OnePlus 5 or Nokia 8: Which Dual Camera Phone for You?

We compare both OnePlus 5 and Nokia 8 which come with dual cameras at the back.

Nokia 8 will soon be available in India and HMD Global has surprised quite a few by pricing it below Rs 40,000. By doing so, they’ve given us a chance to compare the dual camera-totting Nokia 8 with the OnePlus 5, which is priced for Rs 37,999.

Also Read: Nokia 8 First Impressions: Dual Cameras & Price Does the Trick

So, which one of these should you go for? How do they compare in terms of features, design and, of course, camera? We’ve got it all covered here.

Design

With OnePlus 5, it feels the company has somewhat gone sideways with its design approach, giving you a phone that looks identical to the iPhone 7 Plus. For Nokia 8, HMD Global claims they’ve incorporated anodised aluminium into making the phone, which results in a sturdy yet compact form design.

Also Read: OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 3T: What’s New With the Flagship Phone?

The OnePlus 5 is not as bulky as its predecessor, with a thickness of 7.2-mm. The Nokia 8, on the other hand, feels comfortable in your palm with its 7.9-mm thickness (not bad) and weighing 160 grams for a 5.3-inch sized device.

In today’s competitive market, OnePlus is merely going by what a consumer would like to have; so, in that sense, you can finally get an iPhone look-alike that runs on Android. The size of the bezels in the front of Nokia 8 doesn’t amaze us with its looks. Having said that, there isn’t much to complain about either.

Display

It’s good to see that OnePlus hasn’t gone overboard with the display, staying true to its tried-and-tested 5.5-inch full-HD screen. But, their case for a bigger size would have become applicable if they’d opted go with an edge-to-edge design (sigh!).

Nokia 8 is the first HMD product to offer a 2K resolution display in India. The phone gets a 5.3-inch 2560x1440 pixels display with 554 ppi. Seeing big bezels on a high-end phone leaves a sour taste in our mouth.

The overall quality of the display is bright, the content looks crisp and sharp, but the use of IPS LCD panel results in a reflective display that could pose some issues while using outdoors.

Between the two, OnePlus 5 gets an AMOLED panel, which definitely looks and feels better than the LCD panel on the Nokia 8. We’ll get a better idea of that once we get to use it for a longer period.

Hardware

Powered by Snapdragon 835, both OnePlus 5 and Nokia 8 are at par. For under 40K, it's a big achievement when you consider the others on the list are Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC U11 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium. The 6/8GB RAM options with 64/128GB storage will be more than sufficient for normal usage.

The phone’s battery gets trimmed down to 3300mAh but with fast-charging, that’s never going to cause trouble.

Nokia 8 has been given the best of the lot available in the market right now. The phone packs Snapdragon 835 with 4GB RAM and offering 64GB storage, which is expandable up to 256GB via microSD slot.

It isn’t water or dust resistant (lacks IP68 certification) but the company says Nokia 8 can handle gentle splash of water and nothing more.

The phone comes with USB Type C port, which according to HMD Global, supports Quick Charging 3.0 that promises to charge the battery enough for up to 10-15 hours quickly.

For this price, both these phone go head-to-head, and while we’re convinced about the prowess of the OnePlus 5, Nokia 8 needs to be tested further to give a clear answer.

Camera

With a 20-megapixel tele-photo lens and a 16-megapixel sensor at the back, OnePlus 5 opts for higher megapixel count than the dual 13-megapixel sensors on the Nokia 8.

Even on the front, OnePlus 5 comes with a 16-megapixel shooter, while Nokia 8 gets the same 13-megapixel as its primary camera.

Let’s look at some sample images clicked from both the devices.

As you can see here, OnePlus 5 manages to capture better lighting, while the Nokia 8 doesn’t really fill up the light. The image processing on both the phones is quick, and delivers decent detail as well.

The camera on OnePlus 5 over the past few months has improved, especially in the video department. We expect Nokia 8 to go through a similar process, where the use of dual camera becomes effective.

Which One to Go For?

Well, the competition is fairly even. OnePlus does carry a better design appeal in comparison to the Nokia 8, but I’d like to see both these brands chop off the bezels on their next devices.

Both come with top-end hardware, offering storage and fast-charging option. But, it’s the cameras where the real value comes in, and even here, to be honest, there isn’t much to separate between the two. Having said that, Nokia 8 could do with some improvements, especially while trying to capture more light in the images.

For Rs 37,999 and Rs 36,999, OnePlus 5 and Nokia 8 respectively offer decent value for the money. It’s been a close battle between the two, and it all comes down to whether you trust a brand like OnePlus or would prefer to take the safe option with Nokia.

The choice is yours.