OnePlus 6 review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

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Chinese company OnePlus has established a cult following over the years for producing flagship level smartphones at a mid-range price tag that give the likes of Apple and Samsung a run for their money.

The OnePlus 6 is the company's latest attempt at shaking up its more premium rivals and after spending a few days with the handset, it's clear to see the phone has a lot going for it.

Design

• All-glass body looks and feels every bit as premium as the competition.
• Lower-resolution screen and lack of water-resistance betray its cheaper price.

• Read our full review of the OnePlus 6's design

  The OnePlus 6 boasts a design that belies its price tag with an all-glass housing that brings it in line with the premium competition. The excellent build quality extends to the three-position physical switch on the right side of the handset that you can use to move between ring, vibrate and silent modes. It's extremely convenient with a nice solid feedback as you switch between modes.

  On the front there's an edge-to-edge display that dominates the entire front of the device. Well, nearly the entire front. The top of the display has an iPhone X-style notch, a cutout that houses the front-facing camera, notification LED and proximity sensor.

  As most Android apps lack support for the segmented part of the screen, at least until Android 9.0 rolls around, it is mostly used to display status bar content on either side of the notch such as the time and battery indicator. If you're really averse to the notch, you can choose to disable it within the settings.

  The notch affords the OnePlus 6 a taller 6.3-inch screen while keeping the same physical dimensions as its predecessors.

  The OnePlus 6 has an AMOLED display which means deep blacks and vibrant colours. It's only a Full HD panel, though, whereas an increasing number of top-of-the-line smartphones are incorporating panels of 2K resolution or higher. The OnePlus 6 also lacks the audio prowess of its premium rivals, eschewing a pair of stereo speakers for a single mono speaker.

  On the style front, the OnePlus 6 comes in three colour variations, with the choice of a glossy "mirror black", matte black and the "silk white" which comes with a rose gold finish.

  Perhaps the most disappointing compromise the OnePlus 6 makes is its lack of water-resistance. Where an increasing number of smartphones feature IP water resistance ratings these days, the OnePlus 6 comes with no guarantees that it'll survive a dunk in water or even a casual splash.

Camera

• A top-notch camera capable of stunning photos in good lighting conditions.
• Doesn't fare so well in low-light conditions.

• See sample photos and read our full review of the OnePlus 6's camera

  Last year's OnePlus 5T outperformed the cameras typically found in mid-range handsets but couldn't match the performance of its more expensive rivals.

  This year OnePlus has switched to a bigger image sensor to capture more light and also implemented Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) to reduce camera shake and consequent blurring. The lens aperture remains the same at F1.7. There's also a secondary 20MP sensor purely dedicated to taking background-blurring portrait shots.

  I've included a range of sample shots taken from the OnePlus 6 in the table below. As you can see, it does an outstanding job of producing great looking shots in good lighting conditions.

  OnePlus 6

  Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the shots produced out of the OnePlus 6 camera. While it can't quite match the low-light performance of a phone like the Galaxy S9+, you shouldn't expect it to when you consider the price differential. The OnePlus 6 is a very competitive shooter overall that can hold its own against pricier rivals.

Performance

• One of the fastest handsets currently available.
• Impressive software optimisation gives the OnePlus 6 an edge on competing handsets.

• View test results and read our full review of the OnePlus 6's performance

  The OnePlus 6 uses the fastest chip currently available from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 845. This is borne out in the benchmark numbers with the OnePlus 6 besting the Exynos 9810 based Galaxy S9+ in Geekbench's CPU multi-core test, though Samsung's chip has the edge when it comes to single core performance.

  However, it's in the gaming performance where the OnePlus 6 is a real standout, achieving the highest scores we've seen on 3D Mark's Slingshot Extreme benchmark in both the Vulkan and OpenGL tests.

  It's worth keeping in mind that OnePlus has been caught cheating in benchmarks as recently as the OnePlus 5 so it's best not to attach too much weight to them.

  In actual day-to-day use you won't be left wanting for more speed with the OnePlus 6. It's snappy to use, with apps launching and closing quickly and little delay when switching between running apps. Admittedly, this has more to do with OnePlus' software optimisation than the underlying chip powering it.

  The OnePlus 6 comes in a few different models. The base model includes 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but you have the option to upgrade to a model with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of onboard storage. This might seem like overkill for a smartphone and it probably is, but the option is at least there for power users.

  Performance isn't just a specifications game, though, with software an important consideration.

  For those that like to maintain work and personal accounts on social media, the OnePlus 6 has Parallel Apps which creates secondary versions of apps like LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, allowing you to be signed in to multiple accounts at once.

  There’s also the fantastic "reading mode" which mimics the monochromatic look of an ereader, making the display more comfortable for reading. Sadly, the smaller fingerprint sensor on the OnePlus 6 means that the ability to use it as a scroll wheel has been done away with.

  OnePlus handsets have always been some of the fastest performing smartphones around and the same rings true with this latest entry. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I've never held a faster smartphone in my hand than the OnePlus 6.

  OnePlus has also addressed my main software gripe with its handsets in that they often felt uncomfortably fast, as though you were using the phone in fast forward. However, in the latest version of Oxygen OS running on the OnePlus 6, the company has introduced slightly longer animation transitions between closing apps and opening the app switcher for multi-tasking, which feels just right.

  Outside of its snappy performance, the main drawcard of OnePlus handsets has always been its deep customisation options that allow you to tailor almost every aspect of the software experience to your liking. This includes the option to remove the standard Android on-screen navigation buttons, giving you more screen space in the process and using gestures instead.

  Gestures work much in the same way as on the iPhone X where swiping up from the bottom centre of the display takes you home, swiping from the left or right takes you back and swiping up from the bottom of the display and pausing brings up the app switcher for multi-tasking. As was the case on the iPhone X, it takes a bit of adjusting, but once you do, it feels completely natural and became my preferred way to use the phone.

  OnePlus also claims that unlike other handsets, its phones won't slow down over time. While it isn't currently possible to test that claim with the OnePlus 6, my other OnePlus handsets such as the almost two-year-old 3T has yet to show any signs of slowdown, which isn't something I can say for my Galaxy S7.

Battery life

• 3,300mAh battery should get you through a day of moderate usage.
• "Dash Charge" technology makes charging the OnePlus 6 quick and painless.

• View test results and read our full review of the OnePlus 6's battery life

  Despite bumping up the screen size to 6.3 inches, OnePlus is using the same 3300mAh battery found in its predecessors. This causes the OnePlus 6 to fall behind last year's models, which is disappointing but not unexpected. Still, the OnePlus 6 should get you through a full day of moderate to heavy usage without much left in the tank.

  Fortunately, the OnePlus 6 supports fast charging via OnePlus' proprietary "Dash Charge" technology. Dash Charge is impressively quick, topping up our review unit by 50% in just 20 minutes.

  It's just too bad there's still no wireless charging on OnePlus handsets, even though competing handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S9+ support both the Qi and PMA standards.

Verdict

• Premium performance at a killer price.
• The few small concessions are easy to look past.

• Read our full OnePlus 6 verdict

  For those who want a premium smartphone but aren't too keen on paying top dollar, the OnePlus 6 is tough to beat. Not only is it blazingly fast, it boasts a top-tier design and has a great camera. OnePlus also claims that the handset sports more LTE/4G network bands from across the globe than any other flagship smartphone. This, coupled with the support for dual SIM cards, makes the OnePlus 6 an excellent choice for regular travellers as well.

  It's only the OnePlus 6's lack of waterproofing, stereo speakers and wireless charging that keep it from truly excelling. Even so, I'd argue these are omissions that most would be willing to look past given the price.

Pricing and availability

• The OnePlus 6 is not available for purchase in Australia.

Specifications

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