OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 5T: What’s the difference?
Six months later, is the OnePlus 6 really such a significant upgrade?
OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 5T: What’s the difference?
OnePlus just unveiled its most powerful phone yet, with a larger notched screen, new glass back and a release date of 22 May. But with the 5T only six months old, is the OnePlus 6 a significant enough upgrade to tempt the cash out of your wallet? Let’s take a look.
Design: Big changes
The OnePlus 5T brought along pretty significant change for a half-year revision, bringing in a taller 18:9 display that scrapped a bit of bezel along the way. Otherwise, it kept the aluminium backing and slightly generic (yet still premium) styling. But the OnePlus 6 is a very different phone both from the front and back. On the front, the addition of a camera notch is a big change, which cuts out the top bezel in the process, plus the back swaps to stylish glass this time around. Fortunately, the headphone port remains.
Screen: Taller, notch-ier
The OnePlus 6 stretches the 5T’s already tall screen to 6.28in at 19:9 aspect ratio. That’s because of the notch. Don’t like it? You can “hide” it via a software option that extends the black status bar along either side, making it just look like a big chunk of bezel up top. Notch or not, the 6’s AMOLED display looks fabulous. It’s still 1080p resolution, so there are sharper screens on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Apple iPhone X but it has a great balance between brightness, contrast, and detail that serves you well regardless of what you’re watching.
Camera: Slight enhancements
At a glance, not much about the 6’s snapper has changed from the 5T. It still has a 16MP main camera and 20MP secondary camera at f/1.7, but the main camera opts for a larger sensor and includes optical image stabilisation this time around. We haven’t had enough of a chance to try it out, but we’re expecting the OnePlus 6 to capture a bit more light than before and produce steadier shots – but we doubt it’ll seem like a truly massive upgrade, given the similar specs.
Performance: More power on tap
It’s the usual annual upgrade here: the OnePlus 5T used last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip first seen in the OnePlus 5, with 6GB RAM in the base model or 8GB RAM in a pricier edition. For the OnePlus 6, the company has opted for the newer Snapdragon 845 chip, a more efficient processor that packs in more power. You still have the same 6GB and 8GB RAM options too. In day-to-day usage, we don’t suspect dramatic differences here either – but every little bit helps when playing games and multitasking.
Battery and perks: Mostly the same
Both the OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 6 rely on a 3,300mAh battery pack, which was good enough for a full day with average usage on the 5T. The OnePlus 6’s screen is a hair larger, but we don’t expect any significant impact on battery life – especially if the phone is a bit more efficient this time around. As for storage, you’re still looking at 64GB and 128GB editions with the OnePlus 6, although there’s also a 256GB edition now. And if you like to carry around a lot of media, you might want to spring for that as there’s still no microSD support here.
Initial verdict: New looks, modest upgrades
If the OnePlus 5T hadn’t emerged last year, then the OnePlus 6 would prove to be a pretty significant upgrade over the OnePlus 5. But while the notched screen gives the 6 a new look, with just six months between them, the OnePlus 6 isn’t that far off from the OnePlus 5T in a lot of respects. There’s a difference in price but it’s slimmer than the upgrade from the OnePlus 3T to the OnePlus 5. You’ll pay £469 for the base OnePlus 6 model, which is just £20 more than the £449 OnePlus 5T. Not bad, OnePlus – and still hundreds less than some other top-end flagships out so far in 2018.
