In the cut-throat war for the title of the best flagship phone, one company is making its mark by targeting the upper mid-tier segment. You guessed it right, we’re talking about OnePlus which has hit the sweet spot by delivering a seamless experience at an unbeatable price point.
Since its inception back in 2014, OnePlus has come a long way in catering to the needs of the market. Iterating the products without compromising the user experience has paved the way for the brand, helping it go against the tech giants.
The launch of OnePlus 6T was done within a mere six months of the OnePlus 6. This launch was met with some amount of scepticism as reported by the buyers, considering the update to be barely incremental. That said, the OnePlus 6T is banking on an in-display fingerprint sensor technology, a bigger battery along with a smaller notch when compared to its predecessor. Considering these minor changes, should you go for the 6T? Read our review to find out.
Display
The OnePlus 6T boasts a massive 6.4-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2,340 x 1,080 pixels and a screen-to-body ratio of 85.6%. The notch housing the camera and sensor is less prominent now with a dewdrop-shaped design which provides a truly immersive edge-to-edge display. You`ll enjoy the vibrancy of colours, crispiness and contrasts this display offers. Though this screen might fall well below the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 or the iPhone XS Max in terms of richness, it does a great job considering the price point it comes at.
The missing LED notification light is made up through the on screen notifications which look awesome as the screen renders true black. OnePlus also offers a proprietary reading mode which optimises the screen to display subtle monochrome colours to ensure that your eyes aren’t strained.
Design
OnePlus’ design philosophy has evolved over the years, and the 6T carries the baton forward with the new and improved design. The phone houses a 3D glass on the back and a Gorilla Glass 6 protection on the front.
Back remains minimalistic with just the camera module as the fingerprint sensor is embedded right under the display. The phone feels natural to hold with the thickness increasing by 0.4mm and weight by 8 grams over the OnePlus 6.
OnePlus, once a proponent of the 3.5mm audio jack has ditched it completely this time around. Thankfully though, the company bundles a USB Type-C to 3.5mm adapter right inside the box. The trade-off in the headphone jack department helps accommodate a larger battery.
OnePlus is taking the trend of the automobile industry in naming the color scheme the devices come at. OnePlus 6T is available in Mirror Black, Midnight Black, Thunder Purple & Speed Orange colors. I personally like the Mirror Black variant as the matte finish is quite slick and looks robust.
Besides the radical notch design, changes can be said to be incremental at best.
Battery
The OnePlus 6T houses a bigger battery, at 3,700mAh, compared to the 3,300mAh cell on the OnePlus 6. This translates to better battery life. In our In-house testing 6T managed to provide an average screen on time of 9.7 hours with aggressive gaming, movie streaming and calling. The 6T delivers an all-day battery life while still providing you with the fluid performance that comes with its near stock optimised UI. Software refinements coupled with Dash Charging feature makes sure that 6T would last longer, and charge really faster when it does go out of the juice.
Camera
Camera performance was never a strong suit for OnePlus against the flagship devices. The OnePlus 6T continues with the similar setup as the OnePlus 6 – 16MP+20MP cameras on the back and a 16MP front-facing shooter. Yet, thanks to improved processing, the 6T is able to deliver better results. With modes such as Studio lighting and Nightscape, OnePlus tries to impress the user by applying rudimentary AI scene detection to enhance the quality of raw images.
Nightscape mode necessitates the need for you to stay still as the 6T takes a fair bit of time to process the shot. It lowers the ISO and shutter speed to get more light into the sensor while the AI works its way to deliver an enhanced image.
Despite everything, OnePlus 6T still manages to provide stunning images insufficient light. But if you are fixated on the images being life-like, I suggest you look somewhere else. OnePlus also confirmed the arrival of this software enhancements to OnePlus 6 via future OTA updates.
Security
The USP OnePlus is using to sell the 6T is the new in-display fingerprint module. OnePlus claims that the new biometric reader can work for more than 300,000 unlocks without exhibiting any signs of sluggishness or delay in response. It works with the wet surface or regardless of which screen protector you opt for. The 6T display wakes up to highlight the area to register your finger, once you place your finger it just takes 0.34 seconds to unlock the device which is blazingly fast.
Performance
The internal specs of the 6T remain unchanged from the OnePlus 6, as it continues with the Snapdragon 845 processor with 8 gigs of RAM. It comes preloaded with Android 9 out of the box which delivers a flawlessly smooth and pleasurable experience. Oxygen OS is the cherry on the top as it provides user customization through near stock Android while keeping away with any kind of residual bloatware.
OnePlus has also launched a McLaren model of the 6T which adds another 2GB of RAM making the handset a performance monster.
Gizmo Verdict
The OnePlus 6T gives flagships a run for their money, considering the lucrative price-point it comes at. It easily manages to compete with rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, Google Pixel 3 XL, LG V40, and LG G7. There’s no doubt that the OnePlus 6T is the best device in its segment which delivers on all the fronts. It manages to provide a great design with a waterdrop screen, decent camera quality, and powerful performance with a starting price tag of RS 37,999. If you own a OnePlus 6, updating to the 6T might not be worth your hard-earned money, but for everyone else, it’s a great buy.
