OnePlus 8 has put on its waterproof armour and has specs to batter Samsung Galaxy S20

The upcoming OnePlus 8 looks set to be an impressive addition to the Chinese phone manufacturer's stable of smartphones that could well give the new Samsung Galaxy S20 a run for its money, which is the phone to beat following its official reveal last week. All the big Chinese brands want to serve up approximately the same spec as Samsung S20 – or better – at a lower price. 

OnePlus is having a hard time keeping the specs under wraps, which is weird for a phone brand that models itself in a religious cult. We already got a whiff of the specs for the new flagship handsets, but now even more details have been revealed on all three models thanks to another leak, and it looks like there's a lot to look forward to. Admittedly that leak is from Giztop, which is not a retailer we are all that familiar with. 

Let's roll it out, starting with the flagship OnePlus 8 Pro.

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OnePlus 8 Pro specs

• 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED display
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Snapdragon 865 processor
• Triple rear camera (60MP + 16MP + 13MP)
• 32MP front-facing camera
• 4,500 mAh battery
• 50W charging
• 8GB/ 12GB RAM
• 128GB/ 256GB storage
• $799 

The OnePlus 8 Pro sits at the top end of the trio and is, of course, the most expensive - although we can't confirm that these prices are correct until we get official word. The leak comes via a spec sheet from webstore Giztop, which isn't exactly a well of exclusive information on smartphones, so we're taking the 'leak' with a hefty bucket of salt.

If the specs are accurate, the display falls short of the Galaxy S20 Ultra's 6.9-inches, which is so big it's comparable to Samsung's oversized Note 10+.  The OnePlus 8 Pro sits between the S20 and S20 Plus when it comes to the display, and it keeps up with the S20 Ultra's 120Hz refresh rate too.  It's only just pipped to the post in the battery department by the Ultra's 5,000 mAh, but trounces the Samsung smartphone's 45W fast charging. 

The 8 Pro has three rear cameras rather than four, and is closer to the S20 and S20 Plus which both feature a 12MP wide angle lens, a 12MP ultra wide angle lens,and a 64MP telephoto lens.  Ignoring the base level S20, Samsung's flagship phones feature an impressive zoom capability too, so it'll be hard for anyone to outshine it on the camera-front. But the price difference could be what counts for a lot of people, and with the S20 Ultra starting from £1199, the OnePlus 8 Pro has more than a fighting chance of going up against it. 

OnePlus 8 specs

• 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display
• 90Hz refresh rate
• Snapdragon 865 processor
• Triple rear camera (48MP + 16MP + 2MP)
• 32MP front-facing camera
• 4,000 mAh battery
• 30W charging
• 6GB/ 8GB/ 12GB RAM
• 128GB/ 256GB storage
• $549

Starting at $549 seems a pretty reasonable price point for the base model smartphone, although it's unlikely that this will be a straight conversion for the UK market.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is the only one in the lineup to feature a refresh rate of 120Hz, while all three of Samsung's S20 handsets sport the feature. The display is marginally smaller than the S20 Plus' 6.7-inches, and struggles to match the latter's rear camera setup. The selfie camera fares significantly better, with a 32MP lens compared to the S20 Plus' 10MP. 

It does have more RAM and storage options and the 30W fast charge is better than the S20 Plus' 25W, so once again, it'll come down to price and features, and with the S20 Plus kicking things off at £999, it's going to be a toss up for a lo of people, who might find the cheaper option far more alluring. 

OnePlus 8 Lite spec

• 6.4-inch AMOLED display
• 90Hz refresh rate
• Mediatek Dimensity 1,000 processor
• Triple rear camera (48MP + 16MP + 12MP)
• 12MP front-facing camera
• 4,000 mAh battery
• 30W charging
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB/ 256GB storage
• $499

The OnePlus 8 Lite has a slightly more generous screen size than the base S20's 6.2-inches but it lacks the QHD+ resolution. The battery isn't quite as large but it does have 30W fast charging as opposed to 25W, and more importantly, it doesn't have the same £799 starting price tag. 

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Another interesting addition to the lineup is that it looks like it'll be sporting an IP rating for water and dust resistance for a change. Historically, OnePlus hasn't bothered with the certification, saying "waterproof ratings for phones cost you money,"  preferring to demonstrate their durability instead. 

The lack of QHD+ resolution is a bit weird, and it's also strange that the standard model wouldn't have as good a camera setup as the Lite model. But maybe that is a typo.

The reveal should happen in May. Perhaps we'll see even more leaks along the way that will further clarify what we have to look forward to. We couldn't rule it out. 

Source: TechRadar