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OnePlus 6 is OnePlus’ most expensive phone yet

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A new glass back and a shiny new design means the new OnePlus isn't quite as cheap as the old ones were.

Overnight, OnePlus formally revealed the OnePlus 6, although (as is so often the case) extensive leaks hadn't left all that much to be revealed.

The OnePlus 6 is a 6.28 inch Android 8.1 ("Oreo") phone with OnePlus' own OxygenOS slathered over the top. Although, it's also one of the handful of phones announced at Google I/O that is capable of running the Android P beta, so you could ensure a much cleaner Android environment if that's to your taste.

The display is an AMOLED with a 19:9 aspect ratio and a 2280 x 1080 resolution, with a "notch" (a la the iPhone X, LG G7 ThinQ, Huawei P20 Pro and many more) at the top.

In pure hardware terms, as expected it's running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 SoC. Storage is in three variants, with 6GB RAM/64GB, 8GBRAM/128GB or 8GB RAM/256GB respectively.

One major design change, aside from the three colours the OnePlus 6 will ship in, is that it's OnePlus' first phone with a glass back, where previous models have had metal frames instead. Sadly, this doesn't mean you get wireless charging, although it does support OnePlus' own dash charging standard.

The OnePlus 6 includes dual rear cameras, 16MP and 20MP with optical image stabilisation, while around the front you'll find a single 16MP selfie camera. Camera technology hasn't always been OnePlus' strong point relative to the premium-priced flagships it competes with, but within the mid-range price points it typically commanded, it has generally compared well. We'll have to wait and see how the OnePlus 6 fares in this regard.

Also absent is formal IP-based water resistance, with the OnePlus 6 said to have "comparable" water resistance to other flagship phones, but nothing that OnePlus would happily put to an IP test. Or in other words, not a phone you'd want to submerge.

The OnePlus 6 will go on sale internationally from 22 May in Midnight Black and Mirror Black finishes, while a limited edition Silk White variant will start selling from 5 June.

OnePlus made its name in the busy smartphone space by offering premium features at a significant discount to the large brand names, and while that's still technically true, the OnePlus 6 will be the company's most expensive handset to date, at least at launch.

The OnePlus 6 entry-level model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage will sell for US$529 outright. Bump that up to 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and you're looking at US$579, while the top tier 8GB RAM and 256GB storage model will cost US$629.

Without considering whether those prices include tax (which typically isn't the case for US list prices), that should convert out to around $700 for the base model, $773 for the mid-range and roughly $840 for the top-tier variant.

OnePlus has no announced plans for an official release of the OnePlus 6 in Australia as yet. The only OnePlus phone to see some kind of release in Australia officially was the OnePlus 5, which was "soft launched" in limited numbers for online sale only in 2017.

What that means if you're keen is that you'll have to look to a direct importer, and potentially deal with tax issues that could bump those prices up by another $50-$100 each, at which point the OnePlus 6 starts tipping quite close to the pricing of more premium handsets at an outright basis.

OnePlus 6 Specifications

Product Name
OnePlus 6
Display Size
6.28 inches
Resolution
1080 x 2280
PPI
402
Processor
Snapdragon 845
RAM
6GB/8GB
Storage
64GB/128GB/256GB
Operating System
Android 8.1 with OxygenOS
Front camera
16MP f/2.0
Rear camera
16MP + 20MP f/1.7
Battery
3300mAh
Dimensions
155.7 x 75.4 x 7.75mm
Weight
177g
Price
$US529/$US579/$US629

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