- The OnePlus 8 starts at $699.00, and the OnePlus 8 Pro starts at $899.00.
- The OnePlus 8 smartphones will be released on April 29, and you’ll be able to buy them from OnePlus’ website, T-Mobile, and for the first time ever, Verizon and Amazon.
- The OnePlus 8 phones are available for pre-order in Europe starting April 14, and will on full retail sale on April 21.
- Few 5G smartphones have been released so far, but 5G networking is proving to be an expensive feature.
- Samsung’s Galaxy S20 5G phones start at $999.99 and go all the way up to $1,399.99. LG’s V60 5G smartphone is among the cheaper 5G phones so far starting around $900, depending on your carrier.
The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro smartphones have 5G connectivity, but they don’t cost over $1,000 in the US. That means they’re already the least expensive 5G smartphones you can buy.
- The OnePlus 8 starts at $699.00 for the 8GB memory (RAM) and 128GB storage option. There's also the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage OnePlus 8 that goes for $799.00.
- The OnePlus 8 Pro starts at $899.00 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The 12GB and 256GB storage OnePlus 8 Pro goes for $999.00.
Both smartphones run on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 mobile system-on-a-chip, or SoC, which gives them the 5G connectivity. You can check out all the main differences between the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro here.
You'll be able to buy the new OnePlus 8 smartphones from OnePlus' own website, T-Mobile, and for the first time ever, from Verizon and Amazon.
OnePlus 8 price explained
OnePlus has built a reputation for making high-end devices that handily rival major smartphone players like Samsung, Google, and Apple, all while sporting lower price tags than the competition. Yet, the OnePlus 8 series marks the most expensive smartphones that OnePlus has released to date, and it mostly has to do with 5G.
5G "poses many more technical challenges compared to 4G," OnePlus CEO Pete Lau told Business Insider in an interview in March.
Antenna design and squeezing the necessary hardware into a compact smartphone design was "very challenging in terms of design and configuration," Lau also said, "prices across the supply chain, from raw materials to 5G chips, are all rising generally in the industry."
Still, over time, Lau estimates that the price of 5G tech will simmer down after the production, technology, and infrastructure becomes more mature. "The price of 4G devices went down somewhat over time ... we anticipate a similar trend with 5G."
If the new OnePlus 8 smartphones and their 5G connectivity aren't pitching their value well enough, the highly-rated OnePlus 7T from 2019 can still be had for $499.00. That's an incredible value for a smartphone with a high-end chip, triple-camera-system, gorgeous design, smooth 90Hz screen, and comes with one of the fastest chargers included.