePlus has been able to achieve remarkable efficiency too, so it’s practically as fast as the 30W charging you’d get through a cable.

Charming colors

The 7T aside, the last few generations of OnePlus phones have followed a very similar design aesthetic on the rear, with cameras aligned vertically in an elongated oval-shaped module. Depending on the color, you’d get a matte or shiny finish. This style has been carried over to the 8 Pro, which some people might think is a negative, but it means OnePlus has been able to perfect its materials and finish. The Glacial Green model is delightful, and the matte frosted back hides fingerprints better than almost any other glass phone (the orange Pixel 4 comes to mind as another that does this very well). If you happen to spring for a protective case, the matching cyan sandstone number is also a sight to behold.

And don’t worry, this isn’t some sort of OnePlus love-in — we have a 5 worst features post coming up next. In the meantime, check out Ryne’s full review.