OnePlus 6T vs Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro: Which flagship smartphone to buy?

Two more flagship devices will arrive in the country and will most likely divide the hearts of Filipinos — we have the OnePlus 6T and the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro. Which one to choose given their respective prices? Find out below:

Before we dive in, here are their specs:

Specification	OnePlus 6T	Xiaomi MI 8 Pro
Display	6.41-inch 19.5:9 Full Optic AMOLED @2340 x 1080px, 402ppi, sRGB and DCI-P3	6.21-inch 18.7:9 Samsung AMOLED display @2248 x 1080px, 402ppi, sRGB and DCI-P3
Glass	Corning Gorilla Glass 6	Corning Gorilla Glass 5
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 2.8GHz octa-core CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 AIE 2.8GHz octa-core CPU
GPU	Adreno 630 GPU	Adreno 630 GPU
RAM	6GB / 8GB LPDDR4X	6GB / 8GB LPDDR4X
Storage	128GB UFS 2.1 2-LANE	128GB UFS 2.1 2-LANE
Rear Camera	16MP f/1.7 + 20MP Sony IMX 519/376K OIS + EIS rear cameras, LED flash	12MP f/1.8 wide-angle + 12MP f/2.4 telephoto rear cameras, OIS, Dual-Pixel AF
Front Camera	16MP f/2.0 front camera	20MP f/2.0 front camera
Expandable Storage	n/a	n/a
SIM Slot	Dual-SIM	Dual-SIM (Nano)
Connectivity	- 4G LTE Cat. 16/13 5CA, 42 Global Bands - 4x4 MIMO	- 4G LTE Cat. 16/13 5CA - 4×4 MIMO
Wi-Fi	WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2x2 MIMO	WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2×2 MIMO
NFC	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.0
GPS	GPS/A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS	GPS/A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS
Features	- Face Unlock - In-Display Fingerprint Scanner	- IR Face Unlock - In-Display Fingerprint Scanner
3.5mm Audio Port	n/a	n/a
Port	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
OS	OxygenOS (Android 9 Pie)	MIUI 10 (Android 8.1 Oreo)
Battery	3,700mAh battery w/ 5V4A Fast Charge	3,000mAh battery w/ Fast Charge (QC 4.0+)
Color	Mirror Black, Midnight Black	Transparent Titanium

Here are the advantages of each smartphone:

OnePlus 6T

Smaller notch
Larger screen size
Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Higher main and secondary rear camera resolution
Larger aperture for main rear camera
Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box
Larger battery capacity

Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro

Wide-angle main rear camera lens
Higher front camera resolution
IR Face Unlock
QZSS support

The OnePlus 6T definitely overwhelmed the Mi 8 Pro in many aspects so let’s discuss them.

OnePlus 6T has the overall advantage in terms of display specs. Aside from the smaller notch design, it has a larger screen size that is covered with a Corning Gorilla Glass 6. For users who are fond of watching movies or videos, this is the better pick over the Mi 8 Pro. In case you’re wondering, the Optical AMOLED panel of the former doesn’t have a significant difference over the Samsung AMOLED ones since it is basically just a rebranded panel.

No issues with the overall performance of both smartphones as they have the same Snapdragon 845 flagship chipset, which means we can expect a smooth experience on both phones whether they’re basic tasks or gaming.

In terms of cameras, the OnePlus 6T has higher rear main and secondary camera resolutions while the Mi 8 Pro has a higher front camera resolution. Do note that the quality of the photos produced DO NOT solely depend on the number of pixels a camera has. We’ll know more once we have both devices on hand.

While both smartphones didn’t change their camera configurations from their predecessors, both companies said that it improved its features and capturing capabilities. Unfortunately, we don’t know how will they perform yet so that’s something to look forward to in our review.

The Mi 8 Pro is better than OnePlus 6T when it comes to the Face Unlocking feature. The former’s IR Face Unlock is better than the latter’s normal unlocking technology since, from the term itself, the former uses infrared sensors to fully scan the user’s face which works even in dark environments.

Last but not least, the OnePlus 6T has a larger battery capacity than the Mi 8 Pro. At 700mAh difference, that’s a lot, so we can expect the former to have a longer battery life.

If you’re a smartphone user who loves to watch videos, plays games, and is eager to experience what Android 9 Pie has to offer, then OnePlus 6T is the right pick. However, if you are fond of taking selfies, better face unlock technology, and fancy transparent back panel, go with the Mi 8 Pro.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro is available in Transparent Titanium for PHP 32,990 while the OnePlus 6T 6GB + 128GB is priced and PHP 31,990 and PHP 33,990 for the 8GB + 128GB variant. What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Vaughn Chua

Vaughn is your go-to person when it comes to comparing gadgets especially smartphones. He's also a gamer by heart and the "Hackerman" of the team.

2 Comments

Jason says:

6 years ago

I think it would be nice if you also use the price as the benchmark of comparison since they are almost similar in terms of their specification
- Reply

Vaughn Chua says:

6 years ago

Hi Jason, I think that the value for money is already implied in this comparison due to the listed advantages in the article.

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