OnePlus 6 Review - Beautiful without a soul
Among the Chinese brands that in poco time they managed to get a place in the hearts of the most technological fans, in addition to Xiaomi we also find OnePlus that since the first model has been able to be appreciated for the good quality / price ratio. we at Xiaomitoday.it we could appreciate the 5T model who had convinced critics and the public by creating spasmodic expectations for the last born, or the OnePlus 6 that adapts to the current fashion, adopting the notch on the display but maintaining high performance. So today we find in our full review the 6 OnePlus, thanks to the sending of the sample by Gearbest.comthat we therefore thank.
The sales package is really huge, as is the stylized 6 number on the cover of the box that contains in addition to our OnePlus 6 also the USB Type-C charging and data transfer cable, very nice because the thread is in red color and the ends in contrast with white. Beyond that we find the powerful Dash Charge quick charger with 5V / 4A output from 20 W (Chinese attack for which you'll have to get a European socket adapter), while in a little box that acts as a "custody" to the smartphone we find the OnePlus stickers (an idea decidedly copied by Apple), fast guide multilingual (except Italian), a User Manual in Chinese, lo pin for extracting the SIM compartment and a convenient one protective cover in smoky-colored silicone, soft in the central part and semi-rigid along the profile to better protect the device from small bumps.
OnePlus 6 compared to the previous generation comes with 155,7 x 75,4 x 7,75 mm dimensions for a weight of 177 grams and if while the competition follows the style of the iPhone X, OnePlus follows that of Samsung S9 Plus. In fact, the back made of glass (our sample is the Midnight Black model) we find one double camera arranged vertically but positioned centrally, towards the upper part of the body. Below it we find the Dual Tone Flash LED and fingerprint sensor with an elliptical shape and smaller than the solutions offered by other brands, but not for this it is less reliable or difficult to find, indeed the release through it is always accurate and fast even with slightly sweaty hands. The inevitable company logo in shiny characters to better stand out, perhaps from the prints that, like a magnet, remain etched on the back, while in terms of ergonomics for me that come from a Xiaomi Mi Max 2, this was good but for most users, however, the size and the peseo could be felt, although I have not seen problems due to slipping because the grip is very good. There is no waterproof certification but the company still guarantees a sort of impermeability thanks to a special foam used in the gap between the screen and the battery to avoid water infiltration in the circuits, moreover, the waterproof silicone material is also used for earphones and in the cracks around the fingerprints and fingerprint scanners. In short, splashes of water and light rain do not seem to scratch OnePlus 6.
Definitely appreciable the fact that the company has added one additional layer under the glass Gorilla Glass 5 to play with the reflections of light and give a feeling of depth, and creating a metallic effect. On the profile, instead made of aluminum, we find the volume rocker and the trolley of the two SIM cards (both in nano format) without expansion of memory, placed on the left side while on the right there are the ton / off switch and a slider key (non-programmable) that allows you to quickly change from ringtone, vibration or silent mode. The layout of the keys is well optimized to facilitate its use and to complete the design of the side profiles, we find plastic inserts to facilitate reception of the integrated antennas. At the top of the 6 OnePlus we find only the according to microphone for the reduction of environmental noise while in the lower one are located the mono system speaker, 2.0 Type-C charging input with OTG support, the main microphone and also the 3,5 mm jack input.
On the front we do not find any physical key as inserted on the display, with the possibility of being able to be inverted by software or to be disabled using the gesture on the screen that emulate the functions, such as back, home and task manager. In the upper part of the display stands a small RGB notification LED, the headset capsule, proximity sensor and brightness and finally the camera selfie ... but you notice anything strange? Oh yeah these last elements in OnePlus 6 have been included in the much discussed notch, or rather notch, Which can be "Disguised" at the software level, even if I personally do not mind, I find it very elegant.
And since we've mentioned the display, let's talk about him, a panel with 2.5D glass processing diagonal with 6,28 inches and resolution Full HD + (2280 x 1080 pixels) with form factor in 19: 9 covering 84% of the available area and is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 glass. The technology adopted is of type AMOLED which in fact returns many satisfactions in terms of color rendering, not to mention the blacks that are absolute. Furthermore, at the software level we have the possibility of set the color temperature according to the needs (support sRGB, DCI-P3), and there is the reading mode to reduce the annoying radiations of blue light, but we also have the possibility to enable the function ofAmbient Display that allows us to have at a glance notifications and general info without having to turn on the whole screen.
Good brightness, really very strong, which allows read the on-screen contents effortlessly even in direct sunlight. Finally, there is no possibility of animate the display with a double tap as well as automatic brightness adjustment works flawlessly but unfortunately the form factor in 19: 9 implies incompatibility with some apps, which will not be reproduced in full screen but in 16: 9 format, but this is a flaw of all devices that adopt formats superior to traditional ones.
But first I referred to the discourse of the notch, which in fact it does not implement specific and particular functions and therefore the choice by the company was purely aesthetic. This it can be disguised at the software level but in any case what I found problematic is related to management of notification icons, which in fact have less available space on which to dispose for which the system will show us only the first 3 and subsequently will indicate the presence of others through a dot. Problem that is not solved even by hiding the notch. Notifications from the drop-down menu are managed optimally, allowing them to be postponed, or to reply directly without having to enter the default app. Finally I add that I do not disdain this much hated notch, but does it make sense to include it so small?
Having said that, let's move on to the essence of this OnePlus 6 which is actually powered by a processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octacore with a maximum clock to 2,8 GHz and a production process at 10nm to which a Adreno GPU 630 e 8 GB of RAM memory LPDDR4X e 128 GB of non-expandable internal storage of type UFS 2.1. A respectable endowment that guarantees top performance even under the gaming side so much so that at the software level we find the Gaming Mode function, to further improve the resources dedicated to the most exaggerated games, improving the latency and deactivating the notifications that could annoy our gaming sessions which in fact results in a gameplay without any loss of frames with details of the highest level. It is therefore quite understandable that OnePlus 6 in fact in daily operations does not give any sign of subsidence, lag or delays, managing to manage large applications in memory resulting always snappy and fluid in use.
Benchmark
Too bad that maybe the company still needs to optimize all this well of God at the hardware level with the software, for example for energy consumption. In fact the integrated battery from 3300 mAh has discontinuous autonomy, in fact, on certain days I managed to arrive in the evening without any particular problems while other times after 9 hours of use I had to resort to recharging, and in any case Performing at the active screen level lasted far from what is experienced on other smartphones. It is true that we have the support for quick charging through the Dash Charge charger in about 40 minutes can give us full energy, but it is also true that the absence of wireless charging is not to be neglected in a top of the range. In short, given the adoption of the glass back cover and the very generous size of the smartphone, could easily be inserted.
So what is this software that runs OnePlus 6? Basically we have the Android OS 8.1 Oreo updated to May 2018 security patches customized from the interface OxygenOS 5.1.6 which is actually one customized Android Stock version with some features such as screen gestures, double tap to turn on the display or the ability to capture extended screenshots and enable the dark theme. Personally I do not find anything exciting and above all I find significant shortcomings that will necessarily be filled with the installation of new applications. For example, in the calculator we do not find the function linked to unit conversion and currency, but present in MIUI. Furthermore, the reactivity and fluidity of the system by force of things must be at the top, given that the system interface is practically clean and lacking in identity. On balance the OnePlus 6 is a trivial Android smartphone with good hardware.
I applaud the company for two reasons, however. that is, for not having installed any type of bloatware and above all for constantly update the software: consider that within three days I received well 2 updates, including the latest that brings the novelty of the portrait mode also for the front room. But before tackling the theme of photography and video I tell you that OnePlus 6 does not miss anything at the level of connectivity as we find a present Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX and aptX HD support, Dual band WiFi a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 / 5.0 GHz) 2 × 2 MIMO e support for WiFi Direct, sensor NFC enabled for payments, a form GPS / GLONASS / BeiDou / Galileo but also connectivity LTE / LTE-A or 4G + with cat. 16 with support up to 1 Gbps. Many acronyms and many numbers but then in everyday life what are the benefits?
Well let's start by saying that OnePlus 6 has 20 LTE band support for 800 Mhz, so for many it could be a plus to have a data reception even in certain areas. Secondly WiFi reception did not find it superior to other modelsIn fact, in certain situations I had to switch the switch on and off again on the smartphone to hang up the signal perfectly. Also at the GPS level I did not find an immediacy in receiving satellites, while nothing to complain at the level of navigation that was found to be free of uncertainties and loss of signal. Even the switch between the 2G / 3G / 4G signal is not exactly lightning fast, you should always wait a while before getting the maximum performance.
instead the audio in capsule was very good during telephone conversations, as well as the general sound of the system, with good volume and sound without general distortions with good balance in all frequency ranges. Too bad that the company has not equipped OnePlus 6 with a stereo speaker, perhaps taking advantage of the headset as is the case for other models of lower end, such as Xiaomi Mi Max 2.
All that remains is to face the photographic sector that on the back of OnePlus 6 consists of a double vertical module of which the main optic mounts a sensor Sony IMX519 to 16 megapixel, 1,22 μm pixel surface, focal aperture ffinal match. It is equipped with DCAF autofocus and EIS digital stabilization and OIS optics. The secondary sensor is instead a Sony IMX376K from 20 megapixel, 1,0 μm pixel surface, focal aperture ffinal match. It is equipped with autofocus PDAF and of course a Dual Tone LED flash is not missing. We can record videos with resolution up to 4K to 60 fps, but at this frame rate both in 4K and in Full HD stabilization is not active, and if it works very badly. In 4K and Full HD resolution at 30fps instead stabilization is present and seems to do a good job even if in the horizontal pan the movement is jerky. And talking about videos we have the chance to take advantage of it 2X optical zoom (also in photo mode) that allows us to approach the subject without significant loss of quality, while if we use the digital zoom that goes up to 8X, the result is really disastrous.
Good chance of turn time lapse and slow motion in Full HD to 240fps or 720p to 480fps with excellent results. Among the software functions instead we find the photographic level the Panorama mode, the automatic HDR, the possibility of take photos in RAW format (only in PRO mode), the PRO mode which allows you to set each individual parameter such as ISO, white balance, shutter speed, fire and contrast. We can decide the photo format choosing between 4: 3, 19: 9 and 1: 1, enable the beauty mode that is not differentiated by results compared to the competing models and finally the Portrait mode, ie the possibility of a blurred background with respect to the framed subject, with really excellent results. Finally we can decide if enable the watermark in the photos, take pictures automatically when a smile is detected (selfie mode) and if in portrait mode, save the photo even in normal mode, ie without blurred background. On balance the portrait mode of OnePlus 6 is the best I've tried so far on a smartphone.
Said so it seems really a lot of stuff, but on balance the software is rather simplein fact we do not find any filter. And if for the videos I have already partly expressed, and anyway I invite you to view the demos published on the YouTube channel, in which I emphasize that the absence of a stabilization at 60 fps which in fact makes in a sense useless videos shot with such framerate and that in the end does not make a difference with rivals. Moreover focusing sometimes seems to be slow to arrive while the passage seems soft and rather rapid. For the photos the results are definitely above average, even in poor quality even though I would have expected something better given the focal aperture of the optics.
Finally on the front we find optics with sensor Sony IMX371 to 16 megapixel, 1,0 μm pixel surface, focal aperture ffinal match. It is equipped with fixed focus and EIS digital stabilization. In this case we have the possibility of record videos in Full HD to 30 fps while the latest software update allowed to be able to take advantage of the Portrait mode also from this room with equally good results. However, through this room we could take advantage of the function of the release with the face with very quick results in almost all lighting situations, even poor but did not expect unlocking in the dark.
Conclusions
OnePlus 6 in my opinion is a great terminal but without its own identity. Personally I was not able to convey any emotion, a bit like when you're courting a beautiful girl, you manage to make love, but then when you attend a little more assiduously you realize that your heart does not warm up, in short it was only sex. Well the same way OnePlus 6 for me represented a sort of "technological quickie". With this does not mean that I discourage it, on the contrary by virtue of price and excellent performance, currently almost at the top, make OnePlus 6 a smartphone that should not be underestimated: excellent display, excellent performance, photographic performance and above average video are the workhorses that perhaps OnePlus has failed to maximize. So without pulling it for long, OnePlus 6 is a smartphone that I would recommend to those looking for top performance and is not interested in particular features at the software level, perhaps to those who abandon the Apple devices to get closer to the Android world. So if you are among these users or you simply are not of my opinion, you can make the purchase through the store Gearbest.com I thank again for sending the sample.
