OnePlus 6: again the best Android phone for quality and price

With the OnePlus 6, I have reached the same conclusion that always came with OnePlus phones: the balance between design, features, and price is perfect, even if now the phones are somewhat more expensive than when they started to launch them 4 years ago.

The 300 euros peeled from the original OnePlus have given way to the 519 OnePlus 6, which has been presented in London today and will be on sale on May 21 on the website of the company and, depending on the country, digital channels like Amazon or other specialized stores. That’s the price for the 64GB model, which goes up to 569 and 629 if we double the storage capacity to 128GB or the quadrupled to 256GB.

OnePlus 6 can boast power

It is the first time that the brand offers those 256GB, just as it is the first time they make a glass finish on its back (available in matte black, glossy black and matte white with pink gold edges).

It is something very fashionable today because all high-end phones have opted for this appearance. In the case of the OnePlus 6, the touch is especially pleasant and does not slip excessively, although the fingerprints are well printed on the shiny black model, just the one I have. Gajes to have the reader of the same just below the camera.

There are some touches of personalization in the almost pure Android OnePlus 6

Inside, what could be expected. Its most outstanding features are the Snapdragon 845 processor with the Adreno 630 graphics processor, its 6GB or 8 GB of RAM (the latter option is reserved for the two most expensive models), the 330mAh battery with a proprietary fast charging system (only fast charging with your charger), Bluetooth 5.0 (allows streaming music on aptX HD) and dual SIM with 4G capabilities. Oh, and it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, something that goes against the current trend.

They are phone features of the highest current range and we already knew them, in the same way, that we knew that the screen was going to have a notch. The hated ‘notch’ can be hidden by software, but there it is.

I do not bother in general this new feature inherited from the decisions of Apple, but as the OLED panels that bend at the edges are hijacked the iPhoneX, the OnePlus 6, like many other phones with the notch, have at the bottom a dead space that prevents him from being ‘all screen’ really. Go with the Huawei P20 Pro, go with the LG G7 and many more.

Worth?

Go that yes, as much if it is compared with other mobiles of the same price as if it is done with others that cost even twice. It’s fast, its version of Android 8.1 hardly changes with respect to Android Stock and it’s nice to use it in any situation that lends itself.

This, to a large extent, is due to the new gesture system, which is nothing new compared to those of an iPhone, but which is the first time that they have implied in this level in a mobile phone of the brand. OnePlus 6 allows you to go back, launch multitasking or return to the desktop without touching a single button. So much so that you can hide the bottom bar typical of Android.

There is still a long way to go with this technology within the Google operating system because it is not as well implemented as in iOS. Without going any further, the gesture to go back does not make sense. You have to do it from the bottom of the screen, which is uncomfortable if you take the phone with your whole hand. What if we copy Apple completely and we all win? Not that it was the first time.

If this does not convince you as a novelty, surely the improved camera does. Both the selfies and the double rear camera are much, much, much better than those of the OnePlus 5 or the 5T. And I put three many because his predecessor was a disaster in this regard.

It’s not as if the OnePlus 6 had the lenses or technology that the P20 Pro, the Pixel 2 XL or the Galaxy S9 uses, but its three Sony sensors (IMX519 in the main camera, IMX376K in the secondary and IMX371 in the front ) do not make me miss in excess to any of the three mentioned.

The main camera has an aperture of f / 1.7 and a pixel size of 1.22um. If this does not tell you anything, it basically means that an adequate amount of light enters the lens and that it should perform acceptably at night. The secondary camera, although it is 20 megapixels (aperture of f / 1.7, the pixel of 1.0um), is worse and is there for fashion and for taking pictures with depth effect with ease.

The differences with respect to better cameras are clearly seen in details such as color, the sharpness of the vegetation that is not in the center of the image or the video. It is necessary to thank that the main lens of the camera returns to have optical stabilization, something that had been lost in the immediate ancestor and that many fans had missed.

Remember, however, that recording in 4K or slow motion (up to 480fps in 720p) disables these artifices, something common in almost all current phones, so better recorded at 1080p and 30fps to get the best results.

The king of concessions

How can the OnePlus 6 cost what it costs with such advanced features and almost at the height of double-priced mobiles? Yielding on its ambitions in very specific aspects, such as water resistance, wireless charging, stereo speakers or artificial intelligence.

Although the phone can be used in the rain, it is fast charging by cable, it has speakers to listen to something medium well and includes the Google Assistant (like any current average mobile phone), it does not stand out in any of these changes where Samsung, Huawei, Google, Apple and other companies are putting all the meat in the barbecue.

If I like both the OnePlus 6 and the OnePlus brand in general, it is because it makes the appropriate concessions in the appropriate sections of their devices. All the features that are missing are things that I never miss on a phone if I do not have them. If I had a bad battery or a mediocre camera it would bother me much more than it bothers me not to be able to bathe with it.

If you have a budget of between 400 and 600 euros, this is the phone you should buy. I have not the slightest doubt: it works well, it’s beautiful and it makes good pictures. Without being the best in the latter, which is a fundamental point when buying a mobile phone, you are forgiven because it costs what it costs.

If I had to change my cell phone before September, this is the phone that I would buy. So clear.