OnePlus Announces the OnePlus 6T
by Andrei Frumusanu on October 29, 2018 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
- OnePlus
- OnePlus 6T
Today OnePlus has revealed its half-generation refresh for 2018: The OnePlus 6T. This summer we thoroughly reviewed the OnePlus 6 and I was extremely impressed – ending up as being one of the best smartphones this year.
The OnePlus 6T is an iterative update to the OnePlus 6, as such, there’s a lot of similarities between the new and former models:
OnePlus 6 | OnePlus 6T | |
SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 4x Kryo 385 Gold @ up to 2.80 GHz 4x Kryo 385 Silver @ up to 1.77 GHz Adreno 630 @ up to 710 MHz |
|
Display | 6.28-inch 2280x1080 (19:9) AMOLED |
6.41-inch 2340x1080 (19.5:9) AMOLED |
Dimensions | 155.7 x 75.4 x 7.8 mm 177 grams |
157.5 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm 185 grams |
RAM | 6GB / 8GB / 8GB LPDDR4x | 6GB / 8GB LPDDR4x |
NAND | 64GB / 128GB / 256GB | 128GB / 256GB |
Battery | 3300mAh (12.7Wh) | 3700mAh (14.24Wh) |
Front Camera | 16MP Sony IMX371, f/2.0, EIS |
|
Primary Rear Camera | 16MP Sony IMX519 1.22µm pixels, f/1.7, OIS |
|
Secondary Rear Camera | 20MP Sony IMX376K, 1.0µm pixels, f/1.7 Low-light & Depth |
|
SIM Size | 2x NanoSIM | |
Connectivity | 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi BT 5.0, NFC |
|
Interfaces | USB 2.0 Type-C; 3.5mm audio | USB 2.0 Type-C |
Launch OS | Android O (8.1) with OxygenOS 5.1 | Android P (9.0) with OxygenOS |
MSRP Launch Price |
6GB/64GB: ¥3199 / $529 / €519 8GB/128GB: ¥3599 / $579 / €569 8GB/256GB: ¥3999 / $629 / €619 |
6GB/128GB: $549 / £499 / €549 8GB/128GB: $579 / £529 / €579 8GB/256GB: $629 / £579 / €629 |
The OnePlus 6T is still powered by the Snapdragon 845; The OP6 ended up being as one of the fastest devices of the year thanks to OnePlus’ and Qualcomm’s software stack.
OnePlus promises continued excellent performance, and now introduces “Smart Boost”, which seems to be a new RAM file caching system that is currently advertised to work with gaming applications primarily.
In terms of design, the biggest changes of the OnePlus 6T is a redesign of the screen notch. The OnePlus 6T sports a much narrower “teardrop” style notch that houses just the front-facing camera, with the earpiece and sensors being relegated above it now.
The screen is still an AMOLED panel at FHD+ resolution, but OnePlus stretches it from a 19:9 to a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, mostly thanks to a reduction of the bottom chin bezel.
The back of the phone remains largely the same, with the big difference being that there’s no more fingerprint sensor. The OnePlus 6T now sports an under-screen fingerprint sensor on the front, and OnePlus claims it’s the fastest in the industry in terms of unlocking speed.
On the camera side of things, there are no hardware changes, however OnePlus is introducing a new software mode called “Nightscape” that promises to work similarly to Huawei’s night mode or Google’s more recent “night sight”, addressing one of the bigger weaknesses of the OnePlus 6’s camera setup. A positive for current OnePlus 6 owners is that the new mode will also be backported to their devices via a software update.
Settling on no 3.5mm headphone jack
OnePlus notoriously didn’t address this at all in the launch event: The new OP6T no longer offers a 3.5mm headphone jack. While it’s arguable that some of the increased battery capacity, which is now 12% bigger at 3700mAh might have come from a changed internal design, I think it’s more likely due to the 0.4mm thicker design of the new OP6T. The fact that OnePlus doesn’t mention the headphone jack removal in any PR material might indicate they’re possibly aware it’s a mistake that could backfire. Personally I just can’t comprehend why companies are doing this as it’s a very big degradation of device experience with absolutely no benefits.
US availability through T-Mobile
The bigger news about the OnePlus 6T isn’t really the device itself, but the fact that OnePlus now is officially launching the phone in the US, partnering with T-Mobile. Price wise, the OnePlus 6T is just a tad more expensive for its basic model, which is now at a minimum of 128GB, with equal pricing for the higher tier models.
Overall, the OnePlus 6T is a good iterative update. To me personally the OnePlus 6 was a star phone for 2018; the fact that the 6T compromised on the headphone jack is going to have some people want to avoid it. I do look forward to the new “nightscape” camera mode, as computational photography becomes ever more important in the smartphone space.
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Xex360 - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
No Headphone port=stupid phone.satai - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
It's completely up to your preferences...quiksilvr - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Never Settle...imaheadcase - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
People who don't understand that blue tooth is find = hardheaded people.sonny73n - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
Music over Bluetooth is not fine. It degrades quality.sonny73n - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
No headphones jack is fine. Matter facts, it does have some benefits.- USB to headphones adapter has dedicated DAC which has less interference than intergrated one.
- More room for other components.
- Easier design for waterproofing.
Phone by Bluetooth earpiece and Hi-res music thru usb to portable amp+DAC. I don’t see the need for outdated 3.5mm jack anymore.
fred666 - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
Funny since this phone is not even IP68. While some with a 3.5mm jack are. Lame excuse.Manch - Saturday, November 3, 2018 - link
Properly designed DAC placement in a phone with proper shielding will have about as much interference as one built into your headse if not less.With BT you must also consider the interference with its signal and the noise floor of wireless signals around you.
Also, BT is not lossless. The compression will destroy a bit of the audio.
They have waterproof 3.5mm jacks. Stating its easier to waterproof a phone without a 3.5mm jack when it also has other ports like USB, sd, sim, speaker slots is like saying its easier to pick up a 15oz cup than a 16oz cup.
BT gives you wireless, hands free calling which is nice. Also convenient for hooking up to your car.
Having a 3.5mm jack gives you better audio quality. Noticeably & measurably so.
I prefer both. I like hands free calling and BT support for when I ride or drive but I like wired headphones when I'm in the cattle cart flying places or working out.
If you're OK with no 3,5, cool. The jack isn't outdated. It's functional, it works well for what it's supposed to do, and there is no superior replacement for it yet.
Holly-Must-Haves - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
You are some kind of special idiot.goatfajitas - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
No headphone jack is fine for alot of people. It's just a feature that you happen to still use, and most don't anymore. It's going away, get used to it. A few more years and no-one will have it.