OnePlus 8 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro Max: Which One to Buy?

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 14 Apr 2020

OnePlus today launched its first true flagship, the OnePlus 8 Pro. The company has been known for launching smartphones with flagship specifications that are nearly 30-40% cheaper than their competition. This time around with the OnePlus 8 Pro though, the company has gone all out and launched a true flagship smartphone that can truly take on the iPhone 11 Pro without making any notable compromise. So, how good is OnePlus’ latest offering when compared to the iPhone 11 Pro? Find out in this comparison.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is coming out six months after the iPhone 11 Pro was first announced. This definitely gives it an advantage in some areas but the iPhone 11 Pro holds up surprisingly well despite its age.

OnePlus 8 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro/Max Comparison

Design

  • iPhone 11 Pro Max – 158 x 77.8 x 8.1 mm, 226g, IP68 certified
  • iPhone 11 Pro – 144 x 71.4 x 8.1 mm, 188g, IP68 certified
  • OnePlus 8 Pro – 165.3 x 74.3 x 8.5 mm, 199g, IP68 certified

The OnePlus 8 Pro is the clear winner in the design department. It has slimmer bezels, its available in bold colors with a nice finish, and it looks more modern than the iPhone 11 Pro series. Apple is still using the same design language that it first debuted with the iPhone X in 2017 and while it was path-breaking then, it looks downright dated now. When compared to the iPhone 11 Pro, the OnePlus 8 Pro looks like it is from a different era. This time around, OnePlus has also added an official IP rating to its device and wireless charging, two features that have traditionally been missing from its devices.

Oneplus 8 Pro

Display

  • iPhone 11 Pro – 5.8-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, 2436 x 1125 pixels (458ppi), Haptic Touch, Wide Color Gamut, HDR10
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max – 6.5-inch True Tone OLED, 2688 x 1242 pixels (458 ppi), 82.9 percent screen-to-body ratio, HDR10, Dolby Vision, Haptic Touch, Retina Display XDR
  • OnePlus 8 Pro – 6.78-inch, 120Hz Fluid AMOLED, 3168×1440 resolution, HDR10+, 3D Gorilla Glass

When it comes to screen size, there’s no comparison between the two phones. The iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max feature a 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch display respectively, while the OnePlus 8 Pro has a massive 6.78-inch display. What’s more, the OnePlus 8 Pro’s display has smaller bezels and most importantly, it has a 120Hz refresh rate with 240Hz touch sampling. This means the OnePlus 8 Pro is going to feel smoother and faster to use than the iPhone 11 Pro series, even though it might not necessarily be faster. The OnePlus 8 Pro also has a small punch-hole on the top-left corner compared to a massive notch found on the iPhone 11 Pro series.

In terms of quality, you cannot go wrong with any of the display panels. The OLED panel on the OnePlus 8 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro series is extremely accurate, they offer great viewing angles, can reach brightness levels of more than 1,000 nits, and have very little reflectivity. If you look closely at the numbers, the OnePlus 8 Pro’s display does have a few advantages but the differences are too minor to have any major day to day impact.

iPhone 11 Pro

Chipset

  • iPhone 11 Pro – A13 Bionic, 7nm+ EUV, Third-generation Neural engine
  • OnePlus 8 Pro – 7nm Snapdragon 865

This is an area where the iPhone 11 Pro series still shines despite its age. The A13 Bionic chip inside the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are leaps and bounds better than the Snapdragon 865 chip found inside the OnePlus 8 Pro. The former is not only more power-efficient, but it is also notably faster. The additional horsepower will ensure the iPhone 11 Pro is easily able to outlast the OnePlus 8 Pro after a few major software updates in a few years from now.

Camera

  • iPhone 11 Pro – Triple 12MP camera setup f/1.8, f/2.4, and f/2.0 aperture, OIS for Primary and telephoto, 100% Focus Pixels for primary camera, Improved Smart HDR, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth control, Brighter True Tone Flash
  • OnePlus 8 Pro – 48MP 1.12um pixels, f/1.78, OIS, 8MP f/2.4 3x hybrid telephoto, 48MP f/2.2 120-degree ultra-wide, 5MP color filter

On paper, the OnePlus 8 Pro has a big advantage over the iPhone 11 Pro series as it uses a bigger and more versatile camera setup. While the iPhone 11 Pro’s primary camera is only 1/2.6″ big, the OnePlus 8 Pro’s primary Sony IMX689 sensor has a surface area of 1/14″. The bigger sensor will allow the OnePlus 8 Pro to absorb more light and also help with dynamic range. Don’t read too much into the higher megapixel count of the OnePlus 8 Pro sensor though as by default the phone still outputs photos at 12MP. It uses pixel binning to merge four pixels to deliver sharper and more detailed photos.

The ultra-wide angle camera of the OnePlus 8 Pro is also notably bigger than the sensor Apple uses on its iPhones. Additionally, the OnePlus also offers up to 3x hybrid zoom while the iPhone 11 Pro tops out at 2x.

However, camera performance has always been the Achilles Heel of OnePlus smartphones and it remains to be seen how the OnePlus 8 Pro performs in real life. iPhones are known for their image processing and video recording prowess and OnePlus will have a lot to prove in this department.

iPhone 11 Pro Max Cameras

RAM and Storage

  • iPhone 11 Pro/Max – 4GB RAM | 64GB, 256GB, 512GB
  • OnePlus 8 Pro – 8/12GB RAM | 128GB, 256GB

The OnePlus 8 Pro absolutely annihilates the iPhone 11 Pro series in this department. The device comes with 2x more RAM and storage even at its base configuration. The additional RAM will greatly help the OnePlus 8 Pro in the multitasking department.

Biometrics

  • iPhone 11 Pro/Max – Face ID
  • OnePlus 8 Pro – In-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock

The OnePlus 8 Pro offers an in-display fingerprint scanner and face unlock. In comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max only offer Face ID. While Face ID is more secure than the in-display fingerprint scanner and face unlock on the OnePlus 8 Pro, it is slower and not as convenient to use.

Connectivity

  • iPhone 11 Pro/Max – Gigabit LTE, VoLTE, Dual-SIM, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
  • OnePlus 8 Pro – 5G, LTE, VoLTE, Dual-SIM,Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC

Another area where the OnePlus 8 Pro is miles ahead of the iPhone 11 Pro lineup. The OnePlus 8 Pro packs 5G connectivity which is notably absent from the iPhone 11 Pro series. In other aspects, the difference in terms of connectivity between these two devices is not much.

Battery

  • OnePlus 8 Pro – 4510mAh, 30W Warp Charging, Warp Charge 30 Wireless Charging
  • iPhone 11 Pro – 3190mAh, 7.5W Qi wireless charging, 18W USB-PD fast charging support
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max – 3969mAh, 7.5W Qi wireless charging, 18W USB-PD fast charging support

The iPhone 11 Pro series can charge at a maximum speed of 18W over a wired connection and 7.5W wirelessly. In comparison, the OnePlus 8 Pro can charge at 30W both wired and wirelessly. The catch here is that one must use the bundled Warp charger to achieve the 30W charging speeds over a wired connection. Wirelessly also, the 30W charging speeds are limited to the OnePlus wireless charger which comes with a built-in fan to keep the device cool.

Nonetheless, the OnePlus 8 Pro is noticeably ahead of the iPhone 11 Pro when it comes to charging speeds.

Pricing & Availability

  • OnePlus 8 Pro – Starts from $899
  • iPhone 11 Pro – Starts from $999
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max – Starts from $1,099

The OnePlus 8 Pro is noticeably more expensive than previous phones from the company. With the OnePlus 8 Pro, the company is launching a true flagship and not a flagship killer as evident from its price. Nonetheless, despite packing so many features and being noticeably ahead of the iPhone 11 Pro in many departments, the OnePlus 8 Pro still turns out to be $100 cheaper than the iPhone 11 Pro and $200 cheaper than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The device is not going to be available as widely as the iPhone 11 Pro series, but it still should be available to purchase unlocked in your region.


What are your thoughts on the OnePlus 8 Pro? Do you think it is worth a buy over the iPhone 11 Pro series? Drop a comment and let us know!