OnePlus 2 vs Huawei P8: Epic Chinese battle!

Huawei and OnePlus are too different brands all together. While OnePlus creates a lot of hype regarding their devices, Huawei loves low key affairs. Nevertheless both these Chinese OEMs have made a name for themselves in the industry. Despite being in the industry for a long time Huawei haven't quite been able to create a large fan group, which OnePlus enjoys.

SEE ALSO: OnePlus One to receive price cut in India: 16GB variant at Rs 14,999?

The OnePlus had launched their so called ‘Flagship Killer for 2016' a few days back. It does boast some awesome specs under the hood. Hence we thought of pitting the device up against one of its top Chinese competitors, the Huawei Ascend P8. The Ascend P8 is not available in India as of now though. But we have an insider word, which tells us that the device will be hitting Indian shores pretty sure. The best part is that the company is planning to place the device around the same price tag of the One. The OnePlus 2 64GB variant presently retails at Rs 24,999 via e-commerce giant Amazon in India.

Build & Design:

The Ascend series of Huawei was always know more for its look rather than specs. And that tradition is followed on too the P8 too. It has a boxy metal design with a slim profile. The back is full metal, with glass strip surrounding the camera and the flash on the top. The best part though, is that the company hasn't skimped on materials - the Gorilla Glass 3 used on the front is carried over to the glass in the back panel too. Overall the P8 is one well built device - and it's slim too!

The OnePlus 2 on the other hand doesn't come with any swanky build. It has metal on the sides with a Sandstone Black back cover as seen in the previous generation. There's a fingerprint sensor in the front lying on a hexagonal Samsung like home button.

Display:

Both devices feature a Full HD (1080p) IPS LCD display. Many a fans were disappointed not see a Quad HD display in the One though. But the company claims that they have improved on the previous generation screen found on the OnePlus One, and this now doesn't suffer from the contrast issues like the predecessor.

The Huawei on the other hand have bundled in an IPS-Neo Technology into their display which also enhances the contrast of the display - it appears almost like an AMOLED panel. The display on both the devices have pretty good colour reproduction with excellent viewing angles, but personally I love the P8 more. It is because the colours are punchier in the display - the black is really black, and it merges with the black bezels.

Under the Hood:

Despite the fact that both devices sport an octacore SoC inside, the OnePlus 2 has a definite advantage. And that's more so, when it comes to GPU performance. The Mali T628 GPU of the Kirin 930 is seemingly not up to the mark - especially when you pit it against the Adreno 430 found in the Snapdragon 810.

The Huawei made Kirin 930 does have enough CPU power though to match up with the Snapdragon 810. So you can expect a great Antutu Score from the SoC, but don't expect anything miraculous in the 3D or even FutureMark.

Camera:

Here's another area where Huawei hasn't succeeded to matchup with the OnePlus 2. Inspite of the fact that the Ascend P8 does pack a capable 13MP camera, the device is unable to capture 4K videos. This is a pretty big con for a flagship device like this. On the other hand the OnePlus 2 is capable of recording excellent Quad HD videos. Even the previous gen OnePlus was capable of doing so.

Both the device shoot some good quality images though. The depth of field is especially excellent in the Ascend P8.

Battery:

I don't know what Huawei had in mind when they build the Ascend P8. Bundling in a meagre 2600mah in a flagship device - is one crazy act, at least on paper. The battery life is not as poor as it looks though, but it's nowhere near the 3300mah battery on the OnePlus 2.

OS:

The OnePlus One that was launched a few days back runs on the latest Android Lollipop but the P8 stills runs on Kitkat. Huawei might soon push an update though considering that the Ascend P8 is a flagship device.

The devices run on the respective company's stock UI. I personally love the Oxygen UI on the OnePlus 2 more than the Emotion UI of Huawei. It gives more features and customisability. Plus I am fan of vanilla UI. But personal preference would obviously differ.

Verdict:

It's mostly a win win situation for the One down here. The device out performs the Huawei Ascend P8 in most categories like Performance, Camera and OS. Huawei though comes with a better build quality and display. But do remember that you would require to go through a long hassle (The dreaded Invite system) to get your hands on the OnePlus 2. That won't be the case with the P8 once it's launched in India. Nevertheless let us know which one will you go for?