You know, we often say that a year-old flagship might offer the best value for money to bargain hunters. Well, here is one case in which it is true. The OnePlus 8T is a 2020 flagship, but it is such a delicious package that we recommend it as a great buy even during Christmas 2021.
Released in October 2020, the OnePlus 8T arrived in a beautifully designed shell and premium flagship specs and features. What makes it a compelling purchase over a year later?
For starters, it comes with an aluminium frame, with Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and on the back of the phone. It is a pleasant item to look at and to hold in the hand without being heavy. The screen is a 6.55-inch, Fluid AMOLED panel with 120 Hz refresh rate, and an optical fingerprint reader is embedded in it. There is Always-on display too.
I love that the OnePlus 8T has not just 8 GB of RAM, but also a 12 GB option. I currently own an 8 GB RAM smartphone, and 12 GB RAM will be a lovely upgrade. If you run heavy apps at the same time, and do not want to deal with apps closing in the background, this is vital.
But beyond the RAM memory, the powerhouse of the 8T is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G chipset. It is powerful and quite capable, and delivers both Non-standalone and Standalone 5G options, if you are after a 5G smartphone. For storage memory, there are two options available – 128 GB (paired with 8 GB RAM), and 256 GB (paired with 12 GB RAM). Those are more than adequate storage options for most people. Should you need more space, I’m afraid you have to go cloud. There is no memory card slot available.
The 4500 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery is decent enough to deliver good battery life, and it does. And the charging standard has me excited: 65W fast charging is mighty fast, compared to the 33W standard that I have been used to. I really dislike having my smartphone tethered to the wall socket for long periods. 65W charging should top up the battery from zero in 39 minutes flat. Now, that is what I am talking about.
If there is one aspect of the OnePlus 8T that is not as exciting as I would love, it is photography. Available reviews say while the cameras are good, they are not flagship good. That is a bummer for me. I am quite partial to flagship level cameras. For most people, the 8T cameras are more than good enough; I am the spoilt one who is always nitpicking about things I am passionate about. So, ignore me on this. The OnePlus 8T’s cameras are good – more than likely fantastic for you.
As far as I can tell, OnePlus 8T is a solid premium smartphone that ticks most of the spots that anyone who is looking for a high-performance smartphone will appreciate. It delivers premium flagship level performance at a price that is more pocket-friendly when compared to the top phones in the market. What is not to like, if you are looking for a bargain?
Does OnePlus 8T live up to the flagship killer tag? It has been a long time since OnePlus gave us anything that lived up to that tag. But a year after its release, I do believe the OnePlus 8T is a perfect fit for the title. I don’t think you would be settling if you choose to buy this model.
You will find the 8/128 GB base variant OnePlus 8T for a little over $400 in the US, C$627 in Canada, €450 to € 480 in countries across continental Europe, £440 in BREXIT United Kingdom, as well as ₹ 39,000 in India. The 12/256 GB trim sells for as high as €700.
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