OnePlus 6T review

Launching two phones in a mere difference of six months is not an easy move, especially for a company that sets a benchmark with their first device. Even though it seems like there can’t be a meaningful upgrade to the OnePlus 6, the company, following their two-phones-a-year strategy launched the OnePlus 6T this week. 

OnePlus says they’ll only make ‘T’ variants of their smartphones when there’s enough progression in the technology that’s being put in the phone. From outside, the OnePlus 6T doesn’t seem like a major upgrade, which has been a constant with other ‘T’ variants, but the 6T packs some upgrades that are technologically advanced and meaningful.

The OnePlus 6T is the result of OnePlus' attempt to further enhance the OnePlus 6 with incremental upgrades without hampering what’s already good. So, it has almost the same internals as the OnePlus 6, but with some noticeable upgrades.

The 6T gets an in-display fingerprint sensor feature called Screen Unlock, and a hefty 3700mAh battery, which is a 23% increase in the size against the predecessor and an immersive display with a smaller notch. It’s not that the OnePlus 6 was inferior in any sense, instead, it’s just that the 6T is a more advanced device on the way to their next flagship.

OnePlus 6T price and availability

• OnePlus 6T launch price: from Rs 37,999
• OnePlus 6T release date: November 1

The OnePlus 6T will be available in two color variants - Midnight Black and Mirror Black. It goes on sale from November 1 on Amazon.in and OnePlus store along with being available in Reliance Digital and Croma stores across India. .

The 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 37,999, 8/128 variant for Rs 41,999 and the high-end 8/256 for Rs 45,999.

Display

• 85.6% screen to body ratio is highest even on a OnePlus phone
• Tinier notch, same resolution

The major change in the display arrived with the OnePlus 5T, where the company decided to chop off extra bezels and adopt an 18:9 display. The process continued on the OnePlus 6 with the introduction of a notch, which is now shrunken even more on the OnePlus 6T. Which allows it more screen space to fit more icons on the top left and right of the display.

The display is a 6.41-inch AMOLED panel having 19.6:9 aspect ratio. Thanks to its 85.6% screen to body ratio, the phone doesn’t feel large in hand despite the big screen size. 

There’s no upgrade in the display resolution this time as well. It has a full HD (2340 x 1080p) display with 402ppi pixel density. But in all honesty, the AMOLED display on the OnePlus 6T still offers gorgeous picture quality. The colors pop, it looks immersive and there’s no compromise with the details.

What’s new in the display is its key feature - the in-display fingerprint sensor. We’ve seen many other smartphones like the Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X using a similar technology, but OnePlus claims itself to have the fastest unlock time of 0.36 seconds on this one. Evidently, it’s not as snappy as the older fingerprint solution on OnePlus phones (which is insanely fast), but good enough to set a stepping stone for their next flagship. It’s not just a cool thing to have on your phone, it also helps phone makers to save space for a bigger battery or display panel.

During tests, my first impression with the screen unlock was way better than what I experienced on the Vivo X21. This version of the technology seemed refined, unlike the unbaked solution on competing phones. 

Of course, there is a learning curve in the beginning, but once I got into a habit of it, it was quite smooth, but sadly not the fastest way to unlock. 

I reiterate that it’s not as fast as the conventional fingerprint sensor and has its issues with sweaty fingers or delay in registering, but it worked well enough in most cases. I’ll still suggest you to keep the face unlock as the backup option until you get in a natural habit of unlocking using the display. You will get to use the screen unlock, but only if face unlock allows you the time to. 

Design

• Premium glass metal body looks and feels great
• Slightly bulkier than the OnePlus 6

OnePlus has done splendid enhancements in their smartphone design over the years. But of all the designs, the OnePlus 6 looked like their most premium work till date and that’s a constant on the OnePlus 6T. The company uses a 3D glass back on the phone which looks great without compromising with the essentials. 

The OnePlus 6T is made out of exactly the same glass and metal material as its predecessor. There are only a few changes in the overall look and feel and the changes are well implemented.

Front this time has a Gorilla Glass 6 protection, and the body is glass. It’s available in two colors--Midnight black and Mirror black. The base variant is only available in the Mirror Black variant, which I personally find more interesting as the matte finish is quite mainstream. Going by history, OnePlus would most likely bring in more color variants in the next few months. 

The phone feels comfortable to hold, and it’s easy enough to grip – with dimensions of 157.5 x 74.8 x 8.2mm it’s not a large device. In comparison to the OnePlus 6, the 6T is 0.4mm thicker and heavier by 8 grams. 

The back of the phone is relatively cleaner, as there is only the camera setup since the fingerprint is moved under the display. On the right edge of the phone is a power on button, which is one of your options for waking the device – the other is a double tap on the screen - and above that is the signature OnePlus slider that allows you to mute your phone with a quick flick. 

On the left edge of the phone is an easily reachable volume rocker, a USB Type-C at the bottom and two grills on each side having a loudspeaker and microphone. 

As already revealed, one of the biggest change is the missing headphone jack. The decision might have upset some OnePlus fans, but the company believes it’s a necessary change that had to happen sooner or later. To cover up, OnePlus is bundling a USB Type-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box. Moreover, the OnePlus Bullets headphone are now available with USB Type-C connectivity.

Hard truth is that a headphone jack is still an essential requirement of the users in India. It was OnePlus which made much of a fact that they have retained the headphone jack in their previous phones while mocking the competition.

OnePlus 6T photo gallery

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