OnePlus has made it a standard procedure of launching a flagship phone every 6 months and this time the “6” is challenging for the top spot. A new processor, completely new design, overall better hardware, bigger screen and a few other tweaks make the OnePlus 6 a completely unique device when compared to its predecessors, with a marginal price increase.
The Mirror Black (the only one with a 6GB RAM + 64GB storage option) is all black glass. Whilst the Midnight Black (corroded back/matte finish ), Silk White (glass back with rose gold frame) and limited edition Red are all available in 8GB+128GB. The Marvel Avengers (glass back with carbon fibre finish) edition is available in 8GB RAM + 256GB.
The notch is the most noticeable thing along with the 6.28” AMOLED screen and the Alert slider (to help you switch between Ring, Vibrate and Silent) has moved to the right from left in all previous OnePlus phones. The vertical dual camera set up at the back is at the centre with the LED flash below & fingerprint scanner being beneath it.
Oxygen OS on top of Android 8 Oreo is one of the most customisable UI with options like dark mode, scrolling screenshots, changing fonts, gesture based navigation & Gaming Mode. None of them are new features but they are something most companies already do. OnePlus has taken the best of all and put it in their newest phone. Face recognition for unlocking is added which is fast but does sometimes fail in low light.
Games like Battlegrounds, Asphalt 8 work on highest quality and does not drop any frames. Videos look great on the AMOLED screen but the mono speaker could be an issue for some since it’s easily blocked if you’re holding the phone in your hand. Thankfully though, we have the headphone jack along with the Type C charging port and the sound quality is great if you can afford a decent set of earphones. The 3300 mAh battery lasts well over a day and thanks to fast charging you can go from 0-100% in less than an hour, but even with a glass back there’s no wireless charging.
The primary 16MP camera now has OIS which means stable photos even if you have shaky hands, while the 20MP is for low-light and Portrait shots. Sometimes the camera took an extra few seconds to process the image and the photos turn out great in daylight but they are not as good as the S9+ or Pixel 2 XL. Night shots are surprisingly impressive without being grainy. The Pro mode has plenty of options to get that perfect photo. Video recording is 5 mins max on 4K while there is a 480 fps slow-mo video option as well, the S9+ for comparison's sake can do this at @960fps with better detailing.
OnePlus 6 is trying to compete with iPhone X, S9+, Pixel 2 XL but at almost half the price the shortfalls can be ignored if you’re looking to upgrade. Strangely there’s no official IP67 as per OnePlus standard and really the only negatives are no, Wireless charging and missing stereo speakers. If these don’t really matter then the OnePlus 6 should be your next phone. I’ll rate it a 4/5.
★★★★☆
Pritesh Khilnani
OnePlus 6 at CeX
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