010406020305LONG-TERM TESTLONG-TERM TESTDAY 09
I’ve decided to brave autumn after
dark... and OnePlus has made big
improvements to its Nightscape
mode. Compared to the 8 there’s
no contest. And by some feat of
techy black magic, it now works
with video too.
There’s still a slightly scraggly
appearance in very bad light, but
there’s no doubting this is one of
the better low-light shooters at
this price. It still doesn’t have a
good zoom, though, so 2x images
are based on a digital crop.DAY 12
The fourth cam is a monochrome
sensor. It’s only used in one of the
filter modes and 90% of buyers
won’t touch it. The standard 48MP
sensor still does most of the
imaging legwork anyway, and
we’re not convinced this 2MP
add-on is helping much.DAY 14
OnePlus has long lost most of the
‘value’ mojo it had back in its early
years. If that’s what you want,
you’ll find it in cheaper phones
from Realme and Xiaomi. But
if only a top-tier processor and
fancy glass-back design will hit
the spot, the 8T is still a great buy.DAY 04
Battery life is nothing special, but
switch the display to its 120Hz
refresh rate and the situation
becomes significantly worse.
On an ordinary day at 60Hz there’s
around 30% left by 11pm; at 120Hz,
the 8T requires a teatime top-up.
Downgrading to 60Hz is a shame,
because the 8T offers uncanny
smoothness at full tilt.
Otherwise the Full HD screen is
excellent. A peak brightness of 1100
nits, just like the OnePlus 8, makes
the phone clear and bright even
outdoors, and there are nerdy
screen modes that let you switch
to pro colour standards.DAY 06
The 8T looks like a photographic
Swiss Army knife but the hardware
changes aren’t huge. It keeps the
48MP main rear camera of the
8, plus the same ultra-wide and
selfie cameras.
The last OnePlus had a terrible
2MP macro, but this one is a
respectable 5MP. Ultra-close-ups
are far better, showing off the
intricacy of plants and pets from
a few centimetres away. The main
camera shoots lovely daytime
images and has excellent dynamic
range optimisation for shooting
rolling orange clouds at sunset.STUFF SAYS
A marginal
upgrade brings
a solid phone
with a big jump
in low-light
image quality++++,
01 Plenty of power and a
sensible enough price
02 Improved low-light
photography and video
03 A comfortable size for
the palm of your hand04 Super-fast charging
really is quite incredible
05 Less fancy design than
the old OnePlus 8
06 Disappointing battery
life in 120Hz modeDonut of Truth™
Display 6.55in
2400x1080 OLED
Processor
Snapdragon 865
RAM 8/12GB
OS Android 11
Storage
128/256GB
Cameras
48+16+5+2MP
rear, 16MP front
Battery 4500mAh
Dimensions
163x76x8.4mm,
188g
Tech specs