OnePlus’ latest flagship has proven to be one of the worst-kept secrets in 2018, with an incredible number of leaks that turned out to be true, for the most part.
OnePlus’ latest flagship has proven to be one of the worst-kept secrets in 2018, with an incredible number of leaks that turned out to be true, for the most part. The new OnePlus 6 sports a very different design over the previous flagships, largely because of the all-glass design, and, the Apple-esque notch at the top. The phone is said to be no larger than the OP5T, but despite that, it ultimately offers more screen.
Let’s jump into the specs. The OP6 sports Qualcomm’s own flagship Snapdragon 845, an octa-core able to burst to 2.8GHz. It also has 6GB or 8GB of memory, depending on the SKU chosen, and likewise, you can choose between 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB models.
It’s not often that the top SKU offers such an alluring bang-for-the-buck, but the OP6’s does. The least-expensive OP6 is $529, and offers 6GB of memory, and 64GB of storage. For $50 more, you can get 8GB of memory, and 128GB of storage. But for another $50 on top of that, the storage is doubled once again, to 256GB. That’s pretty attractive against the iPhone 8’s 256GB at $949, or Samsung’s Galaxy S9 at $819.
And speaking of the S9, the OP6 follows-suit with a glass front and back, utilizing Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5. OnePlus CEO Carl Pei calmed concerns about the durability of the OP6 during the phone’s launch event, saying that the company has designed it to be as durable as any one of its previous flagships. As someone who accidentally flung their OP5T across a room just last night (with no damage – phew), I am a little skeptical about that, and I’m definitely not going to be the one to test that promise! The upside to a glass design? Aesthetics aside, it allows for better wireless transmissions, which is useful since this device can now support up to 1Gbps speeds over LTE (DL CAT 16).
One of the biggest talking points of the OnePlus 6 is that its camera uses a sensor 19% larger than previous gen, and thanks to a slew of software updates, the OP6 should easily set itself apart from older OP models. Optimizations have been tackled from every angle, to deliver a camera that can handle low-light with greater ease, and deliver crisp images – or not so crisp if you’re looking to add a bokeh effect using the popular portrait mode.
Slow motion is another key feature here, with 1080p 240 FPS or 720p 480 FPS options on tap. Combined with a new video editor, you’ll be able to capture up to 1 minute of slow-motion video, and then crop out only the segment you want.
Other OP6 key specs include dual-SIM card, Type-C USB (2.0), a 3,300mAh battery, and now-expected features like a finger print reader, and face unlock. Thankfully for those who love their wired audio, OnePlus has decided to stick with a real audio-out jack on its OP6.
Despite the fact that there’s still a wired audio jack present, OnePlus announced a second product that wasn’t as much of a surprise as it was welcomed. A pair of wireless earbuds for just $69, that the likes of KRS-One allegedly appreciated over solutions costing up to triple the amount. Unlike some wireless solutions, these look like normal earbuds; but like sports-type earbuds, they have a cable that will go around your neck, preventing a bud from falling to the ground in the event if falls out of your ear.
An added design feature is that the buds can be attached using built-in magnets, which will automatically turn them off, preserving battery life. As someone who regularly takes ear buds out when I walk into a store, wondering how I will hold onto them while I am in there, I dig this solution.
The OnePlus 6 can be purchased on May 22 from the official source. The OnePlus Bullets wireless ear buds will come a bit later, on June 5, and can be snagged from the same website.
