OnePlus 8 vs Mi 10: Which entry-level flagship is better for you?

Over the past few months, Chinese OEMs Xiaomi and OnePlus have both released their first set of premium phones for the year. While the Pro models—the OnePlus 8 Pro and Mi 10 Pro—may be the stars of the show, they also carry heavy price tags, which makes the regular, non-pro models the more affordable options. So, which would you be better-served buying: Mi 10 vs OnePlus 8?

Display

The Mi 10 features a 6.67-inch FHD+ display. While last year's Mi 9 was a touch smaller than the OnePlus 7, roles are reversed this time around. The Mi 10 is bigger than the OnePlus 8, with the latter sporting a 6.55-inch FHD+ display.

Both displays have similar designs. Slim bezels, and a hole punch at the upper left corner. Both displays have refresh rates, as the times demand. 90 Hz, to be exact. OnePlus usually sources its displays from Samsung, but the Mi 10's display is made by TCL.

Performance

Both phones are powered by a Snapdragon 865, and start with 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128 GB of UFS 3.0. Performance is identical, by most metrics, with what little variance that exists likely being down to software or thermal characteristics. 

Cameras

Cameras is where the Mi 10 shines, as the regular OnePlus 8 appears to have been severely gimped. The Mi 10's main camera is the exact same one on the Mi 10 Pro: a massive 1/1.33" 108 MP sensor. The OnePlus 8, on the other hand, doesn't get the OnePlus 8 Pro's 1/1.43" IMX689. It does feature a 48 MP sensor, but the much inferior 1/2.0" IMX586. 

The OnePlus 8 sports a 16 MP ultra-wide-angle shooter, while the Mi 10 offers a 13 MP shooter. The Mi 10's shooter offers a slightly wider field of view, though. It all comes down to what you want: resolution vs FoV.

Neither phone has a telephoto lens, but the Mi 10's 108 MP sensor all but makes a short-range zoom lens unnecessary, as even a 3x digital crop still offers an image with a decent resolution when shooting in 108 MP mode.

Features

The Mi 10 offers a 4780 mAh battery, versus the 4300 unit on the OnePlus 8. Charging wattage is the same: 30 W. The Mi 10 does offer wireless charging and reverse wireless charging; the OnePlus 8 has nothing of the sort. 

The OnePlus 8 seems to have an IP rating of some sort. The Verizon model, at least, has an official IP68 rating. It's unknown if that carries over to other models, though. The Mi 10 has no official ingress certification. Both phones deliver stereo speaker setups.

Conclusion

So, Mi 10 or OnePlus 8, which one offers more? The Mi 10 seems to have considerably better hardware than the OnePlus 8, and that also reflects in pricing. The OnePlus 8 starts at US$699 in the US and €729 in Europe; the Mi 10 isn't officially sold in the US but costs €799 in Europe. However, buyers may be better served importing the Mi 10 from China, as it costs just US$575 there. Due diligence is advised, though, especially with regard to band support.

It's also important to point out that OnePlus's Oxygen OS is universally considered to be better than Xiaomi's MIUI skin. The OnePlus 8 will likely also get three major OS updates, versus two on the Mi 10. Also, Xiaomi has come under fire of recent for being a tad too intrusive with its software, so that may be worth considering, too.