OnePlus 6 all set for launch: All you need to know
OnePlus is at it again. Sticking to its strategy of bi-annual flagship launches, the Chinese smartphone maker is all set to bring to the market its latest flagship, the OnePlus 6. Much like the OnePlus 5T, which was introduced barely five months after the launch of its predecessor, the upgrade is likely to be unveiled within a similar time frame.
The move will come as a blow to the still highly popular OnePlus 5T, which would see itself being relegated to a lower spot in the league and left looking obsolete just months after its launch.
Hint at early launch
Though there has been no official word on this from the company, signs pointing towards an imminent OnePlus 6 launch are there for all to see.
First, OnePlus' current flagship went out of stock in North America earlier this month, and now the 128GB variant of the device has gone out of stock in India, too. Though the more popular 6GB RAM+64GB storage variant device is still available on e-commerce portal Amazon, its absence from the OnePlus store is conspicuous to say the least.
Earlier, the OnePlus 6 was widely expected to make it to stores by June 2018. However, the company running out of stocks so soon would most definitely see it pushing the launch date ahead to bring its notch-ridden flagship as early as end of April or sometime early May 2018.
Apart from the empty shelves at stores, the other major hint is the company's increased chatter over the still unconfirmed handset. Recently, the company's CEO, Pete Lau, and later co-founder, Carl Pei, took to social media and then to the company's official blogspot to talk about the display on the OnePlus' next flagship device.
In the interactions, the two were seen defending the upcoming phone's iPhone X-like notch. This is particularly similar to how the company has acted ahead of the launch of an unreleased phone, thus hinting again at the imminent unveiling of the phone.
The company has also floated what looks to be a teaser for the new device. Though it does not reveal any details, the four-second clip alludes to what appears to be the next flagship's name.
6et ready! pic.twitter.com/bmvI75xphm
— OnePlus (@oneplus) April 2, 2018
What you can expect from the OnePlus 6
Apart from the confirmed notch-ridden display, and an upgrade in the SoC, not much is known about the upcoming flagship. However, rumours and speculations point towards a whole host of upgrades and changes to the device.
For starters, the phone will sport the biggest display yet on a OnePlus device. Though the exact dimensions are unknown, thanks to the notch, OnePlus says its smartphone will have the biggest display on a OnePlus phone yet. OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei confirmed that the OnePlus 6 will offer 90 per cent screen-to-body-ratio.
The phone is also expected to retain the headphone jack that was seen on the OnePlus 5T. Earlier, a leaked image posted by tipster Evan Blass confirmed that the OnePlus 6 will retain the headphone jack. Carl Pei posted a poll on Twitter a while early asking fans to vote on whether they prefer the jack or not, and the result was unanimously for the headphone jack.
Coming to the internals, the phone has been confirmed to be powered by 2.7GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor paired with 6GB+64GB, 8GB+128GB and 8GB 256GB RAM plus storage variants. In terms of cameras, OnePlus 6 is expected to sport the same 20 megapixel+16 megapixel dual camera setup that was seen on the OnePlus 5T. On the front, the phone will sport a 20 megapixel one with f/1.7 aperture.
The package is expected to be powered by a 3,450mAh battery and will come running Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.
You've been **cough cough** good sports with this, so I suppose you do deserve /something/. Just remember: #yousawitherefirst pic.twitter.com/AWCHYZKJJE
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) March 27, 2018
Increased price
Though last year's phone came in two variants, there are suggestions that the OnePlus 6 could be offered in three variants. The pricing too is expected to be rejigged, with the OnePlus 6 is expected to start of $523 (approx Rs 34,000) for the 64GB model, reports GizmoChina. The other two variants could retail around the $600 mark while the 256GB variant will be costlier at close to $700.
If these reports are true, it will reflect a price hike for the Indian market too which would see the mid-segment flagship maker tread really close to the premium flagship segment with the price of its larger storage variants.