Unboxing:
There is a famous saying that one should not judge a book by its cover, yet the first impression is considered to be most important. OnePlus ticks all the right places when it comes to the packaging of their phones. OnePlus packaging is one of the few design choices that I like these days (No pun intended). Inside the box, the OnePlus 8T lies with its full glory on a white coloured bed with Never Settle engraved on it. This gives me vibes from sleeping beauty wherein the OnePlus 8T is my sleeping princess. Removing the plastic sheet reveals its stunning aquamarine colour. I cannot describe in mere words how beautiful the colour looks!. Keeping aside the phone, you will further get a 65W warp charger, TPU silicon case, a type c to type c cable, sim ejector tool, stickers, a greeting card by Pete and a bunch of information booklets. The NEVER SETTLE mark on the silicon case gives it a premium look. The best part of the package however was the 65W charger. Jack of all trades, master of all would be the best description of this adaptor. No longer do I need to carry a different charger for my laptop, tablet and phone. It has claimed its throne for being the common power station for all my battery hungry gadgets.
In terms of packaging, I would score it 10/10. Design:
I had opted for an aquamarine green variant of 8T and my initial impression was boy, that colour looks exceptional. I cannot describe the colour in mere words. Under a certain angle, it is blue which changes its shade to a greenish tint with a different angle. My mother calls it the colour of peacock while my dad describes it as a colour of calmness. I would love OnePlus to experiment more with this shade. With 8T, OnePlus decided to use a corner cut out for the rear camera module. While I agree that corner cutout can be sometimes helpful, I prefer a central camera unit that maintains symmetry. There is a noticeable camera bump which can be easily gotten rid of by using a case. Honestly, the camera bump is not a deal-breaker for me as long as it looks good. Other design elements are the metallic frame, textured alert slider, volume rocker on the left and power button on the right. The phone weighs 188gm which is a bit on the heavier side but with proper weight distribution, it has a premium feel to the hands. I don't hate this design, nor do I love it.
In terms of design, I would score it 7/10.
Display:
The display is the most important part of a smartphone. This is the gateway through which we interact with the hardware and software. The display on 8T is one of the best display I have ever seen. Flat display with crisp colour, 120hz smooth AMOLED with HDR10+ certification makes it one of the best devices for media consumption. The display is ridiculously smooth. Opening and closing the app drawer feels like a spinning fidget spinner. It is oddly satisfying. It has a tiny cut out in the top corner for the front-facing camera. To be honest, I do not have any issues with a cut out for the front camera. In my 4 months of extensive usage, there was not a single display tint issues with my phone. The best part however is the brightness. Gone are those days when I had to cover my screen to read the contents under bright sunlight. It is one of the brightest display I have ever used. Always on display also know as AOD is the cherry on the cake. Having used AOD continuously for more than 4 months, I haven’t noticed a single screen burn-in yet. The touch seems to be fairly responsive however, there have been instances of ghost touches on my phone.
Having said so, I did face some image retention issues with this phone. It never affected my daily usage but once you notice it, you can’t ignore them.
In terms of display, I would score it 9/10.
Battery and Charging:
OnePlus 8T boasts a dual battery technology which is rated at 4500mah coupled with a 65W charger. Coming from 20W fast charging, this technology blew up my mind. I plugged the phone having 5% juice into the charger and it was 75% after 30 mins. This technology is insane. However, fast-changing and long-lasting battery are two sides of the same coin. I consider myself an extremely heavy user who spends his entire day on a phone. From attending google meet lectures to meeting my friends in the battleground, this phone’s battery has been subjected to extreme levels of stress. I usually got around 6 to 7 hours of Screen on Time(SOT) depending on the hours of my gameplay. I have never used wireless charging, so its absence is not a big deal for me.
The only complaint I had was the battery drainage from 10%. It is very irritating to suddenly have a dead phone which had around 10% battery, a minute ago. I believe this to be a software bug that will be patched in a future update. The charging speed has decreased significantly over the last few months. From getting 100% in 40mins, now it takes around an hour which is still faster than the rest.
In terms of battery performance, I would score it 7/10.
Performance:
Oneplus and performance have always been inseparable pair. OnePlus 8T is no different. One can throw all the heavy tasks and it will handle it like a boss. Fast UFS 3.1 storage, LPDDR4X RAM paired up with snapdragon 865 ensures a lag-free experience. I have never noticed any frame drop while playing battle royal games like Call of Duty even on the highest settings. This phone is a masterpiece when it comes to multi-tasking. Attending online lectures in the background and playing a multiplayer game has never been so easy.
Having said that, there has been a situation where I faced a system UI crash. This bug was eventually removed with software updates. OnePlus claims to have installed a cooling system that feels like a gimmick. There have been several issues related to software like app crashing, random reboot, touch freeze. Most of them were fixed by a software update.
In terms of performance, I would rate it 8.5/10.
Camera:
OnePlus 8T has one of the most capable quad-camera setups. It features a 48mp main sensor with a 12mp ultra-wide, 5mp macro sensor and 2mp mono-chrome. In my daily usage, I found 48mp and 12mp to be capable enough to handle most of the situation. However, software optimisation needs some improvements. The colours are sometimes washed out and HDR kicks in too much in daylight photos. The portrait mode seems to have a software bug that whitens the image. Images from the 12mp camera have punchy colours but lack sharpness. The main sensor has improved over the past months with updates. 2mp monochrome is a sensor that can sometimes take cool looking pictures. 5mp macro could have been sharper. Portrait photos have rich colour tones. Videos are very smooth, sharp and ticks all the aspect one would expect in videography. Pro mode in the video would have been added advantage. The front camera is a 16mp shooter which does a good job with selfies. A wider field of view would be a welcome addition. OnePlus has also added a flicker sensor that does work in harsh environments.
The overall camera has great potential which needs software optimisations.
In terms of camera, I would score it 6/10.
Oxygen OS:
OnePlus is known for oxygen OS. With OOS11, OnePlus changed the look and feel of the OS. I have a mixed opinion regarding the OS. The complete UI has been revamped considering one-handed usage. While I love usability, I feel it should have support for third-party apps as well. The shelf has a major redesign which looks beautiful but the inability to access the shelf from swiping right is a big turn off for me. AOD, animations, theme colours beautifully match the aesthetics of the phone. One of the best features of this OS is the ability to quickly switch data connection from one sim card to another. Off-screen gestures, canvas AOD, parallel apps, gaming mode are some of the features that set Oxygen OS apart.
There have been few bugs that I faced but with the help of bug hunters, all of the bugs were fixed. With android 12 around the corner, I am hopeful that OnePlus will fix the issues with oos11.
In terms of OS, I would score it 7/10.
Miscellaneous:
OnePlus has managed to add one of the best haptic motors to the 8T. This is the most underrated feature of this phone. Typing experience has never been so good. The phone can also work as a wifi repeater. This is extremely useful for my old laptop. These tiny details make it one of the best bang for the buck.
Conclusion:
OnePlus has managed to hit the right chords with the OnePlus 8T. Starting at $699, it is a phone for those who want the features of a pro lineup in a budget handset. The amalgamation of beautiful aquamarine colour with powerful performance makes it a perfect choice for creators. Having said that, there is a lot of scope for improvements. The software needs better optimisation, the camera needs better exposure control. If the issues are fixed, the OnePlus 8T is a steal deal.
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