OnePlus 6T launch event: In-display fingerprint scanner, no headphone jack and $549 price tag
OnePlus has finally taken the wraps off its latest flagship, OnePlus 6T, at the preponed launch event in New York on Monday. The latest "flagship killer" comes with several noted upgrades over its predecessor OnePlus 6, but also adds a small premium to the phone's price.
OnePlus 6T comes with a base price of $549 for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage model, a spike from OnePlus 6's $529 launch price. There are two other variants, featuring 8GB RAM with 128GB and 256GB storage for $579 and $629, respectively. The phone's U.S. launch is an important one for OnePlus as it is the first time the company's phone is available through a carrier (T-Mobile). OnePlus 6T will also work on Verizon's network.
The new handset is a bi-annual upgrade, which means there isn't a massive design change but comes with a necessary cosmetic makeover. For instance, the notch on the 6T is smaller than the one on the OnePlus 6 and the new handset is thicker than the previous generation model.
OnePlus 6T shares the same platform as the OnePlus 6 while adding new elements that are essential to justify the company's "Never Settle" motto. Here's everything that's new in the OnePlus 6T:
In-display fingerprint scanner
The one thing that cannot miss anyone's attention in the OnePlus 6T is the integration of in-display fingerprint scanner and the company calls it Screen Unlock. The biometric sensor has been relocated from the back of the device in the OnePlus 6 to under the display in the 6T.
In terms of accuracy and speed, the rear-mounted sensor is slightly faster. But both sensors perform similarly in terms of accuracy. The in-display fingerprint technology is the latest fourth generation from Synaptics and works better than previous iterations.
Smaller notch, slimmer chin
OnePlus highlighted the small notch on the 6T, which is in the shape of a waterdrop. The company also trimmed the chin area on the 6T. Both these changes make room for the larger display area for an immersive viewing experience. OnePlus 6T sports a 6.48-inch screen as compared to the 6.28-inch display on the OnePlus 6.
Bigger battery
Adding to the list of upgrades, OnePlus 6T comes with a bigger battery, which is now 3,700mAh. The extra battery size adds slight thickness to the 6T and also boosts battery life. The OnePlus 6 had a 3,300mAh battery.
New night mode
For those who complained about the camera performance in OnePlus phones will love what the 6T has in store. The rear dual camera setup comes with a 16MP and 20MP sensors with OIS, new Studio Lighting feature for better portraits and a new Night mode for bright and crisp low-light photographs.
New gestures
OnePlus 6T runs the latest Android 9.0 Pie-based Oxygen 9.0, which adds new iPhone X-like gestures. The overall OS is known for its fluidity and the 6T doesn't change that.
The rest of the specs
With such an extensive upgrade list, OnePlus 6T does make a compelling choice starting at $549. The rest of the features justify the price tag extremely well. Like the OnePlus 6, the 6T comes with a Snapdragon 845 chipset, a 16MP front-facing snapper, Dash Charge fast charging technology, speedy face unlock, 4G VoLTE, dual SIM card slots, USB Type-C port and other standard connectivity options. But users are going to miss the 3.5mm headphone jack in the OnePlus 6T.
OnePlus 6T features a 6.48-inch Full HD+ Optic AMOLE
D display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and a new Smart Boost feature to improve app cold-start times. The 6T is 8.2mm thick and weighs 185 grams as compared to OnePlus 6's 7.75mm thickness and 177 grams.
OnePlus 6T Price
The OnePlus 6T starts at $ 549 (roughly Rs 40,300) and goes all the way up till $629 (roughly Rs 46,000) in the US. It comes in Midnight Black and Mirror Black as of now until OnePlus introduces the special edition later this year. In the US, OnePlus has partnered T-Mobile to sell the OnePlus 6T in the offline market, in addition to the smartphone’s online availability via T-Mobile as well as OnePlus online store.
T-Mobile’s pop-up event will showcase the OnePlus 6T for sale for the first time anywhere in the world. It’s offering a discount of $300 on the exchange of a compatible old smartphone.
In India, OnePlus is holding a separate event on Tuesday, October 30 in New Delhi at 8:3 pm. The India pricing and availability will be announced the event.
OnePlus 6T Features, Specifications
The biggest change that is visible on the OnePlus 6T is the waterdrop-style notch, which OnePlus believes is the result of the feedback given by the OnePlus users. There is a 6.4-inch full-HD+ OLED display with thin bezels on the OnePlus 6T. The thin on the front of the smartphone has also been narrowed to give more real estate on the smartphone. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor coupled with 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage options.
For photography, the OnePlus 6T comes with dual cameras, as revealed by Kyle Kiang, OnePlus’ head for the North America region. This refutes the earlier speculation of three cameras on the OnePlus 6T. There is a combination of a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376K sensor and a 16-megapixel Sony IMX519 sensor. On the front, there is a 16-megapixel camera with an aperture of f/2.0. OnePlus 6T comes with two new features – Studio Lighting and Nightscape. The Studio Lighting essentially “accentuates and attenuates” the facial luminosity in the Portrait Mode while the Nightscape mode optimises the scene with the help of HDR to take shots in 2 seconds.
The OnePlus 6T has a 3700mAh battery, which is 37 per cent more than what is packed inside the predecessor OnePlus 6. The OnePlus 6T comes with “better stabilisation” when playing games. Running Android 9 Pie at the core, the OnePlus 6T comes with a new feature called Smart Boost that counterbalances the load on RAM and ROM to reduce the boot time on resource-intensive applications. The OnePlus 6T comes with standard connectivity options including NFC and 4G VoLTE.
