Having used OnePlus 6T followed by OnePlus 7 as my primary phones over the last 16 months or so, can’t say that I’m really looking forward to OnePlus 8. Not that OnePlus doesn’t offer value for money but just that they get basics all messed up!
- VoWiFi: OnePlus phones don’t consistently latch on to VoWiFi and keep switching between VoWiFi & VoLTE. Sometimes my OnePlus 7 lets go of both and needs an airplane mode on/off to re-enable either. Painful during these work from home times! (Update: I updated my WiFi to a 5 Ghz router and the VoWiFi is now working flawlessly)
- Auto brightness: I have lost track of when OnePlus got this right on any of their phones. Many times need to manually adjust the brightness level to be able to see the display properly.
- Proximity Sensors: Don’t even ask me about OnePlus’s proximity sensors. Hardly a call goes through without the display getting activated by mistake during an ongoing call which results in the mute button getting accidentally pressed by my cheeks.
- Loudspeaker: Talking on a OnePlus phone in loudspeaker mode means the microphone doesn’t pick up your voice clearly & the other party listens to a muffled or a hollow voice.
OnePlus phones only have Oxygen OS as their selling point. Near stock Android UI with fast operations ensure that your phone never lags. There is no other USP. The camera isn’t great but works well with GCam mod. Nor are the monthly security updates as quick as before!
What also works well for OnePlus is lack of competition. There’s only Samsung but with their own issues with Exynos, One UI and pricing. But at least Samsung gets most of the basics right! Not sure whether my next phone will be Samsung but it may not be OnePlus