By kicking off its marketing campaign for the OnePlus 6, the Chinese smartphone maker has practically confirmed that the handset is coming soon. After all, there’s no more OnePlus 5T supply for the North American market, a huge part of OnePlus’s bottom line, so a replacement is needed.
In just a matter of days, OnePlus confirmed the OnePlus 6 will have a notch just like the iPhone X, while desperately trying not to look like it’s about to copy the iPhone, again. Then it revealed the main specs of the handset, confirming what other leaks said and what we’ve been suspecting, that the OnePlus 6 will have the same high-end specs as any other flagship Android phone.
So let’s check out everything we know about the handset.
The notch
The OnePlus 6 has a notch that looks like this:
That image comes from OnePlus, which shared it with the press a few days ago in hopes that, by getting ahead of the iPhone X copycat story, it’ll put the controversy to bed before the phone arrives.
The company then followed up with a lengthy explanation of why copying the iPhone X is the only way to extend the size of the screen right now. 64 pages of comments from OnePlus community members and more than 100,000 views later, CEO Pete Lau was forced to respond to the thread he started with an update.
Apparently, OnePlus did not plan to let you hide the notch. But a software update following the phone’s launch will enable it.
A black-out feature was seriously considered in the early stages of the development of the OnePlus 6. At the time we decided against adding this feature. We wanted to focus all of our time and resources on delivering an exceptional full-screen experience. I still believe the best way to experience the OnePlus 6 is using the full potential of the display. Recently many users have raised interest in having a black-out function. We respect your feedback and would like to give everyone the ability to choose. This function will enable you to black out the background of the notifications and status bar. It will be added in a future software update released after the launch of the OnePlus 6. Look forward to sharing this new update with you all. Thank you for making us better!
The design
The OnePlus 6 will be a combination of iPhone X and Galaxy S9, when it comes to final design, based on what we know so far. On the front, we’ll have the notch design that we talked about, and which will also resemble the Oppo R15 — Oppo, after all, has a huge influence on OnePlus.
A chin is still very much in the picture, as copying the iPhone X’s “all-screen” design is out of OnePlus’s reach for the time being.
The rear side of the phone will look more like the Galaxy S9, with a dual-lens camera and fingerprint sensor residing in a central location, according to recent leaks.
The launch
Pete Lau’s quote above is important for a different reason. It suggests the OnePlus 6 is so close that it’s impossible to include the feature in the ROM version that ships with the phone.
6et ready! pic.twitter.com/bmvI75xphm
— OnePlus (@oneplus) April 2, 2018
A report a few days ago said the phone will be launched by the end of April, and a leaked video teaser revealed that OnePlus is definitely partnering with
OnePlus has not revealed any details about the phone’s launch, however. We do expect at least a live stream for it.
The price
The phone will be more expensive than last year’s OnePlus handsets, but it’ll still be more affordable than other Android flagships. Expect prices to top $700 for the 8GB/256GB version — a leaked document suggested the price for the 256GB model sits at $749 in the US.
In China, pricing is supposedly set at $523, $602, and $697 for the 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB OnePlus 6 versions, respectively.
The hardware
I left the specs for last because the OnePlus will pack exactly the kind of specs you expect from top Android phones this year. The list includes the Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
In a lengthy post titled Our Pursuit of Burdenless Speed — eye roll — Lau mentioned these three characteristics, while simultaneously overusing the “burdenless experience” buzz word and ruining it for all OnePlus generations to come.
There’s no doubt the OnePlus 6 will be extremely speedy, given that all other Snapdragon 845 phones are very fast, and that previous OnePlus devices were also at the top of their game.
But while Lau only mentioned 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, we’d expect OnePlus to also sell 64GB and 128GB versions.
The Camera
Possibly the most important feature of a phone these days, the camera, is somewhat of a mystery. We know it’ll have two lenses, and a leaked specs list claimed we’re looking at 20-megapixel (f/1.7) and 16-megapixel (f/1.7) sensors for the rear camera.
Nested in the notch, the selfie cam is expected to feature a 20-megapixel (f/2.0) sensor.
OnePlus is yet to unveil the specs of the camera on its forums.
