OnePlus 6T: Everything we know so far
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is all set to launch its second flagship of the year, the OnePlus 6T, next week. The launch event, originally slated for Tuesday, October 30, has now been pushed up a day after tech giant Apple decided to steal OnePlus' thunder by announcing its very own event in New York — as opposed to Steve Jobs Theatre in Cupertino (its usual destination for launch events) — on the same day as the emerging smartphone maker.
However, this last-minute change in plans does not seem to have deterred OnePlus' resolve to launch the phone which, many believe, will give close competition to not just Android flagships, but also Apple's expensive iPhone Xs and Xr.
The OnePlus 6T is being touted to bring with it a mix of impressive technologies and features.
Ahead of its launch, let's take a look at what we know about the phone so far.
Design and display
Though OnePlus initially created a niche for itself with its high performance, heavy on specs phones, it has over the last year or two started to focus on the design of its devices. While last year's 5T saw the addition of a sleek edge-to-edge display, the OnePlus 6 brought with it a new glass back design.
With the 6T, the company isn't expected to make any such major changes, but rather refine the existing design to make the 6T look much sleeker.
OnePlus 6T. It's coming. pic.twitter.com/Wrdt9sCdIs
— OnePlus (@oneplus) September 28, 2018
Reports do, however, point to a slightly larger 6.4-inch 1080p OLED display (vs 6.28-inch for the OnePlus 6) and what is proving to be the flavour of the season, a much smaller "teardrop" mini-notch on the display to house the phone's front camera. Leaked images also point to OnePlus also shaving off the bezels, with the 6T's chin expected to be considerably thinner than the current OnePlus flagship.
Apart from these, OnePlus is also bringing a big design change with the all-new under-display fingerprint scanner. Already confirmed by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, the feature will be much like what we have already seen on some Huawei and Oppo phones before. The new phone will also retain the front-camera face unlock capabilities introduced with the OnePlus 6.
Specifications
As was the case with the OnePlus 6, the core specifications of the 6T have already been either leaked or announced by OnePlus officials.
The device will come sporting the same Snapdragon 845 SoC which was seen on the OnePlus 6 paired with up to 8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. However, the 6T brings with it some marked improvements in terms of the battery pack on board. As opposed to the 3400mAh pack, the new phone will bring with it a 3700mAh pack.
DashCharge should again make a comeback, but wireless charging will not be available on the device.
In terms of the cameras, the OnePlus 6T will bring with it the same setup as on the 6 – dual 16-megapixels/20-megapixels in the rear, 16-megapixels in the front. However, we do expect new features and software optimisations that should improve the device's picture-taking capabilities.
OnePlus has already started teasing the improved low light capabilities of the phone's camera.
Turn up the lights with the low-light capabilities of the #OnePlus6T. pic.twitter.com/kedDsV0Ipt
— OnePlus (@oneplus) October 21, 2018
The new device will also bring with it the latest OxygenOS which is being based on Android 9 (Pie). Apart from bringing new gesture-based controls, the new OS should also bring improved performance.
Though there is no information about the price, but the addition of new features should see the OnePlus 6T costing 5-10 per cent more than the existing OnePlus 6.