OnePlus 6 First Impressions: Flagship but not the flagship killer

OnePlus 6 price starts at Rs. 34,999 in the Indian market. The smartphone will be available for purchase on May 21, 2018.

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After months of leaks and rumors, OnePlus 6 has finally made its grand entry into the Indian market. The smartphone has been launched in three variants, and the price starts at Rs. 34,999 for the entry-level 6GB+64GB variant. The 8GB RAM variant with 128GB storage is priced at Rs 39,999, whereas the Marvel Avengers edition of OnePlus 6 that offers 8GB RAM and 256GB storage will sell at Rs. 44,999.

 
OnePlus 6 First Impressions: Flagship but not the flagship killer

Besides, the Chinese brand also introduced Bullets wireless earphones that come with Google Assistant and Dash Charge support. The OnePlus' audio product is priced at Rs. 3,999 in the Indian market.

Coming back on the OnePlus 6, the smartphone comes with a new design, is powered by the snappy Snapdragon 845 CPU and features a revamped camera hardware. It is the most advanced mobile device ever produced by the Chinese brand and is touted as the flagship killer. But is it actually one? Let's find out.

Attention to detail and Vibrant 6.28-inch Screen

Attention to detail and Vibrant 6.28-inch Screen

OnePlus 6 is by far the most premium OnePlus 6 smartphone I have seen till date. The attention to detail is impressive and the smartphone feels rock solid in hands. There's Gorilla Glass 5 on front and back. The rounded corners and gentle curves make the device quite handy; however, it fails to offer a comfortable one-hand usage. OnePlus 6 is slightly thicker and heavier than the OnePlus 5T.

The massive 6.28-inch display takes most of the space at the front and comes with the infamous notch. The screen is touch responsive and looked vibrant and bright indoors. We are yet to test how it performs in direct sunlight.

No Stereo Speakers
 

No Stereo Speakers

The alert slider now settles on the right side and the fingerprint scanner is now oval in shape for a better grip. OnePlus has still kept the 3.5 mm headphone jack, which makes it comfortable to use in everyday life. The audio performance is questionable as there are no stereo speakers and all you get is one down firing speaker that can be easily covered by your hand while playing games and watching videos in landscape mode.

More Power than ever

More Power than ever

OnePlus happens to be the first smartphone in the Indian market to ship with the best-in-class Snapdragon 845 CPU. The smartphone gets up to 8 gigabytes of RAM and up to 256GB of on-board storage. The Snapdragon 845 is also a graphics powerhouse as it is supported by Adreno 630 GPU, which is 30 % faster and battery efficient. This seems like a winning combination and like previous OnePlus smartphones; we are expecting the same buttery smooth performance on the new OnePlus 6 as well.

The smartphone runs OxygenOS 5.1 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The connectivity options include dual-SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC.

Important Camera Upgrades

Important Camera Upgrades

As far as the camera is concerned, the new OnePlus 6 still works on the same set of sensors (16MP f/1.7+20MP f/1.7), which we saw on OnePlus 5T; however, there are some major camera upgrades. The pixel size for the primary 16MP sensor has been increased to 1.22 um, which should bring in more light for better night photography. There's OIS in the primary camera along with EIS, which should also improve video performance. The new OnePlus 6 is also capable of shooting videos in 4K format at 60 FPS, which sounds great. The smartphone can also record super slow-mo videos; however, it maxes out at 480 frames per second, unlike the Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ and Sony's flagship handsets that pushes the limits at 240 fps. However, OnePlus allows you to record the video for 60 seconds, which is definitely a plus point. For selfies, OnePlus 6 comes with a 16MP front-facing camera. Sadly, it still doesn't offer portrait shots but might be able to do it with an upgrade in the coming months.

The camera performance seemed good in daylight but the low-light images showed noise and loss of details. We are yet to test the camera's complete potential and would recommend you to wait for our comprehensive review.

No Water-Dust Resistance

No Water-Dust Resistance

OnePlus 6 is trying to compete with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+, Google Pixel devices; however, it still lacks one very important everyday feature. The Chinese brand has still not been able to deliver on water-dust resistivity and the OnePlus 6 only ships with a very low degree of protection from elements. OnePlus says that the new smartphone is only splash-proof. What this means is that you can take it out in rain and click a picture try it while taking a dip in the pool and you will regret it.

Notably, Samsung Galaxy A8+, which is now selling at Rs. 32,490, offers an IP68 rating for water-dust resistivity.

No expandable Storage

No expandable Storage

We might never see a handset from OnePlus with a microSD card slot. The new OnePlus 6 also maintains the same set of standards and only ship with the in-built storage of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. For most users, 128GB storage will be enough; however, if you like to carry the world in your pocket, go for the higher storage variant, but be ready to pay an extra Rs. 5,000 for the extra storage.

Battery and dash Charging

Battery and dash Charging

OnePlus hasn't upgraded the battery size and the new OnePlus 6 is also backed by the similar 3,300 mAh battery unit which should last a day. The smartphone also gets the Dash Charge, which is said to give 60% boost in just 30 minutes.

Verdict

Verdict

OnePlus 6 is the most advanced OnePlus smartphone and seems like a winner in the sub Rs. 40,000 price-segment for most of the users. However, it's not perfect and misses out on some very important features that restrict us to call it a real flagship killer. If you can make peace with lack of expandable storage, IP water-dust resistivity, and average audio, this is a great Android device to buy in the market today. We will test the smartphone in the coming week to find out what it really has to offer as a daily driver. Stay tuned on Gizbot.

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