4 Reasons Why The OnePlus 6 Is Still My Primary Device

OnePlus 6 Red Edition Rear View

The OnePlus 6 is not a “new”phone in the market anymore. But it continues to be one of the segment leaders and still has a great deal of mindshare and market share among Indians. My primary device is still the OnePlus 6. Despite a flurry of devices coming out with a lot of bells and whistles and all sorts of unique offerings, the OP6 is still my go to phone. Here is why no other phone has been able to take that place

OnePlus devices have long had a tradition of redefining the top end android experience whenever they come out. The other great thing about them has been the fact that they stay fast and nippy right through their life and there are no signs of lag or stutter. They perform just like when they were new. The OnePlus 6 is no exception to this rule and has stayed true to the “Speed You Need”tag that the company gave it when they launched it months ago.

There have been a lot of notable devices that have hit the market after the OnePlus 6 and notwithstanding that, the OP6 is still my primary device. There are a lot of neat but small things that the phone does that is the reason for this, but there are four very important reasons why I don’t look to another device even after months. Without wasting more time, let’s get right to the reasons

OnePlus 6 Avengers Edition
OnePlus 6 Avengers Edition

Design and Crafting

Straight out of the bat, let me categorically tell you that the OnePlus 6 is the best designed OnePlus phone that I have seen and that is saying quite something given the long line of really well-built and designed OnePlus device up until now. OnePlus has till now been using metal to make very telling design statements in their devices. With the OnePlus 6, they have moved to an all-glass design where Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is the hero and the device looks exquisite. The metal rims that hold the glass front and back together is also polished to give it a glass-like finish. The phone feel amazing to hold and definitely makes heads turn when you pull it out of your pocket. The uninitiated may tell you that the rear end looks like the Samsung Galaxy S9 series and the front looks like the iPhone X, but given the very small leeway that brands have when it comes to design and form factor I would much rather say that it looks like the top end flagships of 2018 and I don’t see it as a problem at all.

OnePlus 6 Red Edition Front View

Display and Clarity

With a 6.28-inch Full Optic AMOLED 19:9 display – OnePlus’ largest-ever screen – the OnePlus 6 offers an immersive viewing experience, while keeping a similar form factor to that of the OnePlus 5T.  Due to the presence of the notch and its edges, the OnePlus 6 screen now measures 6.28 inches which is marginally higher than the 6.01 inches on the OnePlus 5T.  Like I said earlier, there is a display setting that lets you mask the notch, and I did not experience any sort of trouble with trouble with any full-screen apps or even video players. The screen resolution is 1080×2280, which is well below the Quad HD resolution that is prevalent today but that change is hardly perceptible to the human eye, and it’s extremely unlikely that you will feel like you’re losing out on anything in real life though. So absolutely no issues there at all. The screen is pretty vivid and the viewing angles are quite good. The ability to switch screen calibration from RGB, sRGB to DCI-P3 through the settings is pretty nifty to have. The auto-brightness setting was a tad bit on the aggressive side and personally, I preferred to not have it on. Sunlight legibility is not an issue at all and the display stands you in very good stead even under heavy usage. One of the best displays in the market now on and Android phone I would say.

OnePlus 6 Avengers Edition

Software and Smoothness

The OnePlus 6 ships with the now widely popular Oxygen OS which is one of my favorite Android skins till date. The whole idea of Oxygen OS is the fact that it is there but stays out of your way. Oxygen OS in my opinion is only flavor of Android that does not heavily obfuscate the stock experience. There are many people who believe that OnePlus ships with stock Android and that is the biggest complement to Oxygen OS. While it is light, there are subtle customizations that OnePlus users now love. Some of the good ones are

  1. There is full gesture support for navigation and it works pretty well, after moving to this, I am now unable to imagine going back to the navigation bar.
  2. It has one of the fastest implementations of face unlock in the Android world
  3. Apart from navigation, there are gestures like flip to silence and three finger screenshot that are pretty practical and thoughtful
  4. Oxygen Os supports a lot of third party icon packs that you can use right out of the play store
  5. The zero screen which is called the shelf gives you easy access to things that you do most often on your phone

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Oxygen OS is one of the biggest reasons why the OnePlus 6 is as fast as it is

OnePlus 6 Silk White

Camera and Photography

The OnePlus 6’s dual camera system features a 16MP main camera, supported by a 20MP secondary camera. With an f/1.7 aperture, the 16MP main camera has been bolstered by a 19 percent larger sensor and OIS for outstanding performance in a range of lighting conditions. With Advanced HDR, OnePlus’ improved High Dynamic Range algorithm, the OnePlus 6 brings out shadows and enhances lighting in photos.  Portrait Mode will be available on the OnePlus 6’s front camera as well as its rear. Using AI, the front camera is able to apply a depth of field effect to selfies.  Newly added bokeh effects, including circles, hearts and stars offer new ways for users to customize their portraits. The OnePlus 6 marks the introduction of OnePlus’ Slow-Motion mode, which can capture high-definition video frame-by-frame with astonishing detail, ensuring users never miss the action.

The enhanced bokeh mode in the rear cameras is very visible and the edges of the subject are very clearly demarcated in pictures and the blurring of the background looks very thoroughly professional. With the increase in the pixel size, OnePlus has managed to make the low light pictures look a lot better. The photos are good and the colors are rendered very crisply. Pictures taken with the HDR mode are very vivid and I now have the mode on for all my pictures. The algorithm sometimes does over correct colors but overall the results are very nifty and good.

So all in all, everything that I said above is true for the OnePlus 6 from the launch date till today and that is why it is going to be tough to get it out of my hand and put another phone there.

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

View all posts by Shakthi →