Phone Comparisons: OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus had introduced its new flagships quite recently. The two phones that got announced are the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro. We’ve already compared those two phones, and the time has come to do the same for the OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro. In other words, we’ll compare the company’s 2019 and 2020 flagships.

The OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 8 Pro are similar in some ways, but there are quite a few differences as well. We’ll say that the major similarity between them can be found in the design department, but we’ll talk more about that in a moment. The OnePlus 8 Pro is the most powerful offering from OnePlus at the moment, and it offers quite a bit more than its sibling in terms of features.

As it’s usually the case, we’ll kick off this comparison by listing specifications first. Following that, we’ll talk more about the design, display, performance, and other aspects of the two phones. That being said, let’s kick off the OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro comparison, and see what phone is the better option, shall we.

Specs

OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Design

In the design department, these two phones are quite similar. The OnePlus 8 Pro does come with a taller display aspect ratio, and it does include a display camera hole. The difference is also noticeable on the back, as the 8 Pro has larger camera sensors, one extra camera, and also laser autofocus on the back. Both phones are made out of metal and glass, though. Both are quite slippery, and they do offer a very similar design overall.

The OnePlus 7 Pro does not include a display camera hole, it features a pop-up selfie camera instead. Many would say that it looks better because of it, and that’s hard to dispute. Not everyone will prefer the pop-up selfie camera mechanism, as we’re talking about moving parts here, but it does look better from the design standpoint. Bezels on the two phones are almost identically thick / thin. They’re extremely thin.

Neither of these two phones offers a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the main speaker is placed on the bottom of both of them. The secondary speaker lies above the display, while there are physical buttons on both sides of these two phones. The power / lock button, and an alert slider sit on the right. The volume up and down buttons are placed on the left side of both devices. So, all in all, they’re quite similar, but we’ll give the OnePlus 7 Pro the edge here. The reason? Well, it simply looks better overall as it doesn’t have that display punch hole. If that doesn’t bother you, well, the 8 Pro is a great choice.

Winner: OnePlus 7 Pro

OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Display

Both of these phones have gorgeous, large, OLED panels. The OnePlus 7 Pro features a 6.67-inch QHD+ (3120 x 1440) Fluid AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate. The OnePlus 8 Pro sports a 6.78-inch QHD+ (3168 x 1440) Fluid AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate. Both displays support HDR10+ content, and both are protected by a sheet of Gorilla Glass. It’s Gorilla Glass 5 in the case of the OnePlus 7 Pro, and either Gorilla Glass 5 or 6 in the case of the OnePlus 8 Pro.

Both displays are curved, by the way. They’re not ‘waterfall’ displays, but they’re curved quite a bit. Now, you’ll notice that the OnePlus 8 Pro has a higher refresh rate, and that is noticeable if you pay attention. The difference between 90Hz and 120Hz is much smaller than between 60Hz and 90Hz, at least in terms of what a human eye can perceive. Both panels are great in that regard, scrolling will look smooth on both. The OnePlus 8 Pro does have an advantage in that regard, though.

The OnePlus 8 Pro also offers 240Hz touch sensing, which is yet another advantage. The display is extremely responsive. The OnePlus 7 Pro’s panel doesn’t lag behind all that much, but this is worth noting. In terms of the actual image quality, they’re both excellent. Both displays are at the very top of the DisplayMate charts, even though the OnePlus 8 Pro does have an advantage. Colors are vivid and accurate at the same time. Blacks are deep, and there are a ton of options that you can play with and tune both displays to your liking. Both phones have great displays, but the 8 Pro’s is the winner here.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Performance

OnePlus’ smartphones have always been focused on offering the best performance possible. One would expect that both the company’s last year’s and this year’s flagships are blazing fast, right? Well, yes, they are. Truth be said, the difference in sheer performance speed on these two phones is negligible. Both devices are extremely fast and will chew through anything you throw at them. Whether you’re launching apps, switching between them, running games, or watching multimedia, both of these phones will deliver.

Scrolling and similar actions may seem a bit smoother on the OnePlus 8 Pro due to its higher refresh rate, but that is not as easy to notice. The OnePlus 7 Pro also has a high refresh rate display, and everything is buttery smooth on it as well. Both phones have really powerful SoCs, even though the OnePlus 8 Pro’s is newer, and technically more powerful. The OnePlus 8 Pro also comes with newer and faster RAM (LPDDR5 vs LPDDR4X).

Despite the fact, the OnePlus 8 Pro includes newer components, these two phones are on the same playing field in terms of performance. If you already own the OnePlus 7 Pro, upgrading to the OnePlus 8 Pro may not be necessary. Both of these phones offer great performance, and chances are it will remain that way for quite some time.

Winner: Tie

OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Battery

Both the OnePlus 7 Pro and 8 Pro have fairly large battery packs. That was to be expected considering their displays are quite large. The OnePlus 7 Pro comes with a 4,000mAh battery, while the 8 Pro includes a 4,510mAh battery. The 8 Pro does include a larger battery pack, and there’s a good reason for it. Not only does it have a larger display, but it also offers higher refresh rate. The good news is, the Snapdragon 865 is more power efficient than the Snapdragon 855, and the same goes for LPDDR5 vs LPDDR4X RAM.

Do you notice that in terms of battery life? Well, yes. The difference is not great between them, but the OnePlus 8 Pro does offer better battery life. Well, as long as you don’t enable MEMC, as that could bring down the numbers a bit. In any case, both of these phones are capable of getting over 7 hours of screen-on-time on a given day, though the ‘8 Pro’ offers a bit extra. It all depends on your usage as well, of course, this is only our experience. If you’re a gamer, you can expect different numbers, of course.

Both phones offer fast charging as well. Both support Warp Charge 30T, which is 30W fast wired charging. The OnePlus 8 Pro also comes with wireless charging. It offers 30W wireless charging, and 3W reverse wireless charging. Those are features that the 7 Pro does not offer. All in all, the OnePlus 8 Pro is the winner here.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Cameras

The OnePlus 7 Pro comes with three rear cameras, while the OnePlus 8 Pro includes four. Both phones include a 48-megapixel main camera, but the sensors are different. In fact, the OnePlus 7 Pro’s main sensor is a secondary camera sensor on the OnePlus 8 Pro, the one with an ultrawide lens. That being said, is there any difference in camera quality here? Well yes, there is, and… spoiler alert, the OnePlus 8 Pro is the better phone in the camera sense.

The OnePlus 8 Pro offers better dynamic range than the OnePlus 7 Pro, while it can also capture better bokeh effect. Images coming from the ‘8 Pro’ are a bit sharper, and that is especially noticeable in low light. The OnePlus 8 Pro can also provide more light in low light images. To top it all off, macro shots are far better on the OnePlus 8 Pro. The device allows you to get really close to an object and take a picture, and the detail in those macro shots is really great.

OnePlus has also improved video stabilization and video in general on the OnePlus 8 Pro. The OnePlus 7 Pro does have really competent cameras, far from it, but it is beaten by its successor. Do note that the OnePlus 7 Pro camera quality is far better now than it was at launch, in case you’re planning on getting it. That being said, the OnePlus 8 Pro is the winner in this category.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus 7 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Audio

Both of these smartphones include stereo speakers. Neither of them has a 3.5mm headphone jack, however. That being said, stereo speakers on both phones are actually quite good. They’re quite loud, and quite clear as well. Distortion is very minimal at very high volumes, while they offer some bass as well. Do note that the OnePlus 8 Pro’s speakers can get a bit louder, but the difference is really not that noticeable.

Sound via a good pair of headphones is really good, regardless of whether you use wired or wireless connection. The sound is good across the spectrum, though the highs are a bit better than lows and mids, at least from what we could hear. All in all, both the OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 8 Pro offer really good audio. We could nitpick and go for the 8 Pro here, but the difference is really not that noticeable… it’s a tie.

Winner: Tie

The overall winner

So, you’ll notice that the OnePlus 8 Pro won this comparison. That’s not exactly surprising, as the 8 Pro is OnePlus’ new flagship smartphone. It’s a successor to the OnePlus 7 Pro. Both of these smartphones are really good. If you don’t need wireless charging, official IP rating, or camera improvements, the 7 Pro may even be a better choice, due to its price tag. The OnePlus 7 Pro can now be purchased for a lot less than the 8 Pro, so consider getting one if you’re interested in OnePlus’ smartphones.

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro