OnePlus 6 Quick Review – 10 Things You Should Know Before Buying

The OnePlus 6 is finally official. India is certainly the biggest market for OnePlus as of now, and this year, the company is making several bold moves, including an increase in price that unambiguously sheds the affordable-flagship or mid-range tags. (हिंदी में पढ़े)

We went up close with the 6 and did spend some quality hands-on time to better understand OnePlus evolution. There is no denying that the 6 has an immaculate spec sheet and it is still cheaper than existing tier-1 flagships. And in case you are looking forward to buying the OnePlus 6 in the first few sales, we have jotted down a few points which should help you make an informed choice. Read on.

OnePlus 6 Specifications

OnePlus 6 Hands-on Review: Things You Should Know Before Buying It

1. OnePlus 6 Color options – Which one is the best?

The 6 closely follows the design pedigree OnePlus has established over the last few generations. The move to glass body (and notch) was inevitable as bigger and intractable market forces are at play here, but the moment you hold the 6 in hands, it becomes clear that this isn’t just any glass body phone.

The in-hand feel is reminiscent of the OnePlus 5T as the back similarly tapers towards the edges where the phone is at its thinnest. The Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear goes through 40 different processes and the 1-micron thin layer underneath it defines its texture.

We first examined the black variant with a glossy mirror finish and weren’t particularly impressed. However, the matte finish variants were the ones that instantly mesmerized us. We’d recommend that you go for either of the two: Midnight black or silk white, the latter being our personal favorite.

The limited edition Avengers edition also didn’t feel particularly impressive to us. The ‘Karbon’ pattern underneath the glass didn’t work for us the same as the soft-touch Kevlar cases, and the combination of Black and Gold didn’t feel particularly appealing either. Besides, if Karbon finish is what you crave for, you can always buy the official Karbon case for the 6.

2. Performance and Software

In our hands-on time, the OnePlus 6 felt as snappy as our OnePlus 5T. Performance has always been the forte of OnePlus phones and the company isn’t making any compromises with the 6 either. Interestingly, the 6 is all set to be the first Snapdragon 845 Phone to go on sale in India. We expect the Zenfone 5Z to follow soon.

Suffice to say, this is one of the fasted phones on the Android side of the table that you can buy and we expect the snappiness to stand the test of time.

The Oxygen OS continues to be one of our favorite interfaces, and this year you also have the option to switch to Android P preview on the OnePlus 6. The feature set is similar to what OnePlus 5T users currently have. One change that OnePlus talked about at length is the new gaming mode which can now limit other background processes, prioritize data for games and also includes a gaming battery saver mode.

The fingerprint sensor and face unlock felt remarkably fast in our initial testing.

Also Read: 10 Best Phones Under Rs 40,000 That You Can Buy Today

3. What is the second Rear camera on OnePlus 6 used for?

OnePlus has changed its camera ideology once again with the 6. OnePlus is using bigger pixels in the primary camera sensor, there is OIS to assist with better lowlight performance, and the SD 845 enables it to shoot 4K Videos at 60fps.

There are some significant software changes too including AI integration. The second 20MP sensor is now used only for depth sensing and to improve faster AF. These changes that define how the extra sensor is used won’t be passed on to OnePlus 5T as of now.

OnePlus has also added portrait mode in selfies (with portrait effects) and provision to shoot 480fps HD slow-motion videos for 60 seconds.

We will, of course, need more time to judge how much of an impact this will have on the overall camera performance.

4. OnePlus 6 has dual SIM dual VoLTE support

Another noteworthy OnePlus 6 feature is Dual SIM Dual VoLTE support. The handset will be able to keep 2 4G VoLTE SIM cards active simultaneously. Which is to say, that you will be able to use Jio SIM for calling and any other SIM for data on the OnePlus 6

5. The loudspeaker has different tuning in India

The audio output on OnePlus devices has been consistently good for the last couple of years. The company also tunes the speaker differently for India (or they have done so for the 6).  Here, the speakers are tuned to be louder at maximum volume without appreciable degradation in quality.  This shouldn’t make much of a difference but if you are a die-hard audiophile, you should know this before you put your faith in global reviews.

6. Turning off the notch on OnePlus 6

You will find the option to turn the notch off under display settings. This, however, won’t completely turn the notch off. The status bar icons, system icons, and the clock will still keep showing on the status bar. The bar will just remain permanently black irrespective of the display background.

As for how OnePlus handles the notch, the app icons (it can fit up to 3) and clocks are on the left and system icons are present on the right.

7. Is OnePlus 6 water resistant?

The OnePlus 6 is water resistant but it doesn’t have any water resistant certification. This, in our opinion, shouldn’t be a matter of concern.

Even with phones that are IP67/68 water resistant, you shouldn’t test your luck too far. That’s because liquid damage more often than not isn’t covered under warranty (even in phones with due certification). If your phone drops and there is a dent on the frame, the water resistance stands void.

So, from a practical standpoint, water-resistant ratings only give a mild assurance of protection against spillage and we already have that much assurance with the 6, certification or not.

8. No wireless charging on OnePlus 6

OnePlus has decided to skip wireless charging in spite of the glass back because it still isn’t a mainstream feature. This isn’t something that we agree with.

Yes, the wireless charging isn’t a mainstream feature and comes nowhere close to the convenience of dash charging, but there still are people who value it nevertheless.

In a similar instance, OnePlus removed NFC from Two because very few people were actually using it, but later brought it back realizing that a significant portion of their user base included well-informed technology enthusiasts who valued such niche features.

Having said that, we don’t think lack of Wireless charging should be a deal breaker. Not with the superfast dash charging on board.

9. Alert slider gets better

Another significant change on the OnePlus 6 is the alert slider. It is now situated on the right edge and can be set to ‘Ring’, ‘Vibrate’, and ‘Silent’.

We could access the slider without much trouble and we think that with the new set of options more people will be using it more often.

10. Launch day offers

So, if you are indeed looking to but the 6 in the first few sales, you can avail discount offers that reduce the effective price to that of OnePlus 5T.

You can get Rs. 2000 off using SBI cards and can also opt for no cost EMI options. Users will also get a complimentary 12-month accidental damage insurance from servify.

OnePlus has also partnered with Cleartrip, Idea Cellular, and Amazon for further discounts deals. We have covered OnePlus 6 discounts in a separate article as well.

OnePlus 6 First Impression – 10 Things to consider

The OnePlus 6 casts a solid first impression and still feels like a holistic and premium option for its price. It remains to be seen how far the camera experience has evolved on the OnePlus 6, but our initial impression of the phone is largely positive.