At last count, WhistleOut tracks dozens of smartphone models on hundreds of plans from 17 mobile providers, yet there are many great smartphones not found at any carrier. The OnePlus 8 Pro debuted in Spring of 2020 and is available in Canada straight from the OnePlus online store, but owning one unlocks cheap month-to-month plans from every Canadian supplier.
This is WhistleOut’s first review of a OnePlus smartphone, but hopefully not its last. The OnePlus 8 Pro goes full-out as a flagship killer—but at a cost. Our expert review compares this flagship smartphone to its competition and helps you decide if it’s worth the steep upfront price.OnePlus 8 Pro at a Glance
OnePlus 8 Pro at a Glance
Although there’s no support for Canadian 5G networks, just about every other modern wireless connection is cutting-edge. The biggest drawback is the hefty price, which is difficult to swallow when there are no Canadian mobile carriers selling the OnePlus 8 Pro on two-year plans.
Update November 2023: Lowered prices and a limited-time discount on the OnePlus website brings the price of the OnePlus 8 Pro under $1,000.
What we love
- 6.8" QHD+ AMOLED HDR10+ 120Hz
- Fast CPU, RAM and UFS 3.0 storage
- Optimized 3D performance
- Built-in video motion smoothing
What we don't like
- It's big and heavy
- No 5G support in Canada
- Video recording maxes out at 4K
- High price tag and no 2-year financing
Is the OnePlus 8 Pro a Good Phone?
The OnePlus 8 Pro is undeniably a premium smartphone. It sports the best CPU, RAM and UFS 3.0 storage available on any Android smartphone at launch. The display is large, beautiful, and with a 120Hz refresh rate, it’s fast!
There’s little wrong with the OnePlus 8 Pro, but what is wrong might matter to you. There’s a 5G modem inside, but not one that's compatible with Canadian carriers. The price tag is quite high, yet there’s no 8K video recording. If those aren’t dealbreakers for you, the OnePlus 8 Pro is a good phone for power users who want regular software updates and an awesome 3D gaming experience.
OnePlus 8 Pro Specs
- Performance: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 8/12GB LPDDR5 RAM, Android 10, 128GB/256GB UFS 3.0 + Turbo Write
- Cameras: 48 MP rear camera, 48MP ultrawide, 8 MP telephoto, 5 MP colour filter lens, 16 MP selfie camera
- Display: 6.78” QuadHD+ (3168x1440 pixels) Fluid AMOLED display with HDR10+, 120 Hz refresh, 3D Corning Gorilla Glass
- Battery: 4510 mAh, Warp Charge 30T Fast Charging, 30W Wireless Charging
- Connectivity: USB 3.1 GEN1 Type-C, 5G (not available in Canada), 4G LTE, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 with aptX HD, NFC, GPS
- Features: In-screen fingerprint reader, ringer/vibrate/silent switch, IP68 dust and water resistance, Advanced MEMC for smoother video playback, Fnatic gaming mode
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#1
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Public Mobile 
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#2
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Freedom Mobile 
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#3
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Fido 
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#4
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Virgin Plus (previously Virgin Mobile) 
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#5
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Koodo Mobile 
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#6
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Fizz 
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#7
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Lucky Mobile 
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#8
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Chatr Wireless 
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OnePlus 8 Pro Performance
When you first pick up the OnePlus 8 Pro, it feels like a brick of raw power. Inside is the Snapdragon 865 processor, up to 12GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. All these specs are about the best hardware you could put in a smartphone upon release. We’ll go into the display and data speeds later, but right now just know that this phone is an impressive sum of its industry-leading parts.
OnePlus has a history of intelligently undercutting the premium smartphone market by optimizing performance and features. However, the performance on the OnePlus 8 Pro is through the roof in gaming placing ahead of the Galaxy S20 Ultra in 3D benchmarks. The interface is clean and everything is very fast—even the in-screen fingerprint scanner.
OnePlus 8 Pro Cameras
There are a wide variety of lenses for use on the OnePlus 8 Pro. Both the main shooter and ultrawide lenses take 48MP (megapixels) photos, but the camera software defaults to 12MP, enabling better image fidelity and colour accuracy at the expense of detail. Super-macro mode lets you catch incredible detail in extreme close-ups. The telephoto lens is only 8MP but ideal for attractive outdoor portraits. The front-facing camera is a respectable 32MP for sharp selfies and is only visible as a black dot in the top left of the display.
The main camera can record 4K at 60fps, or 30fps with HDR. The Samsung Galaxy S20 and LG V60 5G offer up to 8K video recording, so it's disappointing that OnePlus maxes out at 4K.
The camera software applies intelligent pixel and frame blending to produce photos even better than what hardware alone can create. The Portrait mode applies real-time Bokeh effect that blurs the background, giving the illusion that you took the photo with professional gear. Night mode was able to brighten even the darkest rural skies, but I found that using third-party camera apps resulted more natural night shots and daytime photos with warmer colours.
OnePlus 8 Pro Display
A premium smartphone needs a premium display, and the OnePlus 8 Pro has one of the best screens of 2021. Just like other flagship smartphones, the AMOLED display with HDR10+ shows brilliant colour reproduction. However, a QuadHD+ screen and 120Hz puts it in an even higher class than the best offerings from Apple, LG and Motorola. The massive 6.8” display is bigger than most Samsung Galaxy S20 models (only the S20 Ultra is larger). Scrolling through your apps or in a browser is buttery smooth. The games you’ve loved for years look even better on the 120Hz display.
OnePlus 8 Pro Battery Life
Despite the size and heft of the OnePlus 8 Pro, the battery holds 4510mAh and sits in the middle of the pack compared to other flagship smartphones. Where it stands out is how quickly it can charge up. Fast charging is supported at 30W over the USB Type-C port, which is better than just about any other smartphone on the market. OnePlus advertises that a 50% charge is possible in 23 minutes, and our experience showed similar results.
What blew us away was 30W wireless charging, which is about 2-3x faster than the competition. Getting a 50% charge in under a half-hour is possible, but only if you have a supported wireless charger. The OnePlus Warp Charge 30 Wireless Charger is available as a separate purchase from OnePlus.
OnePlus 8 Pro Connectivity
While researching this phone you may see that there’s a 5G modem onboard. Sadly, the OnePlus 8 Pro is not supported on Canadian 5G networks. However, it connects in almost every other digital way at extraordinary speed. The OnePlus 8 Pro connects to national and regional 4G LTE networks including Rogers, Bell and Telus. The data port is a true USB 3.1 GEN1 port for 5 Gbps transfer speeds. Wireless connections are fast, too, with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 supported. The only other black mark on the OnePlus 8 Pro is the lack of an analog headphone port.
OnePlus 8 Pro Additional Features
To assist with video playback, the built-in MEMC chip interpolates frames to create enhanced images. If you’ve ever been annoyed by the “soap opera effect” many TVs use, you may want to disable it. However, we found it to improve our experience as 30fps video is automatically converted in real time to 60fps (or 120fps under certain circumstances).
In addition to an industry-leading CPU, fast RAM and awesome display, OnePlus includes proprietary “Fnatic” software to further optimize the gaming experience. Little things like disabling notifications, optimizing the wireless connection and improved haptic feedback help the OnePlus 8 Pro outperform just about every other smartphone on the market at launch, according to 3D benchmark testing.
Verdict:
Following years of specializing in Android smartphones that balance performance and features against cost, OnePlus created a flagship intended to compete against the very best that Samsung, Google and the others have to offer. We found that it excels at matching or slightly exceeding most specs, but it also falls short in camera performance and 5G support in Canada.
The other shocking surprise was the Canadian price tag, which is considerably higher than in the US even after conversion. What makes it even harder to afford is the lack of Canadian carriers that offer this phone on two-year plans. Even so, premium gaming performance and video playback experience places the OnePlus 8 Pro on a high pedestal.
What About the OnePlus 8?
Even though it packs much of the same hardware as its "Pro" sibling, the OnePlus 8 model makes sacrifices where you don't want them. In our testing, performance remains through the roof and even outperformed the Pro. This might be due to a smaller, lower-resolution (Full HD+) screen, so it's still a good gaming phone. The refresh rate is a still-respectable 90Hz, but without video motion smoothing, the premium effect is lost. It's also missing wireless charging which might not be a big deal for you, but it eliminates the feeling of a "premium smartphone."
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