OnePlus 7 vs OnePlus 7 Pro battery comparison: It all evens out

The OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro are similar in many ways, yet, there are some key differences between the two. The two phones deliver a one-two punch where they both pack exceptional internals, but there’s just a little extra on-offer with the Pro which may make you want to upgrade.

While there are several differences between the devices, the size of the battery and the display are two of the key differentiating features. Both these features have a direct impact on the kind of longevity you can expect from the phones. Earlier, we did some rigorous analysis to ascertain the battery life you can expect from the OnePlus 7 Pro with its 90Hz display under the various modes. Now, let’s take a look at how battery life compares between the regular OnePlus 7 and the Pro.

First, the differences between the two. The OnePlus 7 is equipped with a 6.41-inch display, a fairly significant reduction over the 6.67-inch panel on the OnePlus 7 Pro. Then there’s the matter of the screen resolution. The Full HD+ resolution of the OnePlus 7 is significantly lower than the Quad HD+ panel on the Pro and this has a noticeable impact on battery life. Add to that the 90Hz, high refresh rate, mode on the OnePlus 7 Pro and you are looking at a display with a significant power draw.

OnePlus includes an adaptive resolution mode on the Pro that lets the phone dynamically switch resolutions based on the content being displayed. Depending on how you use your phone, the feature is able to add up to another hour or so of screen-on time to your device.

All things considered, we tested out all the permutations and combinations possible and created two primary test scenarios. Since viewing videos and browsing the internet forms a significant portion of smartphone use, these should give us a good idea of the kind of battery life to expect.

With the screen set to 200 nits or at 50-percent brightness, more than sufficient while indoors or under shade, we ran our standard web-browsing loop test. In our simulated work-load, the results were not that surprising. The OnePlus 7 Pro, when set to Full HD resolution and 60Hz refresh rate, managed a full 692 minutes of continuous web browsing. The OnePlus 7 with similar display specs came very close and clocked in at 685 minutes of browsing.

Our previous tests showed us how the 90Hz display has a rather big impact on battery life. All said and done, with every increase in display quality, be it the resolution or the refresh rate, we observed that battery life reduced by an extra hour or so.

We also ran a video-loop test to see how the two phones fare against each other. The results were within spitting distance of each other but the OnePlus 7 managed to outpace the OnePlus 7 Pro by about thirty minutes. Just enough to get in an extra episode of your favorite TV show.

OnePlus 7 vs OnePlus 7 Pro: Which one lasts longer?

What makes this data even more interesting is the fact that OnePlus has done a rather good job of achieving battery-life parity between the two phones despite the hardware differences. After all, the OnePlus 7 ships with a 3,700mAh battery compared to the 4,000mAh battery on the Pro model, a non-insignificant difference.

You might think that you are losing out on battery-life or standby time by going for the regular OnePlus 7 due to the smaller capacity of the cell. However, that’s really not the case. In fact, you will likely manage noticeably better battery life on the 7 compared to the OnePlus 7 Pro, unless you choose to reduce the resolution and frame rate on the latter.  With the resolution and high frame rates being highlight features of the OnePlus 7 Pro, we doubt many users would want to do that.

Generally, the OnePlus 7 proved to be a better battery performer but the OnePlus 7 Pro isn’t all that far behind. What do you think? Would you sacrifice battery life for a buttery-smooth UI or is that too much to ask? Let us know in the comments section.