OnePlus 6T review – A sensational smartphone without a sky-high price

ONEPLUS 6T REVIEW • FROM £499

• PROS • Stunning display • Fingerprint scanner back where it belongs • Unbelievably low price
• CONS • Slippy design makes it a little scary to hold • No wireless charging or waterproofing • Headphone port is no more

Six months after OnePlus shook the Android smartphone world they are doing it again with the launch of the OnePlus 6T.

This device now supersedes the OnePlus 6 and if you happen to own that older device you have every right to feel a little disappointed.

This new flagship from the Chinese firm is packed with updates that not only makes it the best phone they’ve ever made but it could quite easily be one of the best devices of 2018.

The OnePlus 6T officially goes on sale from November 6 but Express.co.uk has been using this flagship for the past few weeks and here’s our full review.

THE DISPLAY AND DESIGN

OnePlus has a habit of making very good displays and the 6T continues that tradition.

At 6.41 inches this OLED screen is now bigger than its 6.28-inch predecessor but don’t think that makes it too large in your pocket and cumbersome in your hand.

With OnePlus reducing the bezels and making the notch smaller this phone gets the perfect balance between size and usability.

The display itself is packed full of colour with content looking bright, crisp and beautifully clear.

Like most OnePlus devices there’s nothing subtle about the 6T’s screen but it’s hard to complain about something that offers such a vibrant experience.

There are also plenty of ways to get the display more to your liking with a range of settings including Reading and Night Mode.

You still won’t find an always-on option but OnePlus continues to offer its simple tap to show basic notifications, time and date.

Another feature that’s improved things is that smaller teardrop notch which is much less intrusive at the top of the screen.

This tiny black blob has been made possible by OnePlus only including a single front camera and moving the speaker to the very top edge of the phone.

Even though this notch has been massively reduced, if you still really hate it there is some in-built software which hides it completely via a digitally created black bar.

Other than that glorious screen the design of the OnePlus 6T looks very similar to its predecessor.

The curved glass form factor makes it very comfortable to hold although the Midnight Black model we tested felt worryingly slippy which did have us concerned about the high chance of dropping it.

Another thing you may not like is the missing headphone port which has been removed to make more room inside the phone for some extra technology and larger battery.

OnePlus does bundle a 3.5mm adaptor in the box but it’s not ideal if you own an expensive pair of wired cans.

One final change that is worth mentioning is there’s no rear fingerprint scanner on the device which means a much cleaner look to the case.

With a fully edge-to-edge screen and no sign of that important sensor, you might be wondering how you unlock this phone.

That’s the clever trick OnePlus has added and this new technology means the Chinese firm is ahead of rivals such as Samsung and Sony.

THE NEW FINGERPRINT SENSOR

There’s no visible fingerprint scanner on the 6T with this security feature now hidden neatly under the OLED screen.

This new technology means you simply tap the display to unlock the phone.

It’s clever stuff with the device showing you the exact position of the sensor via a glowing blue and green pattern on the screen.

We’ve never been fans of the rear fingerprint scanner and it’s nice to see it return to where it belongs.

However, the OnePlus solution isn’t totally faultless.

We had a fairly good success rate with this embedded scanner but it’s not as fast as the standard scanners most of us use on a daily basis. 

You may also struggle to unlock the 6T if the screen gets wet or have mucky fingers.

Our overall experience of this new feature has been good but feel it needs some fine tuning before we can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Luckily, OnePlus has also included facial recognition which, although not as secure, does work well and means you should never really have a problem unlocking this device.

CAMERA

One of the only areas that OnePlus has shown a weakness is its cameras.

There’s nothing wrong with these smartphone snappers but, in the past, they’ve lacked the finesse of their more premium rivals.

The 6T hopes to fix the camera issues with new features aimed at making your photos look picture perfect including artificial intelligence which adjusts the settings to perfectly match what you are taking.

Both the dual rear cameras and front-facing snapper get improved software with face and night scene detection.

There’s also a new night mode which brightens images even when the phone is shooting in almost total darkness.

Overall, OnePlus has done a decent job with the cameras on the OnePlus 6T and it’s certainly an improvement over the firm’s previous phones.

However, despite these improvements, we’re not entirely convinced this phone can match its rivals with some images we shot simply lacking the punch and clarity you get from an iPhone Xs or P20 Pro.

If you want the ultimate smartphone camera the OnePlus 6T probably isn’t for you but that doesn’t mean this phone is bad.

For most people, this camera will offer all that they need especially as it’s so simple to use.

The Pro Mode also offers plenty of settings for those who like to dabble in photography and there’s plenty of other features including 4K video recording, super slow motion mode and dual-led flash.

With its double rear cameras, you can also add some DSLR-style depth of field to your photos with the selfie snapper also offering this function.

SPEED AND BATTERY

The OnePlus 6T continues to be powered by the Qualcomm’s 845 Snapdragon processor and with Android 9 Pie pre-installed this device is as slick as they come.

With 6GB or 8GB of RAM available – and the device free of bloatware – it makes for a user experience that’s as good, if not better, than many of its Android rivals.

In fact, it makes some of the more expensive competition feel like they are trudging through treacle.

This device is a total joy to use with everything asked of it accomplished without a stutter or fuss.

It is worth noting that OnePlus hasn’t included expandable memory so make sure you pick the right device for your future needs.

Those buying a 6T also now get a 3,700mAh battery rather than the 3,300mAh power source tucked under the hood of the current OnePlus 6 flagship.

This brings users around 20 percent more power and certainly means you’ll get all-day life without needed to charge it.

Along with that extra battery power, there’s also something called Smart Boost coming to this new phone.

Smart Boost improves app cold start speeds by between 5 and 20 percent and should be a good bonus extra for users who love gaming on their smartphones.

The only thing that’s missing when it comes to power is wireless charging with OnePlus still not bringing this technology to its phones.

Luckily, the Chinese firm still offers its fast refilling plug in the box which can add enough juice for a days use in just 30 minutes.

PRICE AND EXTRAS

With no 64GB version of the 6T available, the starting price isn’t as low as many fans have become accustomed.

However, at £499 this is a still a huge bargain for what comes packed inside.

Even the top end 256GB model with 8GB RAM only costs £579 which makes it vastly cheaper than most of its flagship rivals.

All the big operators have also taken the 6T which means there’s a big choice on contract.

Prices start from around £28 per month which includes 4GB of data plus unlimited calls and texts.

VERDICT

OnePlus has done it again with the 6T.

This phone packs seriously premium features at a price that’s really hard to believe.

Plus, it now adds some new technology, such as that fingerprint scanner, that you can’t even find on devices that cost almost twice as much.

The design and build quality continue to impress and the bigger screen and smaller notch all add to its appeal.

That larger battery and slick user experience are also another reason to consider making the OnePlus 6T your phone of choice.

There are some compromises to aware of such as the removal of the headphone port and the camera still lacks the ultimate quality of more premium phones.

You also won’t find wireless charging or a water resistance rating which is annoying but certainly not a deal breaker.

We’ve always been huge fans of OnePlus and the 6T continues to impress.

It has everything most people want from a smartphone at a price more people can happily to afford.