Going hands-on with the OnePlus 6

ONE HELL OF A DEAL?

The successor to last year’s OnePlus 5T serves up top level specs for considerably less than you’d expect in a design that’s as polished as ever. That means an AMOLED screen, lightning fast performance and a dual camera to boot. On paper, it sounds like one hell of a deal. But I got hands-on with the OnePlus 6 to see whether it stacks up or not in person.

ANOTHER GLASS PHONE

Already familiar with the OnePlus 5T? There aren’t a huge amount of surprises to be found with the OnePlus 6. Other than its newfound glass design, which replaces the matte aluminium vibes of old. It’s a very Samsung-inspired choice of aesthetic and one that I’m pretty ambivalent about. While OnePlus’ phones have always been an ergonomic delight with welcome flourishes such as a headphone jack and volume rocker, they’ve never really wowed in the hand and this edition is no different. Its glass back is well done, but no different to the many handsets that have done the same thing before and certainly a par below the shimmering effects of the HTC U11 and Huawei P20 Pro.

SMART AND FUNCTIONAL

Where other OnePlus handsets were unrefined, this one is smart and functional. And there’s nothing particularly wrong with that. It’s lightweight to hold at 177g, and thin enough to tuck right into your pocket without a problem. Even if you’ve got a case clamped onto it, such as the one that handily comes boxed in here. So as much as I’m not all that fussed by the OnePlus 6’s build, the only slight quibble I have with it is a rear-facing fingerprint scanner that’s a strip instead of a circle, which means it can be tricky for the phone to get a read on your index finger. Also, while OnePlus say this phone has been protected against rain and the odd splash it doesn’t have an official IP water-resistance rating. So butterfingers should probably treat this thing with added caution.

BIG PICTURE

Last year’s OnePlus 5 was the manufacturer’s first phone to bring a dual camera to the party, but this double whammy was necessarily refined by the OnePlus 5T for a superior low light performance. Expecting another leap forward here? Well, it’s more of a leisurely stride in the right direction. As per previously, you get a 16MP main camera that’s backed up by a 20MP secondary camera. Both have an f/1.7 aperture, while the main camera now has both a larger sensor and optical image stabilization. All of which should serve you better in dim lighting conditions, as the OnePlus 6 will be able to capture more light and now shouldn’t be as thrown off by things like camera shake or the necessity for longer exposure. Bottom line, your drunken bar shots should look better than ever on this phone.

HAPPY SNAPPER

Until I’ve had the chance to sink a few slammers and properly test that theory, it’s impossible to say how much of a improvement the OnePlus 6’s camera is. Especially since what’s traditionally held back these phones from top tier status is their image processing rather than the hardware itself. So I’ll be looking out for better judged exposures and a tad more detail than before. As for selfies? This phone again sticks with the 16MP front facing sensor we’ve seen before in the 5T, but now promises to deliver a blurry bokeh effect around your handsome mug should you so please. Like I said, the OnePlus 6’s camera setup is a story of gradual refinement instead of drastic overhaul. None of its tweaks seem ill-judged though, and there’s not a great deal more you realistically could ask for here.

FUSS ABOUT NOTCHIN’

As we all know from both screen sizes and Fast & The Furious movies, bigger usually means better. So that’s why the OnePlus 6 has gone with a 6.28in AMOLED screen with a 19:9 aspect ratio. If you’re not an aspect ratio nerd like I’m employed to be, then that probably means nothing to you other than a lot of screen to be getting on with. And you’d be right all the same. Still, to dwell on the details here a little a 19:9 ratio is slightly bigger than the 18:9 ratio most new phone such as the Samsung Galaxy S9, but that’s because the OnePlus 6 comes with a notch. Honestly, I’m a bit bored writing about notches by now. So let’s just say this one is pretty small and can be turned off in the phone’s settings menu if you so please.

PERFECTLY BALANCED

The far more important thing to note here is that this is a fantastic screen to behold with an ample 1080×2280 pixels resolution. There’s a great balance between brightness, contrast and detail that serves you well regardless of what your watching. Even the frenetic pace of UFC 224 doesn’t catch this display off-guard. As usual, there’s a fair bit of letterboxing going on with a some content, but that’s par for the course with these screens. Its speakers can be a little muddy at full volume, but it’s loud enough for you to stick a podcast on while you’re in the shower and still hear what’s going on. Plus, of course, you’ve got that headphone jack to fall back on if you’re in a bind.

STORAGE WARS

Such is the oomph that’s been packed into the OnePlus 6, you could actually argue it’s overpowered. With a Snapdragon 845 and up to 8GB of RAM to its name, the OnePlus 6 chomps through pretty much any app you care to throw at it. Where other flagship phones, such as the Huawei P20 Pro, get toasty under pressure this handset shows no such signs of strain. Even a quick crack at the intensely demanding PUBG Mobile is no trouble at all. You get plenty of storage for apps, music, movies and the like as well. The entry-level OnePlus 6 with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage comes will set you back $529, but stepping up to 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is no great stretch at $579 is no great stretch.

PLENTY OF JUICE

Whatever OnePlus you plump for, you’ll have a 3300mAh battery to power it. That’s the same capacity as last year’s model with a slightly larger panel to power, but it should prove enough juice for a day-and-a-bit’s use. Especially since this phone again comes boxed with a fast charger that claims to give ‘enough power for the entire day’ in a half-hour charge. As you’d expect, the OnePlus 6 runs on Android Oreo 8.1 via the manufacturer’s slick Oxygen OS interface. It’s too early to say much about the performance here, but Google super-nerds will no doubt be grateful for the opportunity to opt into the Android P beta. That means the opportunity to try notification muting, smarter volume controls and all new gestures months ahead of their official launch.

ONEPLUS 6 INITIAL VERDICT

It might be the most expensive OnePlus ever made, but stack this phone against any of its flagship rivals and it still offers incredibly good value for your cash. At least from what we’ve seen of the OnePlus 6 so far. From its glass design to a huge OLED screen and those ridiculously speedy internals, everything you’d expect from a flagship phone is here for hundreds of pounds less. As ever, the question is how well all this stuff hangs together, and if past form is anything to go by then it’s that dual camera that will really be the making of this phone. How long until we find out where the OnePlus 6 in the grand pantheon of 2018’s best handsets? Given this phone launches on May 22nd, you’d be best advised to keep your eyes glued to this here website for an imminent review.