OnePlus 6 Long-Term Review: Still The Phone To Beat

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Since Mr. Amitabh Bacchan can already be seen teasing the OnePlus 6T  in TV commercials, it is safe to assume that the successor of 6 is just around the corner. But even today, the OnePlus 6 remains a phone to beat. Phones like Asus Zenfone 5Z (review) and Poco F1 (review) tried to be low-cost alternatives, but none came close in terms of end user experience. The upcoming OnePlus 6T will bring in some radical changes. The company has officially confirmed that the 6T will ditch the audio jack and replace rear fingerprint sensor with a front in-display fingerprint sensor. (OnePlus 6 Long-Term Review हिंदी में पढ़े)

If these are a few reasons for why you are considering the 6 or perhaps if you just can’t wait, is OnePlus 6 still a worthy option that you may go for?

We have been putting OnePlus 6 (review) through its paces for a long time now. Let’s try and answer more in our OnePlus 6 long-term review.

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OnePlus 6 Specifications

Model OnePlus 6
Display 6.28-Inch, Optic AMOLED, Full HD+, 19:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass 5
Processor Snapdragon 845 chipset, Adreno 630 GPU
RAM 6GB/8GB LPDDR4x
Internal Storage 64GB/128GB/256GB (UFS 2.1
Software Android 8.1 Oreo-based Oxygen OS, Compatible with Android P Preview
Primary Camera 16MP (f/1.7) + 20MP (f/1.7), EIS, OIS, 4K 60 fps
Secondary Camera 16MP with f/2.0 aperture
Battery 3300mAh with dash charging
Dimensions and weight 155.7 x 75.4 x 7.8 mm and 177 grams
Others 4G VoLTE, dual-band WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Fingerprint sensor, NFC, USB Type-C, Dash charging
Price Rs. 35,999/ Rs. 39,999/ Rs. 44,999

ALSO CHECK: 10 things to know before you buy OnePlus 6

OnePlus 6 Long-Term Review: Build Quality

OnePlus is one of the rare brands in the industry who instead of just creating rip-offs of Apple iPhones invest in original design. With the 6, OnePlus introduced a metal and glass design for the first time and almost six months later it still looks fresh and appealing. OnePlus 6 further managed to impress us with the toughness of its rear glass panel.

We have accidentally dropped the OnePlus 6 about a dozen times till now and thankfully each time the phone survived intact. At the OnePlus 6 Keynote, the company did mention that they have toughened their Glass 3 times more than regular glass and I guess that wasn’t just a marketing pitch. The build quality is just top notch.

The curved back ensures ergonomics isn’t an issue here. After six months of usage, the buttons and alert slider all feel firm enough and offer good tactile feedback. The same rear panel also houses a fingerprint sensor which is still blazing fast. And which you might not find on the 6T that will resort to a front in-display sensor.

ALSO READ: Apple iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Review – ‘XXL’ Price Over Shadows ‘L’ Features

OnePlus 6 Long-Term Review: Display

The OnePlus 6 was actually one of the early adopters of notch trend. Even though more and more brands joined the fray in the months that followed, we didn’t give in to the trend that easy and in the first couple of months had the notch hidden on our OP 6.

Cycling through a number of notch-display phones, we are not as much bothered by the cutout and the notch is no longer hidden on our display unit. OnePlus also added the option to show battery percentage in the status bar with an OTA update.

Interestingly, the OnePlus 6T will adhere to water-drop style notch which is certainly an acceptable compromise over a regular notch display.

Like always, OnePlus continues with OLED screen with FullHD+ resolution. Over the last six months, we noticed no burn-in issues on the display and it continues to deliver well-balanced Colors and deep blacks. The display has several color-accurate profiles you can choose between and is quite light on the eyes.

The sunlight legibility and sharpness is good enough but can’t match up to the likes of Samsung flagships and iPhones. Auto brightness also works well for the most part.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Review – Noteworthy Workhorse

OnePlus 6 Long-Term Review: Software and Performance

While most of you are aware of the OnePlus 6 hardware, it’s the software that needs a special mention here. OnePlus 6 is one of the first few devices to receive Android Pie update which once again make things exciting for us. As we have been saying OnePlus’ Oxygen OS is one of the best Android-based custom OS and it remains the case after Android Pie addition.

The latest Beta 3 version of latest Oxygen OS brings together best of Android features with Oxygen OS customization. Post-Android Pie update, you will notice some cosmetic changes such as new rounded quick settings tiles, notification shades, and settings menu. OnePlus has also added Pie gesture while retaining its standard Android navigation bar and its own gestures.

The software offers options like Parallel Apps and App Locker which are useful for those who maintain multiple identities online or carry their personal files with them on their phone. After the latest Beta update, you can even use multiple accounts of Ola and Uber.

Performance has been one of the highlights of the ‘Never Settle’ brand. The OnePlus 6 belongs to the same ally as phones which costs almost double. Playing games like PUBG at highest possible setting to editing videos – everything runs butter smooth.

All in all, if performance ranks high on your radar, OnePlue 6 is still a safe bet.

Also Check: 10 Best OnePlus 6 Cases, Covers, and Tempered Glass

OnePlus 6 Long-Term Camera Review

The OnePlus 6 camera was competent enough from the day one (considering its price) and with time company has made further improvements with software updates. The Google Lens has also been integrated within the OnePlus camera app. With time it has further improved its Low light performance and video recording quality.

In its price, OnePlus 6 camera offers good dynamic range and consistently accurate metering. The images clicked in lowlight generously bump ISO in order to balance exposure and that results in them being a little soft and noisy, especially when inspected on a bigger screen. The second sensor is underutilized as well. Also, the portrait mode has some room for improvement.

OnePlus still has some distance to cover before we can count it in the same league as Google Pixel or Samsung. Let’s see how much better the OnePlus 6T turns out to be.

OnePlus 6 Long-Term Review: Battery and Audio

From the day one we have been impressed with the OnePlus 6 battery life and six months later we still feel the same. The phone boasts of a 3,300mAh battery which comes bundled with 20W Dash Charger. With heavy usage, we manage to use squeeze out almost a full workday. As always, Dash charge is impressive and continues to amaze us.

Upcoming OnePlus 6T won’t feature a 3.5mm port which makes OnePlus 6 the last phone with audio jack by the company. OnePlus will use the extra space for a bigger battery, though. Therefore, if you are already invested in the wired ecosystem, OnePlus 6 is a good option for you.

OnePlus 6 Long-Term Review: Is it still relevant today?

Our job involves switching phones frequently, but over the last 5 months, we were always glad to be back to 6. That in itself speaks volumes. The OnePlus 6 has all the basics covered – it is the snappiest phone around, has remarkable ergonomics, has the best software (in our opinion), and offers the convenience of fast charging and long lasting battery.

The Android 9.0 Pie update on the OnePlus 6 further augments the experience rather than taking away from it. This further ensures that OnePlus 6 owners need not upgrade for a considerable time. The camera is one area where it can’t match 2018 flagships, but other than that, the OnePlus 6 experience, as we first concluded, remains thoroughly gratifying.

Pros

  • Excellent Performance
  • Great design and built
  • Software and Battery life

Cons

  • Mono speaker
  • lowlight camera performance
Deepak RajawatDeepak Rajawat
Experienced technology journalist with over 7-years of experience. Before embracing online journalism, he has worked with several legacy publications including print editions at Hindustan Times and The Statesman. He also has a keen interest in Sports, which he used to cover with equal enthusiasm in his early career.

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1 Comment
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Rachel
Anonymous
5 years ago

My Oneplus 6 and the raptor skin from Gadgetshieldz look perfect and in my long term review I would like to say that this device performs smoothly no matter what task you do on it.

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