OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro 5G phones dazzle in vibrant new colors

OnePlus announced two new phones for 2020: the OnePlus 8 (left) and 8 Pro. Both devices have 5G, displays with higher refresh rates, Android 10 and in-screen fingerprint readers. Read how to order the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro here.

The OnePlus 8 will be available April 29 while the 8 Pro will go on sale April 22. For the first time ever, Verizon will carry the OnePlus 8 along with T-Mobile.

Of the two new flagship phones, the OnePlus 8 Pro is the higher-end device. 

The OnePlus 8 Pro costs $899 (£799) for 128GB and $999 (£899) for 256GB. It will be available unlocked through OnePlus and Amazon.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is larger, has a total of four cameras and a 120Hz display.

The OnePlus 8 Pro's 120Hz display refreshes at double the rate of most phones and makes scrolling through webpages and apps feel liquid-smooth.

I received an ultramarine blue review unit, which has a smooth, soft texture that keeps the phone from attracting fingerprints. 

Even though the OnePlus 8 Pro's camera bump protrudes more than the OnePlus 8's, it's not as egregious as the absolute unit on the Galaxy S20 Ultra. 

Like past models, the phone has a toggle button for ringing, silence and vibrate.

The OnePlus 8 Pro has a 48-megapixel standard camera, a wide-angle lens, a telephoto lens and a new "color filter" camera.

On the front is a 16-megapixel hole punch camera.

After years of making its phones water resistant to some degree but foregoing a full IP rating certification, the OnePlus 8 Pro is finally rated IP68 -- meaning it can be submerged in about three feet of water for at least 30 minutes.

Similar to many high-end phones this year, both OnePlus phones have a Snapdragon 865 chipset and their benchmark results were comparable to other competing devices, like the Galaxy S20 Ultra and LG V60.

The OnePlus 8 costs $699 (£599) for 128GB of storage and $799 (£699) for 256GB. Note that Verizon will sell the 128GB model for $100 more at $799.

In addition to T-Mobile and Verizon, the phone will also work on other carriers and OnePlus and Amazon will sell it unlocked too.

Like last year's OnePlus 7 Pro, the OnePlus 8 has a 90Hz display. Compared to a phone with a more common refresh rate of 60 frames per second, the OnePlus 8 feels faster and smoother.

I reviewed the iridescent variant of the OnePlus 8 called interstellar glow. It's delightfully flashy and, for lack of a better word, cute.

Be warned though that the glossy backing attracts an incredible amount of fingerprints, so you'll need to wipe it down to keep it clean.

Neither phones have a headphone jack so you'll need to use wireless earbuds for in-ear audio.

The OnePlus 8 has a 48-megapixel standard camera, a wide-angle camera and a macro lens.

The OnePlus 8 has a 4,300-mAh battery and super-fast Warp Charging. It took 30 minutes to charge the phone from 0% to 65%.

T-Mobile and Verizon's OnePlus 8 phones will be rated IP68 for water resistance. But the unlocked version of the OnePlus 8 is not rated. That doesn't mean it's completely vulnerable, though. OnePlus says the OnePlus 8 is as protected against water as past models. Last year, I submerged the OnePlus 7 Pro, which isn't IP certified either, in a fish tank for 30 minutes and it survived without issues. 

On specs alone, the OnePlus 8 Pro is objectively the better phone and has better features. But the cheaper OnePlus 8 still maintains enough other specs like 5G, a 90Hz display, an enduring battery life and a top-of-the-line processor to deliver a premium Android experience.