OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 5T: Worth the Upgrade For You?

OnePlus 6 is finally here in India but should OnePlus 5 or 5T users switch to this one?

OnePlus 5T (left) vs OnePlus 6 (right).

(Photo: Canva)

The OnePlus 6 has been finally launched in India. The upgraded flagship product from the brand gets a starting price tag of Rs 34,999 for the 64GB version, and going up to Rs 39,999 for the 128GB storage variant. Additionally, you also get a limited Avengers edition of the OnePlus 6 with 256GB storage for Rs 44,999.

The regular models will be available from 22 May onwards via Amazon as well as offline stores. Most OnePlus 5 and 5T users are curious to know whether it’s worth upgrading to the OnePlus 6.

(Photo: The Quint/Rahul Gupta)

Design

OnePlus 6, unlike any other OnePlus phone, gets a glass body design, a notch on the front and a 19:9 ratio screen with less bezels. Compared to the 16:9 ratio bearing OnePlus 5 and 18:9 ratio sporting OnePlus 5T, this one gets a big design upgrade.

The size of the fingerprint scanner is smaller than before, the dual rear cameras are placed vertically as well.

With these changes, OnePlus 6 has moved away from its philosophy of looking different from the crowd of phones out there. 

The alert slider has moved from the left to right (for compatibility with Android P in 2018) but they have retained the 3.5-mm audio jack at the bottom. The glass body makes the phone a fingerprint magnet.

I would personally pick the metal variant over the glass body design, which no matter what anyone says, is likely to be more fragile than the former. OnePlus 6 is 7.8-mm thick and weighs 177 grams, although the glass variant feels heavier.

But compared to OnePlus 5T’s 7.3-mm thickness and 162 grams in weight, OnePlus 6 sees a big bump in its overall body dynamics. 

Display – It’s All About Notch

Ever since OnePlus highlighted its use of notch on the OnePlus 6 screen, I was intrigued to see how different can their offering be. After all, it’s nothing we haven’t seen from a host of mobile brands since the dawn of 2018, which followed Apple’s path for iPhone X.

The 6.2-inch AMOLED screen has 2280x1080 pixels resolution and claims to have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection.

OnePlus makes a better case for the notch than most companies. The text spacing around the notch is neatly wrapped and even the size of the notch is comparatively smaller.

Also, OnePlus 6 looks as close to having a 19:9 ratio screen than anyone else. Its limited bezel space ensures more display real estate for viewing.

Hardware

As you can see in the above graphic, OnePlus 6 sees minor hardware upgrades compared to the OnePlus 5T. It has Snapdragon 845 with 6/8GB RAM, offered with 64 or 128GB storage.

It’s still a dual-SIM supported phone, with USB Type C for charging and 3.5-mm audio jack. The same 3,300 mAh battery unit has been retained, which offers fast charging like previous OnePlus phones.

The fingerprint scanner is smaller in size, and occupies less of your finger now. Not sure why the layout was tinkered with. 

This is also the first time that a OnePlus phone can handle water splashes. Mind you, it still doesn’t carry an IP certified rating (dust and water resistant), so don’t even think of dipping into the pool with the OnePlus 6.

Camera

It looks as if OnePlus is content with the camera optics that was offered on the OnePlus 5T. That could be the only reason why the OnePlus 6 carries the same megapixels at the back (16 + 20 megapixel), offering f/1.7 aperture but with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and electronic image stabilisation (EIS) on the primary sensor.

They have upgraded the sensors of the camera which offers better detail in daylight and stability in low-light conditions.

From our early days with the phone, the results look marginally better but there is nothing that a OnePlus 5 or 5T user will envy. The phone also has slow motion in 1080p and 4K resolution in 60 fps. There’s also super slow motion on offer with 1080p and 720p allowed to shoot in 240 and 480 fps respectively.

You can’t click pictures in 16:9 ratio with phones like the OnePlus 6 anymore. 

What We Think

There you have it. OnePlus 6 is a design-refreshed, hardware-upgraded flagship offering from the OnePlus for 2018. Unless they come out with the OnePlus 6T (we hope not) later this year, this one carries all the hallmarks of a high-end phone that you can expect in 2018.

Glass-body design, Snapdragon 845 and marginal upgrade in cameras could work out for those with OnePlus 3 or 3T. For those with OnePlus 5 or 5T, this might not be the upgrade you’re looking for.