OnePlus 6 - Mirrored to others

The OnePlus 6 smartphone has a new look, but the characteristics seem to have remained the same: top specifications for a razor-sharp price and the best that Android has to offer.

OnePlus 6

Colors glossy black, matte black, white

OS Android 8.1 (Oreo)

Screen 6.3 inch amoled (2280x1080)

Processor 2.8GHz octa-core (Snapdragon 845)

RAM 6 or 8 GB

Storage 64, 128 or 256 GB

Battery 3,300mAh

Camera 16 and 20 megapixel dualcam (rear), 16 megapixel (front)

Connectivity 4G (LTE), Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, GPS

Format 15.6 x 7.5 x 0.8 cm

Weight 177 grams

Other fingerprint scanner, usb-c, headphone port, dualsim

Website www.oneplus.com 8 Score 80

• Pros
• Rapid
• Screen quality
• Oxygen OS
• Price quality

• Negatives
• No memory card slot
• Battery life
• Generic design

Before the OnePlus 6 was released, the manufacturer already announced that the device would have a notch in the screen, a so-called notch. This gives the smartphone even more screen surface on the front. The back is also made of glass, instead of metal, because that would benefit the design. I've heard that before… At the time of the announcement of the iPhone X, and the other Android manufacturers who (sometimes blindly) imitate everything Apple comes up with. The appearance of the OnePlus 6 is therefore very beautiful, but somewhat generic or characterless.

That is a shame, because the appearance is the biggest innovation of the OnePlus 6. Moreover, the company has a rather unique young and fresh character. You can't see that in the device design. What I do see are mainly greasy finger smudges on the glass back. A case is therefore recommended, not only if you are afraid that the glass is more fragile, but also to make the device look less dirty.

The OnePlus 6 comes in three color versions: glossy black, matte black and white. The first variant shines like a mirror, but it's no surprise that it's a true fingerprint magnet. I personally like the matte black version the best, it looks a bit like the black version of the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T, you would hardly say that this is glass. The white version is also somewhat matt finished.

The OnePlus 6 also comes in a white and matte black version.

The price has remained about the same. The OnePlus 6 is available from 519 euros, two tens more expensive than its predecessor (s).

Housing

According to OnePlus, the device is waterproof. An ip-68 rating, which guarantees that, is missing. Perhaps to cut costs and thus reduce the price of the OnePlus 6? Therefore, it seems wiser to me not to take a risk and to assume that the OnePlus 6 is not waterproof, and if the smartphone accidentally gets a glass of lemonade over it and survives, then it is a nice luck in an accident.

The slider to set the sound mode to silent, do not disturb or full volume has been moved from the left to the right side of the smartphone. The dual camera on the back is placed in the middle, with a flash and oval-shaped fingerprint scanner below. At the bottom is the USB-C port, with which you can charge the OnePlus 6 at lightning speed via the fast charger. In addition, just a headphone port. It is strange that all the USB-C headphones that we have here do not work on this universal port.

Big screen

The device has remained the same size as its two predecessors. However, thanks to the screen notch, OnePlus has been able to place a larger screen. This full HD AMOLED screen has a diameter of 6.3 inches and an aspect ratio of 19 by 9. Despite that, the device itself remains fairly large and has about the same size as the large Plus version of iPhone: not suitable for every pocket .

The screen is bright and colors come out nicely. Compared to the 5T you can already see a huge improvement. And the size, which is very nice. The notch takes some getting used to. When running apps in full screen, it can get in the way and few notification icons can be shown in the notification bar. Fortunately, in the settings you can change which apps should take the notch into account in full screen. Whether you find the notch to be of added value remains a matter of personal taste. Fortunately, those who are not charmed by it have plenty of setting options.

OnePlus benefits

You know that when you choose a OnePlus smartphone, you get top specifications for a competitive price. But also that the device runs on a pleasant Android version, thanks to the Oxygen OS skin that OnePlus uses on Android. The OnePlus 6 has the latest Android version: 8.1 (Oreo), which thanks to Oreo's Treble option can already be used for the trial version of Android P. So it looks like the OnePlus 6 will soon receive updates of new Android versions. That would be a nice progress, because although the previous OnePlus smartphones are kept up-to-date, the rollout was slow.

Oxygen OS does not intervene very much on Android. As a result, the device runs smoothly on the OnePlus 6 and I do not run into jams. You can set a lot, so that you can completely customize the device (although it drives me crazy that I can no longer show the battery percentage in the battery bar). Furthermore, functions have been added such as gaming mode (which optimizes the device for games and also does not bother you with notifications) and reading mode, which makes the screen black and white in order to read as relaxed as possible. The unlocking with facial recognition also stands out. This capability is not new, of course, and it is never the safest way to unlock. Still, it works incredibly fast and I still haven't managed to trick the facial recognition.

Specs

The specifications to run Android well are therefore present: a Snapdragon 845 processor and more than enough RAM. But to be honest, Android already ran like a charm on the previous devices. You will not notice a big difference. For those who have recently purchased a OnePlus 5 or 5T, this is also very reassuring. An upgrade of one of these devices is therefore not necessary.

In addition to the color differences, there are three versions of the OnePlus 6, one with 64GB storage memory and 6GB RAM, a variant with 8GB and 128GB and the most expensive one has twice as much storage (256GB). It doesn't matter whether you go for 6 or 8GB of RAM, the device will be slightly faster if you run a lot of apps. But check in advance how much storage you need, because there is no memory card slot. There is a second SIM card slot, which is useful on long journeys or if you also use the device for business.

The battery capacity has remained the same: 3,300 mAh. That is not very big for a device of this size, and such a huge screen also needs its energy. The battery life is therefore disappointing, although the results are very variable. Sometimes I can easily get through the day with a fully charged battery, but sometimes I don't. The screen is of course a big factor here, so when the device is often on standby, you will notice little difference with other smartphones. With regular use, the battery often drains too quickly, which is disappointing. I hope that OnePlus can improve it with an update, but since many smartphones with such a large screen nowadays have a battery of around 4,000 mAh, I fear that the battery life of the OnePlus 6 will remain a drawback.

Camera

OnePlus is working hard to improve its cameras. The company wants to be a 'flagship killer' and OnePlus has to pull out all the stops for this. Developments in the camera field are going fast and the iPhone X, Huawei P20 Pro and Galaxy S9+ are investing hard in their smartphone cameras, with Samsung recently making the most of an impression in a camera test.

And OnePlus did not sit still! First of all, the panorama bug has been fixed, which was also present on previous devices: the device was not able to properly paste multiple photos together. The OnePlus 6 does not suffer from that.

Furthermore, the smartphone is able to deliver neat slow-motion videos and the cameras are able to take better photos in dark environments. The dual rear camera can be used for optical zoom and depth of field effect in portrait photos. An update that will follow will also add this effect software for the front camera.

I notice that the camera has gotten a lot better. Photos are clear, sharp and quite natural. When the light goes out, a lot is preserved and the noise is not too bad. A big improvement, and in its price range it is hard to find better. But unfortunately the OnePlus 6 is still not the flagship killer in the camera field, although the differences seem to be getting smaller.

Alternatives

A pity for OnePlus is that the Galaxy S9 (and S9+) is falling in price at an enormous rate. At the time of writing, even 650 and 750 euros. If you are looking for a better camera (and design), then you might be better off putting down the extra 100 euros. In terms of value for money, the OnePlus only has to compete with the Nokia 7 Plus. Although the Nokia is 120 euros cheaper, the OnePlus 6 has better specifications and cameras. Nokia, however, has an ace up its sleeve with Android One.

Conclusion

Although the OnePlus 6 does not stand out in terms of design, the smartphone once again keeps its promises. With its performance, beautiful screen and Oxygen OS (in combination with an up-to-date Android), it is hard to explain why you should choose a more expensive device from Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Sony or LG. However, you do have to take into account a varying battery life, so make sure you keep your fast charger within reach.