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OnePlus 8T vs iPhone 12: Which should you buy?
In October 2020 we saw two major smartphones announced in the mid-price range. The first is the OnePlus 8T, the newest “T” refresh of the OnePlus 8 lineup. The second is the iPhone 12, the latest in Apple’s long-running iOS smartphone series. So, we decided to pit the OnePlus 8T vs iPhone 12.
Read more: iPhone 12 series comparison
Which one comes out on top? That’s just what we are going to discover together as we place the OnePlus 8T vs iPhone 12. Keep reading to check out our pick of these two phones.
OnePlus 8T vs iPhone 12
Specs
| OnePlus 8T | Apple iPhone 12 | |
|---|---|---|
Display | OnePlus 8T 6.55-inch AMOLED 2,400 x 1,080 resolution 402ppi 120Hz refresh rate 20:9 aspect ratio | Apple iPhone 12 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED 2,532 x 1,170 resolution HDR, True Tone Wide color (P3) 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio 625 nits max brightness (typical); 1200 nits max brightness (HDR) Ceramic Shield front |
Processor | OnePlus 8T Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 4x Cortex-A77 4x Cortex-A55 | Apple iPhone 12 Apple A14 Bionic |
RAM | OnePlus 8T 8GB / 12GB LDPPR4x | Apple iPhone 12 N/A |
Storage | OnePlus 8T 128GB / 256GB No microSD slot | Apple iPhone 12 64 / 128 / 256GB No microSD slot |
Cameras | OnePlus 8T Rear Main: 48MP, f/1.7 aperture, 0.8µm pixels, optical + electronic image stabilization Secondary: 16MP, f/2.2 aperture, ultra-wide (123-degree FoV) Macro: 5MP, 3cm focal length Monochrome: 2MP 4K at 60fps/30fps Front 16MP sensor, f/2.4 aperture, 1.0 μm pixels, fixed focus, electronic image stabilization | Apple iPhone 12 Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W Up to 50% charge in around 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher (sold separately) MagSafe: Wireless charging up to 15W Magnet array Alignment magnet Accessory Identification NFC Magnetometer |
Headphone jack | OnePlus 8T No | Apple iPhone 12 No |
Battery | OnePlus 8T 4,500mAh 65W charging | Apple iPhone 12 N/A Up to 50% charge in around 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher (sold separately) MagSafe: Wireless charging up to 15W Magnet array Alignment magnet Accessory Identification NFC Magnetometer |
IP rating | OnePlus 8T None for unlocked model IP68 rating for T-Mobile version | Apple iPhone 12 IP68 |
Software | OnePlus 8T Android 11 Oxygen 11 | Apple iPhone 12 iOS 14 |
Dimensions and weight | OnePlus 8T 160.7 x 74.1 x 8.4mm 188g | Apple iPhone 12 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4mm 164g |
Colors | OnePlus 8T Aquamarine Green, Lunar Silver | Apple iPhone 12 Black, White, Product Red, Green, Blue |
Design
The iPhone 12 uses an aluminum chassis, and it has a 6.1-inch OLED 2,532 x 1,170 resolution display. It still sports a huge notch that houses its front-facing camera and face recognition software. The display is protected by a new material called Ceramic Shield, which adds nano-ceramic crystals inside the glass. This is supposed to offer better protection against drops compared to previous iPhone models.
The OnePlus 8T includes a 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED display, with a 2,400 x 1,080 resolution. It throws in a 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother performance while playing games. It has a punch hole on the top left corner for its front-facing camera. You can also access an in-display fingerprint sensor. It includes a frosted glass back, and metal on the sides.
The iPhone 12 comes in Black, White, Product Red, Green, and Blue colors. There are just two color choices for the OnePlus 8T: Lunar Silver and Aquamarine Green. The iPhone 12 has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. There’s no such rating for the regular unlocked OnePlus 8T. However, the version that’s being sold by T-Mobile, under the OnePlus 8T Plus name, does have an IP68 rating.
Hardware
Inside, the OnePlus 8T has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor included in the earlier OnePlus 8 phone. The company is releasing two models; one with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and another with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The iPhone 12, on the other hand, includes the new A14 Bionic processor with a six-core CPU and a four-core GPU. It has 4GB of RAM, and it’s available in 64, 128, and 256GB storage options. Neither phone offers expandable storage, and neither has a headphone jack.
The regular unlocked OnePlus 8T supports sub-6GHz 5G networks. The T-Mobile exclusive OnePlus 8T Plus adds support for the carrier’s normal 600MHz 5G network and its more recent nationwide 2.5GHz network. The iPhone 12 also supports sub-6GHz 5G, but the US versions are the only ones to throw in support for millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G networks.
Read More: The differences between the OnePlus 8T and the T-Mobile OnePlus 8T Plus
The OnePlus 8T has a big 4,500mAh battery. In the box, it throws in a Warp Charge 65 USB-C charger. It will charge up this big battery to 100% in just 39 minutes. The iPhone 12 has a smaller 2815mAh battery. It also supports a new accessory format called MagSafe. It’s used for a new class of accessories that uses magnets that attach to the rear of the iPhone 12 models. That means accessories like cases, wireless chargers, and more all connect magnetically to the back of the iPhone 12 series.
The new Apple wireless chargers can boost wireless charging by up to 15W. The phones still support the more widely used Qi wireless charging standard. However, they only charge the Phone 12 models up to 7.5W. The OnePlus 8T, sadly, does not support wireless charging at all.
Camera
The OnePlus 8T has four rear cameras sensors. They include a 48MP main sensor and a 16MP ultra-wide camera. The phone also throws in a 5MP macro camera and a 2MP monochrome sensor. In our review of the OnePlus 8T, we stated that the images that come from this quad-camera setup were somewhat disappointing, including mixed results with night mode shots. The phone also has a 16MP front-facing camera.
The iPhone 12 includes just two rear cameras: a 12MP wide sensor, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. It also has a 12MP front-facing camera. In our review of the phone, we stated that photos taken with the iPhone 12 ” look quite good, with nice dynamic range and overall sharpness.” The phone also supports HDR and Dolby Vision HDR video recording at up to 30fps. The phone will even allow users to edit their Dolby Vision HDR video clips on the phone.
Software
The OnePlus 8T comes with Android 11 out of the box, along with the company’s Oxygen 11 skin. This new version of OxygenOS makes the phone look and act much less like a near-stock Android phone compared to previous OnePlus handsets. That includes adding a new OnePlus Sans font, a new Always On Display, along with improvements to Dark Mode and Zen Mode. OnePlus has promised at least two major Android OS updates for the OnePlus 8T, along with an extra year for security updates.
The iPhone 12 ships with iOS 14. It includes new features like supporting widgets on the phone’s home screen, along with the App Library that helps to better organize a user’s phone apps. It also adds picture-in-picture support for watching videos or conducting FaceTime calls, while continuing to use another app on the phone. Apple has an excellent track record of supporting previous iPhones with new OS updates for years, and we don’t think this will change with the iPhone 12.
Price
- OnePlus 8T:
- 8GB/128GB — £549/42,999 Rs
- 12GB/256GB — £649/$749/45,999 Rs
- iPhone 12
- 64GB – $799/£799/€909
- 128GB -$849/£849/€959
- 256GB – $949/£949/€1,079
The OnePlus 8T is now available to purchase. The US only has the 12GB/256GB version available, for $749. Other parts of the world can purchase the 8GB/128GB version for £549 in the UK, which is $709 in the US.
The iPhone 12 is now on sale as well. Pricing for the iPhone 12 starts at $749 for the 64GB version.
OnePlus 8T vs iPhone 12: Which should you buy?
In our review of the OnePlus 8T, we did note a number of its solid features. Those include its larger 120Hz display, its support for the fast 65W battery charger, and having Android 11 ship out of the box with the Oxygen 11 skin. Having a phone that costs $50 less than the iPhone 12 but one that offers twice as much storage as its lower price rival is something to consider. However, it’s disappointing that only the T-Mobile OnePlus 8T Plus model has an IP68 rating.
Want to check out some other options? These are the best Android phones you can buy today
The iPhone 12, on the other hand, has the OnePlus 8T beat in some areas. One is that the iPhone supports wireless charging, which is something that the OnePlus 8T really should have included. The new A14 Bionic processor also beats the Snapdragon 865 processor, at least in benchmarking tests. Photos that were taken with the iPhone 12 also seem to be superior to ones taken with the OnePlus 8T.
In our mind, the OnePlus 8T should be a solid pick over Apple’s phone for people who can ignore some of its camera issues.
That’s our look at the OnePlus 8T vs iPhone 12.