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OnePlus 8 Pro battery: Can you run that 120Hz display all day?
The desire for better smartphone battery life is in a constant tug-of-war with demands for superior hardware. With the OnePlus 8 Pro, not only is the move to 5G more draining on battery life, but the handset sports a cutting-edge 120Hz QHD display as well. To ensure the phone powers through a full day of use, OnePlus packed one of its largest batteries ever into the 8 Pro.
The OnePlus 8 Pro battery capacity is 4,510mAh, slightly larger than the regular OnePlus 8’s 4,300mAh and much larger than the OnePlus 7 Pro’s 4,085mAh cell. That should help offset some of the phone’s more power-hungry technologies. Although as we’ll find out, bigger batteries don’t always mean longer battery life.
Here’s everything that you need to know about the OnePlus8 Pro’s battery life.
Don’t miss: OnePlus 8 Pro buyer’s guide
How long does the OnePlus 8 Pro battery last?
For starters, how much battery life can you get from a full OnePlus 8 Pro charge? We noted a day and a half’s use from the device with some heavy workloads during our review. We typically unplugged the OnePlus 8 Pro at around 10 am, and it didn’t run out of battery until 6 pm the next day. Using data rather than Wi-Fi drains the battery a tad faster, giving you about 1.25 days of full use. Either way, you won’t be reaching for the charger by mid-afternoon.
If you’re curious how the phone stacks up against the competition, we’ve run the phone through our brutal Speed Test G suite to look at worst-case battery life.
The OnePlus 8 Pro is a decent performer, clocking in 3 hours 30 minutes as a minimum, with plenty of demanding gaming thrown in. That’s right in the mix with current-gen flagships but some way behind the leaders. Interestingly, the standard OnePlus 8 manages a longer screen on time due to its slower 90Hz refresh rate. Still, the OnePlus 8 series does a fraction better than the last-gen OnePlus 7T range.
If you do need to charge the phone up in a hurry, OnePlus has you covered with a 30W charger included in the box. There’s also 30W wireless charging support, although it’s not quite as fast as the wired option. Wireless is about 15 minutes slower to full charge but still hits 50% capacity in just 29 minutes compared to 23 minutes for wired. The OnePlus 8 Pro also supports reverse wireless charging to power up your other gadgets, but it’s very slow at just 3W.
OnePlus 8 Pro battery life at 120Hz
The OnePlus 8 Pro has a big enough battery to effortlessly take you through more than a full day of use. But can you obtain an even longer battery life by switching the 120Hz display down to 60Hz? We’ve crunched the numbers for you.
Switching the OnePlus 8 Pro to 60Hz mode yields a notable 36-minute improvement in this extreme test. Heavy users and gamers will notice a longer screen on time with 60Hz. However, this difference won’t be anywhere near as pronounced for lighter use cases, such as web and social browsing. Oddly, the standard OnePlus 8 shows no difference between 60Hz and 90Hz modes. This is likely due to the display processing hardware differences between the two handsets and the fact that 120Hz content processing is more demanding than 90Hz.
The OnePlus 8 Pro easily lasts a full day, even in 120Hz mode. But it lasts even longer running at 60Hz.
Overall, switching to 60Hz isn’t necessary unless you’re an extremely heavy user who needs to eke out up to an extra hour in a day. Remember, the OnePlus 8 Pro’s display already dynamically scales its frame rate depending on the content you’re watching. Our extreme battery test is heavy on 3D gaming, which significantly impacts the OnePlus 8 Pro battery life than the display alone.
The bottom line is you’re OK to leave 120Hz on without having to worry about battery life. The OnePlus 8 Pro easily lasts a full day and then some.
Read more: The OnePlus 8 Pro has the best display we’ve ever tested
Other frequently asked questions
Q: How to improve battery life on the OnePlus 8 Pro?
A: Turning the display resolution down to FHD+ and 60Hz can improve battery life slightly. Using a 4G rather than 5G data connection can also lower power consumption. For more tips, be sure to check out our battery life-saving guide.
Q: Does the OnePlus 8 Pro offer wireless charging?
A: Yes, the OnePlus 8 Pro offers fast 30W wireless charging and 3W reverse wireless charging. Wireless charging isn’t quite as fast as wired, but OnePlus’ solution is one of the fastest around.
Q: Does the OnePlus 8 Pro support Quick Charge?
A: Yes. But it’s faster to charge with the in-box charger or a USB Power Delivery charger.
Q: Does the OnePlus 8 Pro support USB Power Delivery?
A: Yes. However, it is faster to charge with the in-box charger.
Q: Is the OnePlus 8 Pro battery removable?
A: No, the OnePlus 8 Pro does not feature a removable battery.
Q: Can the OnePlus 8 Pro battery be replaced?
A: Yes. OnePlus offers official battery replacements through its repair service. The price at the time of writing is $20 for a new battery, not including labor and shipping costs.