OnePlus has finally entered the full-screen display arena of premium phones which already includes the likes of the Galaxy S8, Google Pixel 2 XL, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 and the Apple iPhone X. OnePlus that already offered solid internals in OnePlus 5, now offers the same features with a full-screen display in the OnePlus 5T. If we recall, Samsung started the trend of infinity display and it’s this year’s flagship Galaxy S8 came as a true definition of full-screen display. Galaxy S8 is a premium phone from Samsung which has been a hit this year because of its design. However, with the launch of OnePlus 5T, it has got a tough competition as OnePlus once again priced its flagship so aggressively. If we ignore the pricing, these devices have a lot of common features and specifications. Here we will do a comparison between OnePlus 5T and Galaxy S8 to find out which company offers more value for money.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Vs OnePlus 5T Specifications
Design and Display
The OnePlus 5T looks premium in terms of design with its aluminum frame. OnePlus has changed its game with the OnePlus 5T’s display. The 6.01-inch optic AMOLED display with 18:9 aspect ratio offering minimum bezels on each edge is quite impressive. It is further protected by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass. 8GB/128GB- Rs. 37,999
On the other hand, Galaxy S8 changed the definition of full-screen displays with its curved edge-to-edge display. It sports an all glass finish and a beauty of a display that offers an 18.5:9 aspect ratio screen on a 5.8-inch super AMOLED panel.
Now, if we talk about design and display comparison, Galaxy S8 takes the lead. The Galaxy S8 sports a Super AMOLED display with a better 1440 x 2960 pixels resolution than the OnePlus 5T. Even the aspect ratio on the Galaxy S8 is bigger at 18.5:9.
Hardware and Storage
The OnePlus 5T is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with an Adreno 540 GPU. Memory wise it offers 6GB or 8GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. Galaxy S8, on the other hand, packs the same Snapdragon 835 processor in the US, but in India, it comes with Samsung’s own Exynos 8895 which is almost as powerful as the Snapdragon 835. Memory wise, the Galaxy S8 offers 4G RAM and 64GB storage. It’s not easy to do a comparison since the hardware is the same, but OnePlus 5T takes lead with more RAM. Coming to the storage, OnePlus 5T does not support a microSD card slot for expandable storage while S8 supports up to 256GB of expandable storage. Overall, if we assume 4GB RAM as standard, there is a tie between both phones because of similar hardware, however, more RAM is a plus point for the OnePlus 5T.
Camera
OnePlus was already offering the dual camera setup with OnePlus 5 and it also comes to the 5T. However, there are some changes and improvements in its 16MP+20MP camera. Now, both the lenses feature the same focal length and the same f/1.7 aperture, which means it has improved for low light photography. Moreover, the company has also improved its portrait mode which now offers good bokeh effect. It has a 16MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture.
Samsung, on the other hand, hadn’t adopted for the dual camera in Galaxy S8 back then. The rear camera on Galaxy S8 is a 12MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture. It’s noticeable features are PDAF and OIS. There is a 5MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture. Coming to the comparison, as for the rear cameras, it is safe to say OnePlus 5T has an edge over the Galaxy S8 because of its dual camera setup. The dual camera on OnePlus 5T can capture better images than a single camera offering the depth of field. The front camera is also good on OnePlus 5T. So, overall in the camera department, the OnePlus 5T is a winner.
Software
The OnePlus 5T runs Android Nougat 7.1 with company’s OxygenOS. Moreover, OnePlus has promised for Android Oreo 8.0 update just next month. The Galaxy S8 also launched with Android Nougat 7.0 with a custom skin. It is also slated to get Oreo in near future. If we compare both the devices in the Software section, they seem to be very similar. However, OxygenOS gives near stock Android experience and early Oreo update promise makes OnePlus 5T the winner here.
Battery
The OnePlus 5T has a 3,300mAh battery that should offer a day of use. The device also supports fast charging with company’s proprietary Dash Charging technology which claims to offer full day’s juice in 30 mins of charging. The Galaxy S8 packs a 3,000mAh battery. It supports fast charging and wireless charging as well. So, this could be a tie in the battery department because of the almost similar size of the battery, and fast charging, but OnePlus 5T has a slightly bigger battery and offers more backup also.
Other features
There is a noticeable feature on the OnePlus 5T as ‘Face Unlock’, a face recognition security system similar to what we have seen on the iPhone X as ‘Face ID’. OnePlus 5T also offers a suite of apps for various tasks and parallel apps feature to use dual apps. The Galaxy S8 comes with a plethora of features. For instance, Samsung has ‘Bixby’, its very own voice assistant. Further, there is the ‘Iris Scanner’ that allows users to unlock the device with their eye. The device also features Samsung Pay, the company’s own digital payment service. Additionally, there are features like always-on-display, wireless charging etc.
Price
Pricing is one of the decisive aspect here between both the phones. The OnePlus 5T price starts at Rs. 32,999 in India for the 4GB/64GB model. While the 4GB/64GB model of Galaxy S8 was launched at a whopping Rs. 57,900. Samsung interestingly announced a price cut on Galaxy S8 in India and it is now available for Rs. 53,900. It’s noticeable that OnePlus 5T wins the price war by a huge margin. It seems Samsung can never beat OnePlus in terms of pricing of premium phones, as there is a considerable difference between both.
Conclusion
So, if we were to conclude the entire comparison, the Galaxy S8 is definitely the winner in terms of Design, Display and other features. OnePlus 5T, on the other hand, manages to beat the Galaxy S8 when it comes to the pricing, camera and battery backup. As for the hardware and software comparison, both the smartphones have similar specifications and deliver more or less the same performance. Overall, the comparison goes into OnePlus 5T’s favor, considering its price tag, which is significantly lower than the Samsung Galaxy S8.
