Amidst the coronavirus lockdown, we saw the grand launch of the flagship Oneplus 8 series of smartphones, and right after that, Apple surprised everyone with the launch of its most-awaited most affordable iPhone ever, the iPhone SE second generation.
After the announcements of the Oneplus 8 price in India and iPhone SE 2020 price in India, the complete fan base was taken aback, especially with the prices that Oneplus has come up with, in India for the Oneplus 8 and Oneplus 8 Pro. It is very clear that Oneplus is ready to take on the premium segment owned by Apple, and Apple wants to get into the mid-premium segment where Oneplus had been ruling till the time. So, this battle gets heated up all the more. Apple launched the new iPhone SE at a price as low as just $399 globally, which nears about the half of the global price of Oneplus 8, but when it comes to India, the story of the prices changes completely.
Oneplus 8 price in India starts from Rs.41,999 while the iPhone SE 2020 price in India starts from Rs.42,500. The prices of both of these smartphones are almost the same for the base variants, but the question arises as to which one of these is an actual value for money smartphone? Which one is better out of the two? Which one has more features?
Also Read: iPhone SE 2016 vs iPhone SE 2020
To answer all these questions straight and compare iPhone SE 2 vs Oneplus 8, scroll till the end.
Design
First things first. The design. Both smartphones have totally different design signatures to their respective brands. A consumer always keeps the highest expectations in terms of the design and iPhone SE 2020 comes out as a complete disappointment for it has the same old design we have been seeing in Apple iPhones since the last 5 years. The new iPhone SE takes a lot from the design of the glass body iPhone 8 with just upgraded internals. Apple has saved a lot of expense here on the Research and Development and smartly introduced a new model with mix and match, here and there at an attractive price tag. Even on the Oneplus 8, the rear panel design is quite similar as we saw on the earlier models from Oneplus like Oneplus 7, Oneplus 7 Pro. Although, the Oneplus 8 still looks modern with a curved back, a stunning bezel-less display and a punch-hole cut-out for the front camera.
Display
Coming to the display, the part of your smartphone you view most of the time and operate on, iPhone SE 2020 has a Retina HD display of 4.7-inches which feels quite handy, compact and comfortable, but this is year 2020. Do you really want to buy an IPS LCD display, that too at Rs.42,500? Moreover, there are a lot of bezels and thick chin for placing the Touch ID button which ruins the viewing experience totally, especially in the modern times of full view displays.
On the other hand, Oneplus sports a beautiful and big 6.5-inch FLUID AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz which makes it stand out. This immersive display also has a higher screen-to-body ratio with near to zero bezels.
So, in terms of the design and display, Oneplus 8 comes out as a standalone winner.
Performance
Talking about the performance, Apple iPhone SE 2020 packs the most powerful chipset ever by Apple called the A13 Bionic chipset. This is the same chipset as used in the Apple’s premium flagship series of iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, and delivers an amazing performance overall.
The Oneplus 8 is also powered by the current best and flagship processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. Along with this, the new iPhone SE runs on the latest version of iOS 13 which is the most user-friendly and clean software. In the Oneplus 8, you get the Android 10 based Oxygen OS skin for a clean Android experience. The storage options are the same in both the devices with up to 256GB of storage in the highest variant. So, we get to see the flagship processors in both, iPhone SE and Oneplus 8, and to choose between the two gets really difficult here. This depends on a user’s personal preference.
Camera
Every consumer keeps in mind the quality of the camera in a smartphone before going for it. Apple and Oneplus both assure to deliver the best camera performance to its users. On the camera front, the new iPhone SE 2 comes with just a 12MP single camera setup at the back, which with the A13 bionic technology can take portrait shots amazingly. For the selfies as well, there is a 7MP front camera with portrait mode. The camera shots are going to come out the best in iPhone SE, no matter if it has a single camera lens. It lacks a dedicated night mode, though. Coming to the Oneplus 8 camera, it is equipped with a triple camera module at the back with a 48MP primary sensor, a 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 2MP macro lens. The three different lenses allow taking pictures from different perspectives and in different modes. The image quality on the Oneplus 8 would appear to be great, but not as good as you might get on the new iPhone SE when you compare them head to head, especially in terms of natural colours and clarity in-depth shots.
iPhone SE 2020 stands as a winner for the amazing camera.
Read More: Best Camera Smartphones
Battery
This fact is not hidden from anyone that the iPhone users are fed up with the low battery provided in the iPhone, and that turns out to be a major problem for them. Even on the new iPhone SE, Apple has packed the same battery as in iPhone 8 which is not at all impressive. But, the new iPhone SE comes with fast charging support with the 18W fast charging adapter which you can purchase separately, as it is not provided in-the-box. If you talk about the Oneplus 8, as in all other Oneplus models seen before, the battery capacity is huge, with fast charging support. It packs a 4300 mAh battery with 30W WARP fast charger which comes bundled with the phone. Your Oneplus 8 can get fully charged in just under 60 minutes.
So, it is quite clear who wins here? Oneplus 8, of course.
Apart from the basic specifications and features, the new iPhone SE also supports the wireless charging feature, thanks to the glass body, while you will find this missing on the Oneplus 8. For this, you will have to consider the Oneplus 8 Pro. To follow the upward trend, Oneplus 8 comes with the support for 5G connectivity, while Apple has not yet considered releasing 5G capability with the new iPhone SE.
Final Decision
Let’s drive back to land on a final decision as to which is the best pick amongst the two if you are ready to shed Rs.42,000 from your pockets. iPhone SE 2, no doubt, is an amazing option to choose if you had always wanted to upgrade to an iPhone. Though, we must not forget that it might be the most affordable iPhone ever, but not really the most affordable smartphone. There are a lot of better options with almost similar, or even better specs you can get in the same budget, just like the Oneplus 8. While Oneplus 8 will surely have its own set of an audience ready to upgrade to the latest and modern technology, bundled with best in-line specs. Oneplus 8 has a lot better than the new iPhone SE in terms of design, display, battery, and is surely a better option if you remove just the iOS and a slightly better camera in the iPhone SE 2020.
Akhil Kapoor
Living and breathing technology. From unboxing to reviews, I strive to be your one stop buying guide to purchase the tech product that's best suited for you.