OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus 8 Series on April 14, and while the OnePlus 8 Pro finally got the bells and whistles we expect from a flagship — wireless charging and water resistance — the OnePlus 8 is going to have to rely on a different tactic to justify its $700 starting price. The OnePlus 8 doesn't have the super-fast 120Hz screen, it doesn't have wireless charging or water resistance, and so during the virtual launch event, OnePlus went to great lengths to try and position the OnePlus 8 as a "compact" phone that won't sacrifice for its smaller size.
With its 6.55-inch screen and 180g weight? Yeah, the OnePlus 8 is many things, but compact isn't one of them.
So the OnePlus 8 is slightly smaller than the Pixel 4 XL and Galaxy S20+
Compact by comparison of the OnePlus 8 Pro … but uh, yeah.So the OnePlus 8 is slightly smaller than the Pixel 4 XL and Galaxy S20+
Compact by comparison of the OnePlus 8 Pro … but uh, yeah.— Andrew Martonik (@andrewmartonik) April 14, 2020April 14, 2020
The dimensions of the OnePlus 8 are 72.9 x 160.2 x 8 mm. Here are just a few of the many phones that are smaller than those dimensions:
- Samsung Galaxy S20: 69.1 x 151.7 x 7.9 mm
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10: 71.8 x 151 x 7.9 mm
- Google Pixel 4: 68.8 x 147.1 x 8.2 mm
- Google Pixel 3a: 70.1 x 151.3 x 8.2 mm
- iPhone 11 Pro: 77.8 x 158 x 8.1 mm
- iPhone 11: 71.4 x 150.9 x 8.1 mm
- Nokia 7.2: 75.11 x 159.88 x 8.25 mm
- Huawei P30: 71.36 x 149.1 x 7.57 mm
I use a Galaxy S20 as my daily driver. Even if it's smaller than say a OnePlus 8 Pro or a Galaxy Note 10+ — by the by, the Note 10 is barely bigger than the OnePlus 8 — I wouldn't go as far as to call the S20 a small phone. The Pixel 3a feels like a small phone because of the smaller screen size, but it's still about the same dimensions as the S20. They're not the small phones we have been begging for for the last few years, by any means. In that regard, the Galaxy Z Flip is a heck of a lot closer to the dream of a compact flagship than the OnePlus 8.
I want a small flagship, I've wanted one since I left my Moto X five years ago. I want one so that I don't have to try and pull off the Lara Croft cosplay look every time I leave the house. I want a phone that fits in my damn pockets so I don't have to rely on a purse or a holster or holding my phone every second of the day, and the OnePlus 8 won't do any of those things. The only thing it looks small in is the OnePlus lineup.
The OnePlus 8 is a perfectly respectable phone, and I have few doubts that it'll sell just as well as the OnePlus 7T did — especially since it's shaping up to be one of the most affordable 5G phones on the market — but OnePlus needs to find a better angle if they want to sell it honestly. Because calling this phone "compact" is laughably deceptive marketing, and I just want to know where they got what they were smoking when they thought this angle up.
OnePlus 8
Great at many things, but don't call it compact.
The OnePlus 8 is a 7T with a few new specs, 5G and a larger battery for a $100 price bump. Even at the higher price, it still represents incredible value thanks to all of the core tenets of OnePlus phones: good hardware, great software, excellent specs, and strong battery life.
Ara Wagoner was a staff writer at Android Central. She themes phones and pokes YouTube Music with a stick. When she's not writing about cases, Chromebooks, or customization, she's wandering around Walt Disney World. If you see her without headphones, RUN. You can follow her on Twitter at @arawagco.
