OnePlus 8 leaked image confirms this Galaxy S20-beating feature

OnePlus 8 is the expected name for OnePlus’ next flagship smartphone series. In what would be a first for the plucky Shenzhen firm, the OnePlus 8 is expected to come in three models: the OnePlus 8 Lite, OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. As the naming conventions suggest, the OnePlus 8 Lite is expected to be a more affordable smartphone entry that could fiercely compete with budget devices from the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme and Huawei. Meanwhile, the standard OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are expected to come with more premium specs and features but have a higher price tag.

OnePlus has already started teasing the OnePlus 8 – earlier this month the firm revealed its next smartphone will boast a super-smooth 120Hz display. In fact, OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau went so far as to say the panel will “be the best you’ll lay eyes on in 2020”.

And now we may have got our first glimpse of the display in the wild. TrueTech recently posted an alleged photo of the OnePlus 8 Pro online it received from a “regular tipster” that claims to work for OnePlus.

The photo shows the smartphone with its “screen refresh rate” settings page open. Three options are displayed for the user to choose from: 120Hz, 90Hz or 60Hz. The page notes the “higher the refresh rate, the smoother the screen experience”, although the 120Hz option is said to reduce battery life at a quicker pace than the 90Hz and 60Hz selections.

Most notably, the settings page in question doesn’t say anything about the 120Hz option reducing the resolution of the screen. That means if the OnePlus 8 Pro does come with a 2K display (as the OnePlus 7 Pro and 7T Pro did), the device will be able to maximise resolution and refresh rate at the same time.

That’s something Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy S20 series isn’t expected to match. Last week renowned tipster Ice Universe took to Twitter and claimed the South Korean firm will only offer 120Hz at a maximum resolution of 1080p.

He said: “It can now be said with certainty that Samsung has cancelled the WQHD 120Hz option of the Galaxy S20 series, leaving only FHD 60Hz, FHD 120Hz, WQHD 60Hz.

“This means that we can’t have the best resolution and the best refresh rate at the same time.”

In a nutshell, this means the Galaxy S20 series could force Android fans to make a choice – have the best resolution or refresh rate. The OnePlus 8 Pro is expected to do both, meanwhile.

The image from TrueTech certainly lines up with OnePlus’ recent announcement that it’s working on a 120Hz screen. Additionally, a hole punch is also shown in the display that has been previously exhibited in alleged renders for the OnePlus 8 series that emerged towards the tail end of last year courtesy of OnLeaks.

Assuming the renders and recently leaked image of the device are accurate, that means OnePlus is planning to ditch its mechanical pop-up camera system that debuted on the OnePlus 7 Pro last year.

It’s unclear why the Shenzhen firm would trade off a fully all-screen design for a hole-punch, especially as it made a big song and dance about the durability of its pop-up camera system last year.

Of course, all the leaks mentioned above should probably be taken with a pinch of salt for now – primarily because OnePlus hasn’t officially discussed the OnePlus 8 in any capacity.

source: express.co.uk