I remorse eliminating my OnePlus 8 Professional

I do not improve my telephones as a lot as I improve different issues. I do not actually have a compelling cause for this; I simply find yourself holding onto telephones for years at a time as a substitute of upgrading every year. My cellphone earlier than I grabbed a Google Pixel 9a was the OnePlus 8 Pro. I cherished that cellphone, and I kept using it after safety updates ended. It by no means slowed down, it nonetheless held its battery, and it might even deal with the newest cellular video games.

A giant cause for that is the Snapdragon 865 chip powering it. Regardless of this cellphone’s age, that chip continues to be a powerhouse, and it is one thing that higher-end handheld units such because the Retroid Pocket 5 and Mangmi Pocket X use. Each of these are emulation powerhouses, however I did not find out about that world till I upgraded my cellphone.

It was undoubtedly time for me to improve to a brand new cellphone, however I want I hadn’t gotten rid of my outdated one. I might nonetheless use it offline for emulation functions, however I ended up rehoming it to a member of the family who wanted to interchange a damaged cellphone in a pinch. As someone who’s very interested in emulation now, it is a bummer to do away with one thing that might’ve been nice at it.

Farewell to a legendary cellphone

I am going to miss it very a lot

I first purchased my OnePlus 8 Professional to play Fortnite at 90 FPS, and it additionally opened the world of Android gaming as much as me. I knew about issues like Sweet Crush and Offended Birds, in fact, however I did not understand how a lot was actually obtainable on the platform till I acquired my OnePlus. On high of Fortnite, I dumped numerous hours into each Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Hyperlinks and Grasp Duel, and I even accomplished my first-ever playthrough of Dragon Quest 4 on the machine. When the Remaining Fantasy Pixel Remasters got here out, I picked up Remaining Fantasy III for Android, though I by no means ended up ending that one.

Sure, my present Pixel 9a can deal with any of these with ease, however it might’ve been good to have a devoted machine round only for gaming. I am not a giant fan of my cellphone doubling as a gaming machine, primarily as a result of I do not need to run it by means of that many charging cycles and degrade the battery quicker than I might in any other case.

Not having to fret about something like that might let me sit again and sport on my OnePlus all day lengthy, and it’d carry out in addition to a few of these high-end emulators. The principle problem could be controls, however I picked up the 8BitDo Final Cellular Gaming Controller that solves this drawback, so it might’ve been clean crusing if I had saved it.

On the brilliant facet, I might nonetheless prefer to have a devoted machine as a result of the video games I emulate on my cellphone do not match correctly, as it is not a correct 16:9 facet ratio. The Retroid Pocket would not have that drawback, so I can take up my display’s actual property.

Primarily, quite a lot of this boils all the way down to my not understanding the worth that my OnePlus nonetheless had. I did not perceive {that a} practically six-year-old cellphone could be powered by a chip that is nonetheless related at the moment. OnePlus was as soon as identified for powerhouse telephones, and the corporate has kind of moved away from that house, and that may’ve been what led me to imagine it was effective eliminating this one.

Do not get me mistaken, I really like my Google Pixel 9a, and it does every little thing I would like it to do. I do not actually use my cellphone for a complete lot aside from texting and scrolling by means of social media, so it is not like I wanted it to do a lot.

I transfer on to new horizons

I am proud of what I’ve

Credit score: Google

Whereas I miss my OnePlus 8 Professional, it is not just like the Pixel 9a is a slouch. Sure, it is a funds machine whereas the 8 Professional was a flagship cellphone, however I spotted I simply did not want that from my cellphone. I’ve a Galaxy Tab S6 that I am nonetheless utilizing each day, and I’ve kind of realized that tech like that does not have to be upgraded on a regular basis. Would I like a quicker machine? Positive, however I do not want it proper now.

It isn’t like I remorse shopping for Pixel, it is extra that I remorse eliminating the OnePlus on the similar time. In a super world, I might nonetheless have each, and I might be utilizing that OnePlus to stream video games or play retro titles whereas I exploit my Pixel for my day-to-day duties. It isn’t a giant deal on the finish of the day, and I might at all times purchase an Android handheld to melt the blow. I am not the largest fan of utilizing telephones to emulate, but when I have already got one available, then why not use it? Sadly, the ship has sailed.