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Not only is OnePlus 8 Pro packing the feature you’ve always wanted, but it’s also better than everyone else’s

Published Mar 4th, 2020 7:31AM EST
OnePlus 8 Pro Specs
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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OnePlus phones may be cheaper than their rivals, but they’re not perfect devices. The Chinese smartphone maker always had to make some compromises to keep costs down, and one of them concerned a feature that almost all other high-end phones have. That’s wireless charging, of course, a feature that OnePlus resisted over the years, explaining that it’s too slow compared to wired charging. OnePlus also increased the speed of wired charging on its phones to make up for the lack of wireless support, but that doesn’t change the fact that wireless charging is incredibly more convenient. Fast-forward to early 2020, and we saw the first rumors saying that OnePlus will finally embrace wireless charging for its OnePlus 8 series. And now we have a rumor from a reliable insider that reveals OnePlus’s wireless charging will be even faster than the iPhone 11 or Galaxy S20’s.

Wireless charging is painfully slow on the iPhone at 7.5W, but you’ll be using it more and more as soon as you place a wireless charging mat on your desk or nightstand. Other phones, like the new Galaxy S20 series, support even faster wireless charging, at 15W, which makes it even more convenient. But OnePlus will reportedly be even faster, teenage leaker Ishan Agarwal told 91mobikles that the OnePlus 8 Pro will support 30W wireless charging as well as 30W reverse wireless charging.

That’s a massive upgrade for OnePlus, and certainly, a feature that fans will certainly appreciate, assuming the leak is accurate — but Agarwal has an excellent track record at leaking OnePlus details.

Xiaomi earlier this week demoed a phone that supports 40W wireless charging speeds, a feature I said Apple should steal for the iPhone. But it’s unclear whether any Xiaomi commercial handsets will actually deliver 40W wireless charging. OnePlus, meanwhile, might have the next best thing on its hands.

It’s unclear whether the other two OnePlus 8 phones, including the Lite and the regular model, will support wireless charging, however.

The report notes that both the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will feature similar specs, including the Snapdragon 865 processor and 120Hz displays.

The Pro will also feature dual-mode 5G support, but it’s not clear whether the OnePlus 8 will have 5G enabled. The 865 chip comes with built-in 5G support, so the cheaper OnePlus 8 should also be a 5G phone.

The OnePlus 8 will have a 6.5-inch OLED screen with an in-display fingerprint sensor and hole-punch selfie camera and ship in three variants: 6GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB, and 12GB/256GB. The Pro will have a slightly bigger 6.65-inch OLED screen with a similar design.

When it comes to cameras, both phones will have a triple-lens camera module featuring 48-megapixel, 16-megapixel, and 2-megapixel sensors. The Pro also gets a ToF camera on the back.

The OnePlus 8 will pack a 4,000 mAh battery that supports 30W wired charging, while the Pro will sport a 4,500 mAh battery with 50W Super Warp charge support.

In a separate tweet, Agarwal said the OnePlus 8 Lite might be priced at around £400 ($512) in the UK, rocking a Mediatek processor and 90Hz hole-punch display. The phone should be available in stores in July in most countries.

These are just rumors, but they sound very familiar because we’ve heard them before from different sources. That said, we’ll have to wait for OnePlus’s rumored mid-April event to confirm everything.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.