Verizon OnePlus 8 won't fit into most existing cases

There’s a very slight design tweak on Verizon’s OnePlus 8 variant that’s just significant enough to prevent it from working with most existing cases.

The change to the Verizon OnePlus 8 was first noticed by a Reddit user. While the core design of the phone remains more or less unchanged, the volume buttons are shifted to a slightly different location. And while not a major move, it’s just enough to change the way the phone fits into a case, forcing anyone who purchases one to choose from a far more limited selection of accessories.

Unfortunately, that means that Verizon buyers will be limited to purchasing the cases offered by the carrier, rather than the plethora of third-party options out there. In fact, even the new Sandstone official OnePlus case won’t fit on the Verizon version of the OnePlus 8. Presumably, as the device gains popularity, third-party case makers will release variants for the Verizon model, but that remains to be seen.

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While annoying, it doesn’t appear that move was done purely to sell new accessories. Rather, according to some regulatory documents dug up by Phone Arena, the Verizon version of the OnePlus 8 includes an additional 5G mmWave radio in the location where the volume buttons would be, thus prompting the company to move them down a bit. The unlocked and T-Mobile versions of the phone don’t have mmWave connectivity, so there is no need to have the extra radio installed.

This doesn’t apply to the OnePlus 8 Pro since Verizon isn’t offering that model. However, if the carrier does, it’ll be interesting to see whether the same changes are made, or if they managed to fit everything into the existing design or if tweaks are needed.