OnePlus never shies away from what’s next, and the OnePlus 8 Pro Deep Dive tells some of what fans can expect for the company’s 2020 flagship. Do note that some of this information relates to both the regular and ‘Pro’ models, but most are exclusive to the ‘Pro’ variant.
CEO reveals OnePlus 8 Pro specs in company “Deep Dive”
At the company’s blog, Pete Lau, OnePlus’ CEO, reveals some specs on the upcoming flagship. What are the new specs? First, the 120Hz Fluid Display is coming. OnePlus revealed this back in mid-January, so this is no surprise.
Next, the flagship will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, the top of the lineup for mobile phone processors. Qualcomm’s 865 SoC is the first to offer cores on one chip and 5G on another. As a result of its construction, Qualcomm is charging more for the 865 than the 855, as the 865 is the priciest Qualcomm processor to date.
The Snapdragon 865 is such a premium processor that some companies such as LG and Google are using the Snapdragon 765G as a substitute. The 765G, in contrast to the 865, offers cores and LTE modem on one chip. OnePlus’s decision to include the 865 in the OnePlus 8 Pro shows the company is going all out for the brand.
LPDDR5 RAM, the newest standard in memory management, will arrive on the OnePlus 8 Pro. Samsung is manufacturing 16GB LPDDR5 RAM. With OnePlus buying Samsung displays, it’s also a possibility that OnePlus will purchase RAM from Samsung as well. A recent Geekbench sighting shows the OnePlus 8 5G with 12GB of RAM, so the latest RAM will definitely be onboard.
UFS 3.0 is the latest standard in flash storage, with faster read/write speeds than ever. One the UFS front, though, OnePlus intends to improve read/write speeds even more with Turbo Write and Host Performance Booster (HPB).
Additionally, Lau says that the entire OnePlus 8 lineup (including the Pro model) will have 5G. Notice that Lau writes atop the company blog post, “via OnePlus 8 Pro.” That’s about as direct a hint as one can get regarding a new smartphone. An Amazon affiliate page from February mentions the 8 Pro moniker.
New software features
Pete Lau mentions software features for the new flagship, though he doesn’t go into any details. Of course, new software features are also part of an excellent new smartphone experience. Some users crave new features over new specs. The specs above are top-of-the-line in Android. It doesn’t get any better than a 120Hz panel, LPDDR5 RAM, and the two-chip Snapdragon 865.
While these get tech enthusiasts drooling, some enthusiasts concern themselves more with hearing about software features. After all, OnePlus is in an Android phone market where nearly every OEM offers the same specs. Specs alone are not a justifier of a premium price tag.
OnePlus’s Turbo Write and Host Performance Booster (HPB) are upcoming features that provide some insight into new software features. It’s more of these that some would like to see in blog posts that give away flagship details.
OnePlus 8 series launch: different time, different circumstances
The current global health crisis is forcing the world to change its routine. The same goes for OnePlus. The company is preparing for an online launch to contain disease spread. That launch event will happen on April 14.