“The OnePlus 8T has the essence of the OnePlus 5T. It does not feel like it’s made to impress your dad or mom. Instead, it is built for the younger self within you who does not want to compromise where it matters, i.e. speed, design, and reliability.” This statement pretty much summed up my review of the OnePlus 8T a month ago. I bet critics and users will agree as well. It truly marked the return of OnePlus to its roots, i.e. no-nonsense high-performance smartphones.
It has been a month since I have carried the OnePlus 8T in my pockets along with the iPhone 12, as well as a couple of other smartphones that turned up on my desk for review. Every time I wanted to get away from the overly disciplined world of iOS, I turned to the 8T for a comfortable browsing experience before going to sleep, or catching up on my daily dose of Genshin Impact. It hasn’t been a fairy tale experience exactly but I am glad I always had the OnePlus 8T to back me up when I needed it.
OnePlus 8T: The Good stuff
– Lately, I have valued the in-hand comfort factor more than ever, especially after living with the wildly unwieldy iPhone 12. Those flat edges look good on the iPhone 12 for sure but it is the OnePlus 8T’s curved edges and frames that make for a comfortable user experience. This phone can sit in my palm all-day and I won’t even mind spending hours reading articles on it.
-The 188 grams of weight on the OnePlus 8T is by no means light. That said, the weight is balanced wonderfully across the phone, and hence, my palms did not have to through the same fatigue on the 8T as they do on the iPhone 12. I should point out that I have weirdly soft palms for a male human and hence, my hands are sensitive to even mildly sharper things.
-Helping with the comfort factor is the new Oxygen OS 11 interface itself. Some of you may love, others may loathe it. I like it for the fact that it makes it possible to use a large 6.5-inch display single handledly more often than ever. I was able to reach all corners of the phone simply with a swipe down, which is a delight after using an iPhone. I also love the interface layout, where everything is sorted in a visually pleasing manner.
-I have been living an adventurous life on the OnePlus 8T by going case-free. M y Aquamarine Green 8T has been through some of my rough jeans pockets, dusty Noida outdoors, and the oily hands of the early winters. So far, my eyes have failed to spot a single scratch or scuff anywhere around. Maybe they are present but the lighter color hides all of them efficiently.
-The display itself has been great to my eyes even after a month. The 6.5-inch AMOLED display is a treat to watch YouTube videos, or photos of my relatives on social media. The high brightness levels make it easy to read under direct sunlight while the 120Hz refresh rate makes it buttery smooth to look at while scrolling.
-Paired with this amazing display is the Snapdragon 865 chip, a combination that makes for a snappy smartphone experience. I haven’t been kind to the OnePlus 8T at all, with several tasks and apps thrown at once, including a couple of games. Over a month, this phone hasn’t thrown up noticeable jitters, or unexpected heat-ups, or app crashes.
-Gaming on the OnePlus 8T has been a great experience. I played PUBG Mobile on it a lot until it got banned in the Indian airwaves. I switched to Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, and a couple of indie games, and all of them were handled just fine by the 8T. The phone did warm up after long sessions along the metal frame as well as near the camera but it was never bothersome.
-When it comes to battery life, the OnePlus 8T is strictly a one-day phone. As my secondary phone, I was having to charge it every morning.The 120Hz display does take a toll on the battery, coupled with my busy fingers. The 65W Warp Charge is a blessing as it only take half an hour on average to fill up the battery.
OnePlus 8T: The not-so-good stuff
-One of the biggest issues I face with the OnePlus 8T is bugs. Oxygen OS 11 is full of minor bugs that make for irritating experiences at times. For example, I notched a few apps being handled weirdly in the background while others faced layout issues. My Bluetooth earbuds refused to pair to it for a few days as well.
I should say that OnePlus has been fast at releasing bug fix patches to the 8T and the company is doing a good job fixing the most common issues. However, every new patch seems to bring some new bug that causes more issues than before. I hope that in another month’s time, OnePlus manages to squash most of the bugs and make for a stable experience.
-The cameras are still an area where OnePlus needs to improve. The subsequent patches since its launch have improved the camera quality on the OnePlus 8T but compared to the similarly priced Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, it feels a tad inferior. I have noticed improvements to the white balance, exposure, and color. However, despite having a 48-megapixel IMX586 sensor, the sharpness and polish aren’t there on par with what other phones at this price offer.
For example, my iPhone SE with its older 12-megapixel sensor can take sharper images with better exposure management. I haven’t found the ultra-wide camera to be of much use. The same stands for the macro camera which is still bad in quality and needs a lot of work.
OnePlus 8T: Still worth it?
The OnePlus 8T has its fair share of issues but it is safe to say that the overall experience with the phone has been great. It feels a tad less premium than the older OnePlus 8 but for power users like me, it works like a charm. Some of the features that don’t evade my attention include the 65W charging, battery life, fluid performance, and the amazing display. Starting at Rs 42,999, I still can’t point a better phone for power users.
source https://www.bgr.in/reviews/oneplus-8t-after-a-month-still-among-the-fastest-but-mind-the-bugs-925628/
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