OnePlus 8 and 8T

<p>Hi simard. I’ve been a Oneplus users since the OP1 8 years back. There’s quite a bit you need to be aware of before your purchase. </p><p><br></p><p>First up the OP8T would be the handset to go for, it’s a great piece of hardware and there are some fab discounts to be had. The screen and battery life are superb and Oxygen OS on that handset is also superb. The Cameras on Oneplus handsets generally deliver good images, not the best when compared to the top tier phones, but in my opinion more than adequate. If your looking for images to match a pixel handset or iPhone etc then buy a pixel or iPhone, simple. For me fast day to day use and screen/battery life is and will remain the most important features.</p><p><br></p><p>Whats not so good… Tricky one this. Oneplus is a sub brand of OPPO and a few months back the decision was taken by OPPO to merge Oxygen OS, Oneplus android OS, with OPPO’s android Color OS. The outcome after the code base merger will be that the switch to android 12 will be based on OPPO’s Color OS and Oneplus handsets will have the Oxygen OS “skin” featured on top. I hope that makes sense to you.</p><p><br></p><p>The basic outcome is the Oneplus 8T runs android 11 under the name Oxygen OS 11 at present, and is scheduled to be upgraded to android 12 sometime mid next year, at which point your OS will change its core code base and with it some small and some big UX changes.</p><p><br></p><p>The Oneplus 9 series is currently being transitioned to android 12 with the Color OS code base and it’s not going very smoothly for those who have updated. Lots of bugs. A lot of issues. I own a Oneplus 9 handset and I took the decision to not upgrade to android 12 until probably March/April next year when all the bugs, issues and problems will have been sorted out. I’m sticking on Oxygen OS 11 for some months to come. </p><p><br></p><p>The good news is that OPPO has a much bigger software team than Oneplus and whilst there are problems with merging the code base in public like this, they are issuing fixes and revisions alot quicker than Oneplus ever could in the past, so let’s see.</p><p><br></p><p>If you bought the Oneplus 8T your switch to android 12 wouldn’t happen till mid next year and by which time I suspect most of the current problems will have been resolved.</p><p><br></p><p>If any of what I’ve posted concerns you my suggestion is take a moment to consider your options. If the almost stock android oxygen OS was a big part of your decision go and check an OPPO handset out in a shop and see what you think of its Color OS, to me it’s much like all the brands who skin android like Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor etc etc. </p><p><br></p><p>If you really want a near stock android feel then look towards Motorola and in particular either the Motorola edge 20 or edge 20 pro. Great handsets, screens at good prices. I like them. They’re cameras are on a par with the OP8T but as many will tell you, especially US based people, ….. buy a pixel. </p><p><br></p><p>For me the problem with pixels are they simply are not good enough handsets in both manufacture quality and component choices like screens, batteries etc and they totally rely on their AI camera USP and the Google apps integration for sales…. and yes it’s a strong USP if you take a lot of pictures. For me the screen is the most important issue as you look at it the most… but that’s personal choice for you. ?</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>