The OnePlus 5T is finally here. The Chinese smartphone vendor unveiled the device on Thursday, and has started taking pre-orders. The phone will go on sale on November 21st. It retains the hardware specs of the OnePlus 5, while adding new elements that would help it compete against the best in the market. Here’s a thorough OnePlus 5T vs Galaxy S8 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus comparison to see how it stacks up against its more expensive rivals.
OnePlus 5T vs Galaxy S8 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Design
OnePlus adheres to its simple design philosophy with the OnePlus 5T. It has an anodized aluminum body and rounded corners. On the back panel, it looks similar to the OnePlus 5, except that it has a fingerprint scanner sitting right above the OnePlus logo. The fingerprint reader is more ergonomically placed than the one on Samsung’s Galaxy S8. It weighs 162g and measures 156.1 x 75 x 7.3 mm. The phone comes only in Midnight Black color.
The OnePlus 5T has a dual camera setup and LED flash module in the top left corner. The device retains the 3.5mm audio jack and a USB Type-C port. It is almost all screen on the front panel with slim bezels.
The Galaxy S8 Plus has a gorgeous bezel-less Infinity display with super-slim top and bottom bezels. It has a glass and metal design. Samsung’s flagship has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, and a button on the side dedicated to the Bixby AI assistant. The Galaxy S8 Plus has a single camera on the back, unlike OnePlus 5T. The fingerprint scanner is positioned next to the rear camera, making it difficult to reach.
The S8 Plus measures 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1mm and weighs 173g. It is slightly larger, thicker, and heavier than the OnePlus 5T. It comes in a wide variety of colors including Orchid Gray, Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Arctic Silver, Rose Pink, and Maple Gold.
The iPhone 8 Plus has the same four-year-old design with thick bezels at the top and button. Unlike the OnePlus 5T and Galaxy S8 Plus, it has a physical home button on the front, which houses the Touch ID fingerprint reader. Its rear panel is made out of glass, which Apple claims is the sturdiest glass ever used in a smartphone. The iPhone 8 Plus measures 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm and weighs 202g. It has a dual camera setup on the upper left corner. The 8 Plus lacks the 3.5mm headphone jack.
OnePlus 5T vs Galaxy S8 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Display
The brand-new OnePlus 5T features a giant 6-inch AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2160 and a pixel density of 401ppi. Now that it has a bezel-less screen, OnePlus has increased the aspect ratio to 18:9. The display is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5. It does not support Mobile HDR, meaning you cannot play HDR content.
The Galaxy S8 Plus features a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display. It has a Quad HD+ resolution of 1440 x 2960, which gives it a pixel density of 529ppi. The display has an aspect ratio of 18.5:9, and is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Unlike OnePlus 5T’s flat screen, the S8 Plus display curves on both sides. The phone also supports Always-On display, which allows you to check out notifications, time and date without unlocking the phone.
The iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch LCD display. It offers a 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, and a pixel density of 401ppi. It’s quite surprising that the iPhone 8 Plus continues to use LCD panels while almost all other premium phones have moved to OLED screens.
OnePlus 5T vs Galaxy S8 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Hardware specs
Under the hood, OnePlus 5T has the same powerful specs as the OnePlus 5 that was launched in June. It runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset with a clock speed of 2.45GHz. The phone comes in two variants: one with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage and another with a huge 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. There is no microSD card slot for memory expansion. It packs a 3,300mAh battery with Dash Charge technology that gives you 100% charge in only about 90 minutes. It doesn’t offer wireless charging support, though.
The Galaxy S8 Plus is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset (US version) and the Exynos 8895 (rest of the world). It offers 4GB RAM, which is enough to perform even the most intensive tasks without any issues. The S8 Plus has 64GB of internal storage, which you can expand by up to 256GB using the microSD card slot. The phablet includes a 3,500mAh battery with fast charging and wireless charging technologies.
The iPhone 8 Plus is powered by Apple’s custom A11 Bionic chipset that has shattered all records in benchmark tests. Though Apple never reveals the RAM and battery size in its flagship smartphones, teardowns conducted by third-party experts show that the phone packs 3GB RAM and a decent 2691mAh battery. Despite its smaller battery size, the iPhone 8 Plus delivers a pretty good battery life because Apple optimizes the iOS software to improve energy efficiency.
OnePlus 5T vs Galaxy S8 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Camera
We almost never buy a new smartphone before comparing its camera quality with other phones in the same category. OnePlus 5T does not disappoint in the camera department. Though expert reviewers are still out there testing its camera capabilities, it is expected to be slightly better than the OnePlus 5, which has a pretty good camera.
The OnePlus 5T comes with a dual camera system consisting of a 16-megapixel and a 20-megapixel sensor, just like the OnePlus 5. The Chinese company has increased the aperture of the second lens, which means it will be able to take even better photos in low-light conditions. It sports a 16-megapixel camera on the front for selfies. Thanks to its dual camera setup, the device can take photos in Portrait Mode with bokeh effects. It is also capable of recording 4K videos.
The Galaxy S8 Plus doesn’t have a dual camera. It has a single 12-megapixel Dual Pixel camera on the back. It has an f/1.7 aperture, LED flash, phase detection autofocus, and optical image stabilization. Though it captures excellent photos, the S8 Plus cannot take Portrait Mode images due to the lack of a secondary rear camera. On the front, it has an 8-megapixel shooter with a Smart Autofocus system and an f/1.7 aperture.
The iPhone 8 Plus has a 12MP wide-angle and a 12MP telephoto lens on the rear. One of them has an f/1.8 aperture while the other one’s aperture is f/2.8. It has an LED dual-tone flash, 2x optical zoom and autofocus. According to DxOMark, the iPhone 8 Plus has one of the world’s best smartphone cameras. It features a 7-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture. Just like OnePlus 5T, the 8 Plus can take Portrait Mode photos.
OnePlus 5T vs Galaxy S8 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Software
Both the OnePlus 5T and Galaxy S8 Plus are Android phones. The OnePlus 5T runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat while the S8 Plus is still stuck on Android 7.0 Nougat. The user experience on these devices is quite different because OnePlus adds its custom OxygenOS on top of Android, and Samsung adds its TouchWiz software on top. The iPhone 8 Plus runs Apple’s custom iOS 11 software.
Since Apple controls both the hardware and software of its products, the iPhone 8 Plus gets faster and more timely software updates compared to its Android rivals. For instance, both the S8 Plus and OnePlus 5T come with Android Nougat even though the newer Android Oreo has been around for quite a while.
OnePlus 5T vs Galaxy S8 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Special features
Both the OnePlus 5T and Galaxy S8 Plus comes with dual SIM support, something the iPhone 8 Plus lacks. The OnePlus 5T also has a new Face Unlock feature besides the fingerprint reader. Just like Apple’s Face ID, the Face Unlock allows you to unlock the device by looking at it. OnePlus claims it uses 100 points of measurement on your face.
The Face Unlock may not be as secure or advanced as the iris scanner on the S8 Plus, but it’s incredibly fast. Samsung’s phone also has a facial recognition feature, which can easily be fooled using the victim’s photo or a mask.
The OnePlus 5T lacks waterproofing capabilities. The S8 Plus comes with an IP68 rating for water and dust-resistance. Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus has an IP67 rating for water-resistance.
Conclusion
The OnePlus 5T matches or exceeds its rivals in most aspects, though it lacks water-proofing, wireless charging, and a microSD card slot. The phone has been priced at $499 for the 6GB/64GB variant. It is much more affordable than the Galaxy S8 Plus, which costs $825 in the US, and the iPhone 8 Plus, which has a starting price of $799. The OnePlus 5T offers premium specs and performance at an affordable price tag.
