Ardent Nokia fans had been waiting for this for a long time. A flagship phone from Nokia that could rival the likes of the iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphones. HMD Global has officially unveiled the brand new Nokia 8 that targets the same premium segment as the iPhones. The new Nokia phone will also be competing against Android vendors such as OnePlus, which has built a loyal fan base with its competitively priced premium smartphones. Let’s take a look at the Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5 comparison to find out which phone is a better buy.
The Nokia 8 doesn’t disappoint loyal Nokia fans. It offers a glimpse of where Nokia could have been had it used Android rather than Windows Phone on its phones years ago. OnePlus 5, on the other hand, is an incredibly powerful smartphone that rivals the Samsung Galaxy S8. Considering the Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5 target the same segment, the phones have a few similarities.
Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5: Design
HMD Global’s latest flagship has a unibody aluminum design. The company has used the series 6000 aluminum on the device. HMD sticks to Nokia’s minimalist design language, which we have already seen on the Nokia 3, 5 and 6. During the London unveiling event, HMD claimed the Nokia 8 goes through a 40-stage process of machining and polishing.
The phone has a vertically arranged dual camera system on the back. The Nokia logo is placed right below the dual cameras. Nokia 8 sports a physical home button on the front, which houses the fingerprint scanner. OnePlus 5 has a similar design with a flat body that curves at the edges. The dual camera on OnePlus 5 is arranged horizontally at the top right corner. Just like Nokia 8, it has a physical home button with the fingerprint sensor on the front.
Nokia 8 (7.9mm) is slightly thicker than OnePlus 5 (7.3mm). The latest Nokia phone weighs 160g compared to OnePlus 5’s 153g. You can get the OnePlus 5 in Midnight Black, Slate Gray, and Soft Gold colors. The Nokia 8 will be available in Polished Copper, Tempered Blue, Polished Blue, and Steel colors.
Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5: Display
The latest Nokia flagship comes with a 5.3-inch IPS LCD screen with Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1440. It features Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass 5, which protects the screen from scratches and accidental drops. The display comes with the Finnish company’s trademark Glance Screen, and has a brightness of up to 700Nits.
OnePlus 5 sports a slightly bigger 5.5-inch AMOLED display. However, it lags behind Nokia in terms of resolution. The OnePlus flagship offers Full HD visuals at 1980 x 1080 resolution, which works out at 401ppi pixel density. The Nokia 8 has a pixel density of 554ppi. It means when checking out photos or watching videos, the Nokia phone gives you a more detailed, eye-pleasing experience than OnePlus 5.
Unfortunately, both smartphones lack an edge-to-edge bezel-less display like Samsung’s Galaxy S8. The Galaxy S8’s bezel-less Infinity display was praised by users as well as tech experts around the world.
Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5: Hardware specs
Both Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5 are powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor built using 10nm manufacturing process. Snapdragon 835 is the most powerful chipset available to Android vendors right now. Most of the flagship phones launched this year including the Galaxy S8 and HTC U11 use the same chipset. Both OnePlus 5 and Nokia 8 have the Adreno 540 graphics processor.
Where the two phones differ is RAM. The Nokia 8 comes with 4GB RAM, which is pretty standard for a premium Android phone. It offers 64GB of internal storage that you can expand by up to 256GB via microSD card. OnePlus 5 packs a huge 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. There is also an 8GB RAM version of OnePlus 5, which comes with 128GB storage.
The Nokia 8 offers a non-removable 3090mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support. To prevent overheating, Nokia has used an innovative heat management technology with a graphite-shielded copper cooling pipe. It dissipates heat across the entire length and breadth of the device. OnePlus 5 includes a 3300mAh non-removable battery with Dash Charge technology. The battery is good enough to last a full day with normal usage.
Both the handsets feature a USB Type-C port, NFC connectivity, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Unfortunately, both phones lack water-resistance capabilities. They will not be able to withstand even light rains.
The Nokia 8 comes with the OZO Audio technology that allows you to capture immersive spatial surround sound on your smartphone. It gives you the 360-degree audio experience. HMD Global says users can also share 4K videos with OZO audio with their friends. Its algorithms ensure that it delivers high fidelity playback even on phones that lack OZO Audio feature.
Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5: Camera
You’ve taken photos and videos with your phone. You have also taken selfies. Have you ever taken a “bothie”? Certainly not. Nokia 8 is the world’s first smartphone to offer Dual-Sight bothie camera capabilities. It allows users to use the front and rear cameras simultaneously in a split-screen view. It lets you capture both photos and videos. You can also live stream video footage directly to social media.
Gimmicks aside, Nokia has an impressive history in smartphone photography. The Nokia 8 comes with dual 13-megapixel camera sensors on the back. Nokia has used Zeiss optics on its latest smartphone. The dual camera setup includes a 13MP RGB sensor with OIS and a 13MP monochrome sensor, which allows the device to capture sharper and crisper photos. Both lenses have an aperture of f/2.0. The Nokia 8 camera offers phase detection autofocus and a dual-tone flash.
The monochrome sensor allows users to capture the depth information. It also improves the low-light photography by collecting more data. Nokia has used a 13-megapixel sensor on the front.
OnePlus 5 beats Nokia 8 in terms of camera, at least on paper. The real-life photography depends on other factors as well such as software optimization. OnePlus 5 also has a dual camera system on the back. It includes a 16MP lens with an f/1.7 aperture and a 20MP sensor with an f/2.6 aperture. It offers dual LED flash, 1.6x optical zoom, and phase detection autofocus. OnePlus 5 has a 16-megapixel camera on the front for selfies.
Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5: Software
Both of them are Android smartphones. But HMD Global has differentiated its device by offering the pure Android experience. Android phones made by Samsung, LG, OnePlus, and others are loaded with bloatware that could slow the devices down. Since Nokia 8 runs the stock Android, it will receive timely security fixes and faster software updates.
Nokia 8 runs Android 7.1.1. Nougat, and will be one of the first phones to get the Android O when it becomes available. OnePlus 5 also runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, but it has OnePlus’s custom OxygenOS on top.
Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5: Price
OnePlus 5 is one of the most affordable premium smartphones you can buy. It retails for $479 for the 6GB RAM/64GB storage model. Nokia 8 will launch next month with a price tag of EUR 599 (roughly $702). OnePlus 5 costs EUR 499 in European markets. The pricing indicates that Nokia is going heads on with the iPhones and Samsung Galaxy flagship phones.
Conclusion
There are a lot of expectations from HMD Global’s first Nokia-branded flagship. If you don’t want the gimmicks like a bothie camera feature, the OnePlus 5 appears to be a better buy. But if you go with Nokia, you’ll get the faster software updates. The Nokia brand is often associated with sturdiness. We will get to see how sturdy the Nokia 8 is only after the launch.
