The T-version of the next OnePlus has always made the summer “number” meaningless – but not this year. As always, there are many differences between them, but not all of them even seem positive. For example, the mini-jack disappeared - the fashion reached OnePlus, and there was no compensation in the form of the declared moisture protection. Or, say, the fingerprint scanner has moved from the back to the display - yes, now it’s convenient to unlock it with one hand, without lifting it from the table, but questions immediately arise about the unlocking speed. The cutout in the middle of the status bar has turned into a “drop”, but is this such an advantage?
At the same time, neither the camera nor, of course, the hardware platform has changed. So how can OnePlus 6T hook its potential audience this time - people who are eyeing the flagships of A-brands, but are ready to part with only half the required amount? Does it stand up to tough competition from the Xiaomi Mi 8 on the one hand or the cheaper Huawei P20/P20 Pro on the other? Previously, OnePlus successfully emerged from under this double pressure, but perhaps at the beginning of 2019, even fans of the brand should prefer the more inexpensive “six”? We will try to answer these questions in the review.
OnePlus 6T costs from 37,990 to 49,990 rubles today in the Phonempire store, depending on the amount of memory.
OnePlus 6T - review and technical specifications of the smartphone
OnePlus is a unique company of its kind, which releases smartphones only twice a year and always takes into account user opinions when developing them.
But the new OnePlus 6T shows that this will not always be the case. The manufacturer decided to go his own way and do it the way he wanted, which definitely won’t please everyone. Last year, the head of the company said that 80% of users continue to use the classic 3.5 mm headphone jack, while OnePlus 6T was deprived of this port, so all that remains is to either use an adapter or a wireless headset. They also talked about an LED event indicator, which made working with the phone more comfortable, but the new product did not have it. If we close our eyes to the shortcomings described above, then we are offered the fastest smartphone at the end of 2022, which is distinguished by good battery life, a bright design with a drop-shaped cutout and a user-friendly interface, as similar as possible to pure Android. Let's take a full review of the OnePlus 6T and take you through all the pros and cons of the new model.
Alternative: LG G7 ThinQ 64GB
With the G7 ThinQ, LG presents a high-quality smartphone that you can get by paying about 35,000 rubles.
The equipment, performance and battery life of this model are very good, the quality of the photos is admirable, although when shooting at dusk they turn out a little worse than our test device.
The characteristics of the LG G7 ThinQ display can’t be faulted either: it offers high resolution and rich colors.
Differences between OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 6
- The display diagonal has been increased to 6.4 inches;
- The case has become thicker, which is due to an increase in battery capacity to 3700 mAh;
- The 3.5 mm jack and LED event indicator are missing.
These are the main changes, and we will talk in more detail as part of our review.
Sound
A single speaker located at the bottom of the device is responsible for the sound of the smartphone. And if the camera does not produce a wow effect, then with sound it’s exactly the opposite. It is very loud, clean and moderately bassy.
Regarding the sound when talking on the phone, there were no complaints about its quality. The voices sound loud, and it is not difficult to make them out. During testing, there were no complaints from our interlocutors at the other end of the line. At the output they received high-quality sound.
Design and photos of the OnePlus 6T smartphone
Externally, the hero of our review is practically indistinguishable from OnePlus 6 - the material used for the case is still glass in combination with metal side frames, which gives the structure the necessary level of rigidity. There are only two color options - Mirror Black and Midnight Black. In the first case, the backdrop will be glossy, and in the second it will be matte. For those who want something special, there is a McLaren Edition in Speed Orange. It has a carbon fiber pattern and looks especially beautiful, but the price will be much higher, so few will be able to afford such a pleasure.
The version with a glossy case is quite slippery and quickly becomes covered with fingerprints, so a protective case is strictly recommended. Without it, there is a high probability of dropping the phone from your hands.
The top edge is occupied by a noise-canceling microphone and an earpiece.
On the right is a distinctive feature of the brand's smartphones - a rocker for switching notification modes and a power key.
On the left is a tray for SIM cards and a volume rocker.
At the bottom there is a USB Type-C port and an external speaker hole. Alas, the 3.5 mm jack was abandoned in the new product. The solution would be to use a wireless headset, a complete adapter for classic headphones, or a proprietary headset for a USB Type-C connector, which can be found on Aliexpress for around $20.
At the back, the design almost completely copies the OnePlus 6 - a dual main camera in the middle and a flash attached to it. But there is still one difference - the fingerprint scanner, which is now built into the screen, has disappeared.
The screen has become larger, which becomes noticeable even when you turn it on for the first time. The main thing that many fans will like is that they got rid of the huge cutout at the top. It has become teardrop-shaped, so it is practically invisible and leaves more usable display area. The speaker grid has moved higher. It can be seen between the screen and the top edge of the OnePlus 6T phone. True, to implement this solution we had to abandon the LED event indicator, for which there was simply no place. The case is assembled with high quality and feels pleasant in the hand. But it is quite large, so it will be uncomfortable for you to type text while holding it with one hand.
Equipment
In a fairly large box, in addition to the smartphone itself, you can find a silicone case, a charger, a USB Type-C cable, a clip for removing the SIM card tray and a short adapter from USB Type-C to a mini-jack - for connecting to a “regular” smartphone. wired headset.
How well does the in-screen fingerprint scanner work?
Starting with OnePlus 5T, the fingerprint scanner is mounted on the back, which allows for a smaller bottom bezel at the front. But from the point of view of users, this is not the most convenient solution, since it is more difficult to find blindly. To solve this problem, it was decided to integrate it into the screen in the new product. The scanner's coverage area is marked with a pattern to which you need to place your finger and after a moment the smartphone screen will be unlocked. This is not the first phone to use this technology, but in OnePlus it is definitely the fastest and is almost as good as a traditional fingerprint scanner.
There's an optical sensor underneath the One Plus 6T's screen, so in theory it should only work well in good lighting conditions. But in fact, it works well even in complete darkness due to the fact that the desired part of the display is illuminated. The only problem that is relevant for all phones with an in-screen scanner is that if your hands are very cold in the cold, the unlocking process takes longer or does not happen at all.
operating system
The device is equipped with the Android 9 operating system. Thus, the company corrected last year’s mistake, when OnePlus 5T was released not on the latest version of Android 8 at that time. The shell on top of the system makes the device smooth and pleasant to use. OxygenOS adds useful features without taking anything away from stock Android.
OnePlus does not force the interface to work with gestures, as on Pixel 3 devices. It offers its own copy of the system from the iPhone X. It is believed that gesture navigation on iPhone devices is the best. The current version of this interface on Android is not stable. On OnePlus everything happens easily and smoothly.
Swiping up from the bottom of the screen opens the home screen. An upward gesture from the middle of the screen launches the application list. Swiping up to the right within an app means going back to the previous app. To access multitasking, you need to swipe up and hold your finger down briefly. The back button has been replaced with an up gesture from the bottom left and right corners of the screen. All this works quickly and is easy to remember.
The on-screen keyboard spoils the impression a little. Gboard supports gesture input. For this reason, the up gesture to open multitasking cards is registered by the keyboard. This may cause unnecessary text to be typed. I have to remove the keyboard every time I need to exit the application. There were no such problems with a physical Home button. This is not to say that this greatly spoils the impression, especially since, if desired, you can switch to the traditional three Android navigation buttons.
Screen with a waterdrop notch at the top
The display is one of the main changes in the OnePlus 6T. It has become better and most importantly, they got rid of the huge cutout at the top, which obscured some of the content and did not accommodate all the notifications. The diagonal of the AMOLED screen has been increased from 6.28 to 6.41 inches. True, the dimensions were obtained without taking into account the rounded edges. With them the diagonal will be smaller - 6.24 inches. The resolution has also increased. It is now 2340x1080, which gives 402 pixels per inch. With such characteristics, there are no problems with detailing, the picture looks great.
The main change that catches your eye is the miniature teardrop-shaped cutout on top, which houses the front camera. This approach turned out to be more practical and convenient than the notch, which was borrowed from Apple throughout the year. The display surface is covered with tempered Gorilla Glass 6 with high-quality oleophobic coating. You shouldn't drop your smartphone or carry it in the same pocket as your keys, but the level of protection has certainly improved.
OnePlus 6T has several color profiles. sRGB produces more saturated colors, while DCI-P3 produces calmer colors. It is better to switch the standard mode to adaptive or DCI-P3, otherwise the colors will turn out too saturated and unrealistic. In addition, this puts increased strain on the eyes, quickly tiring them when working with the phone. When reading mode is active, the screen turns black and white. In the settings, you can set it to turn on automatically when you launch certain programs, for example, FBReader. Viewing angles and brightness levels are at the highest level, as befits a flagship. The screen occupies 87% of the front panel.
Phone display
OnePlus 6T is equipped with a 6.41-inch AMOLED Full Optic display with a resolution of 2340×1080 and a pixel density of 402ppi. There are various screen calibration modes including Default, sRGB, DCI-P3, Adaptive and User Custom Profile.
The 6T's display is slightly brighter than the previous version and is clearly visible in almost all situations, including direct sunlight. A special mode makes reading in the dark more comfortable.
OnePlus 6T performance and specifications
The technical characteristics of the smartphone are based on the flagship processor released in 2022 - Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. It has 8 cores with a frequency of up to 2.8 GHz. This is a powerful chip made using a 10-nm process technology, which, in combination with the Adreno 630 graphics accelerator, gives a good performance reserve for the future. The interface simply flies, and there are no problems with multitasking thanks to 6 or 8 GB of RAM. Even 6 GB is enough for normal operation of the phone, so in our opinion it is not worth overpaying for the older modification. Flash memory can be 128 or 256 GB UFS 2.1 type.
Test in Antutu and Geekbench
At peak loads, the OnePlus 6T did not heat up above 47 degrees. The heat is evenly distributed throughout the body, so it has virtually no impact on performance or comfort. The manufacturer has managed to squeeze the maximum out of the processor's capabilities, so you can be sure that its power will last for at least several more years. It easily runs modern games at maximum graphics, while the number of frames remains stable around 60. There is an NFC chip, Bluetooth 5.0, support for aptX HD codecs, Wi-Fi 2.4 and 5 GHz. The device runs on the Android 9 operating system, on top of which is a convenient and functional proprietary OxygenOS shell.
Software platform
OnePlus 6T uses the proprietary OxygenOS shell (at the time of writing the review, the latest stable version was 9.0.11, based on Android 9).
OnePlus remains true to its traditions - its shell looks almost like “pure” Android, but offers additional functionality, proprietary widgets and advanced settings, while it works very quickly, smoothly and without the slightest stutter. Among the main differences in the interface, we can mention a special screen on the left, containing blocks such as recent applications and contacts, and you can also add regular widgets here.
The transition to Android 9 did not make any fundamental changes to the Oxygen interface, however, a number of menu items were noticeably redesigned: for example, the list of running applications now looks “like on iOS”, information about the battery status was supplemented with comments in the spirit of “the phone is used more than usually” and “the charge will last until about 23:00”, and the “about phone” window has received a complete redesign.
Battery life has become even longer
A review of the OnePlus 6T smartphone showed positive changes. If the predecessor had a 3300 mAh battery, then in the 6T the battery capacity was increased to 3700 mAh. True, along with this, the diagonal of the display has also grown, which means that battery life has remained at the same level. The battery test showed the following results:
- About 6 hours of Internet surfing;
- 6.5 hours of video playback;
- 3.5 hours of operation at maximum loads.
Fast charging technology is supported, thanks to which after 30 minutes the smartphone is charged to 50%, and in an hour to 89%. A fully charged battery lasts for a day of active use.
Battery
Eliminating the headphone jack opens up additional battery space. The battery here is the largest in the history of OnePlus smartphones. The bigger the better, so the autonomy of this One Plus model is greater compared to previous generations.
Thus, if before the autonomy was good, now it is excellent. It's about on par with the Pixel 3 XL, although it's not quite as good as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. In the latter case, a screen of the same size is offered, but a more efficient chip based on the 7 nm process technology. The main thing is that the battery is larger and there are more aggressive energy saving modes.
For ordinary users, the device is enough for a full day of work under intense load. This could be games, YouTube, social networks. In all these cases, the work will be fast and smooth.
OnePlus 6T camera review
Starting with OnePlus 5T, the company equips its smartphones with a dual camera with equal focal length. The 6T received a 16 MP Sony IMX519 sensor, in addition to which there is a 20 MP Sony IMX376K module. In both cases, the aperture is f/1.7 and the focal length is 25 mm. The main camera has optical stabilization, which left OnePlus smartphones for a while, but returned with the release of the six. There is a manual shooting mode, panorama, portrait shots, as well as the ability to record slow-mo video in FullHD with 240 frames per second or 720p with 480 fps.
During the day, photos taken with the OnePlus 6T camera come out with stunning detail, wide dynamic range and natural color reproduction. The saturation of the shades may seem excessive, but this is not critical. The noise reduction algorithms work quite aggressively even under these conditions, which is why when viewed on a computer monitor at 100% magnification, a lack of detail becomes noticeable in tree branches, grass and other small elements. When photographing in cloudy weather, the colors lose their saturation, but overall the photo quality remains at the same level.
Example photo:
Indoors or at dusk, the photo quality drops, but not significantly. Although traces of noise reduction are clearly visible, which leads to deterioration in detail. Night mode slightly improves the situation, improving picture quality. Photos are obtained with an extended dynamic range, and if you use a tripod, the image clarity increases. At the same time, bright objects in night mode appear as if muted. Be careful, this may ruin the photo.
With active HDR, the quality of rendering of details in the shadows, which in standard mode appear excessively dark, improves.
Conclusion
A review of OnePlus 6T showed that the new product turned out to be an improved version of the smartphone that was released six months earlier.
It uses the same processor, but the memory capacity has increased. The design has changed for the better, and the screen has become even larger, although the dimensions of the body have remained virtually unchanged. The fingerprint scanner is built into the screen, making it even more convenient to use. The photo quality has improved, but not enough to make it worth switching to a smartphone from the original OnePlus 6. Autonomy remained at approximately the same level, despite the fact that the battery capacity increased to 3700 mAh. True, not all the changes benefited the device. Many will not be happy about the lack of a 3.5 mm jack and an LED event indicator, for which there was simply no room. Pros:
- Stunning AMOLED display with waterdrop notch;
- Top filling;
- Fast interface;
- Photo quality;
- Built-in scanner;
- Good sound quality;
- Good autonomy.
Minuses:
- Slippery and easily soiled body;
- Lack of LED event indicator and 3.5 mm jack;
- The fingerprint scanner does not work well in cold weather.
Full review of OnePlus 7 Pro - we look at all the pros and cons of the smartphone
OnePlus 5T - is it worth upgrading to the updated version of the flagship killer?
OnePlus 3T is an updated version of the flagship killer. Is it worth the $40 overpayment?
OnePlus 5 - how successful was the next flagship killer?
OnePlus 6 - the flagship killer once again confirms its title, delighting with an excellent price-performance ratio
Autonomy
OnePlus 6T is equipped with a non-removable lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 3700 mAh - this is not much more than the OnePlus 6 (3300 mAh), but in terms of autonomy, the new product shows noticeably better results. So, if the “six” lasted only a little more than 7 hours in the PCMark battery test, then the 6T lasted two hours more under similar conditions. Depending on the intensity of use, the owner of the OnePlus 6T can easily count on one and a half to two days of work on a single charge, and even with active use, he will most likely survive the daylight hours.
4.5
ITC.UA rating
Pros: Excellent screen; top characteristics; fast software; high quality images; minimum cutout size for the front camera; built-in fingerprint scanner
Cons: Very slippery body; possible problems with the fingerprint scanner in the cold season
Conclusion: As before, the model with the “T” index turned out to be a slightly “modified” version of the smartphone released six months ago. The same hardware platform (and increased internal memory), generally the same design - plus a significantly smaller notch in the screen and a fingerprint scanner built into the display. The quality of the images has improved slightly; it is also worth noting the increased battery capacity and noticeably increased autonomy. In general, if the absence of a mini-jack and an LED indicator is not critical for you, then we would recommend choosing the new one from these two models.
