OnePlus may have flown far from its roots, with its most expensive phone ever, but that doesn’t the cult phone maker can’t still hit it out of the park. A smartphone powerhouse, the OnePlus 8 Pro is a strong challenger to even the most premium of flagships, like the Samsung Galaxy S20 and iPhone 11 Pro.

What we love – Packs a punch, high refresh hype and a much-improved camera

For the most part, OnePlus looked at all the flagship hardware available today and whacked it is this £799 phone. With 8GB/12GB RAM and a Snapdragon 865 processor, coupled with OnePlus’s remarkable OxygenOS, this phone is a contender for the most powerful smartphone around. OnePlus has played a big part in making the smartphone market fall in love with high refresh rate displays. Having jumped on the tech early on, the company cemented the tech’s place on high-end flagships with the inclusion of a stunning 120Hz OLED on the OnePlus 8 Pro. The combination of brightness, pixels, sharpness and smoothness truly puts this display up there with the best of them, such as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra – a phone that comes in at a much higher price. The camera has never been the strongest point of OnePlus phones and, while that doesn’t change with the 8 Pro, the quad-camera setup is a step-up from previous efforts.  You’ll find OnePlus has doubled up on 48-megapixel cameras on the back – one with OIS and one that’s an ultra-wide – and these are backed up by an 8-megapixel zoom lens and 5-megapixel colour filter sensor. The latter of that foursome lets the side down a bit but the overall team-up offers a versatile shooting experience with vibrant colours and handy features. Read this: Cast your vote for the best phone right now
OnePlus 8 Pro review

What we don’t like – #CancelCurvedDisplays, a big beefy unit and silly colour filter cam

Are we finally coming over the other end of the curved phone display era? It seems so. Flagship phones from Samsung have toned it down, with many others following suit. However, OnePlus is yet to give up the ghost when it comes to the OnePlus 8 Pro. The large size of the OnePlus 8 Pro already presents some handling difficulties but the supremely-curved edges make gripping this phone quite the uphill task – especially for those with smaller digits. We mentioned it before so let’s dig in, OnePlus tried something with the colour filter sensor and, while you can maybe respect the attempt, it failed. The 5-megapixel colour filter did little more than amuse the Twitterverse for a bit with some weird X-Ray photos. The primary effect of the filter sensor seemed to be to drain all the interesting colour from a shot – why? Read this: OnePlus Nord review

Verdict

OnePlus 8 Pro is the best phone the company has ever made, knocking many competitors for six in the horsepower department and producing an industry-leading display. The design that may not be ideal for all and the camera is just decent but, if you are looking for the best of the best in the Android space, OnePlus 8 Pro is definitely in the running. Our Recombu reviews are created using data collected by Trusted Reviews Labs, utilising their testing expertise to bring you an easy-to-read, short-form review.