OnePlus 6T review: Trivial changes hamper a great phone

Never missing an opportunity to spread the good word, not only did OnePlus push out the 6T just in time to mark its fifth anniversary but it also released a tantalizing Thunder Purple edition shortly afterward, followed by the limited McLaren Edition with a whopping 10GB of RAM.

It wasn’t like the company needed this extra marketing ammo; the 6T brought exotic features, like an in-display fingerprint reader and dewdrop notch to the West. It’s also the company’s first ever tie-in with a US carrier, available on T-Mobile.

The biggest question was whether the OnePlus 6T would make a fitting successor to my previous main phone, the OnePlus 6. Back in May, I concluded that the 6 was a very compelling package tagged with an attractive price. It’s a hard act to follow. I’ve since switched to the 6T, and while it does offer some upgrades, there are some new trade-offs, too.

Luckily, the camera performance here makes up for the fingerprint reader blunder. The 6T inherited the same set of great cameras from the 6, and while these come with new algorithms for supposedly better shots, I haven’t spotted much of a difference. What is obvious is the new AI software that kicks in whenever the camera detected certain scenes — mainly food and greenery — to automatically adjust the contrast and saturation. The results tended to come out nicely, without too much exaggeration.

The main dual cameras — 16MP main and 20MP secondary — continue to produce sharp and generally faithful stills in well-lit environments, but what impressed me most was how much detail the 6T managed to preserve during both day and night. When I put the 6T up against the photography-centric Huawei Mate 20 Pro, I was surprised by how the former excelled in some aspects. This was most obvious whenever greenery was involved: The Mate 20 Pro somehow managed to make trees look duller while, ironically, suffering from a green bias across other images.

On a similar note, my 6T day time shots tend to have a closer resemblance to reality than my iPhone XS Max photos, and the former also preserves more details partly thanks to its higher camera resolution. The iPhone stills also tend to have a slightly cooler white balance, though they do pick up reds far more accurately — an obvious advantage when it comes to taking photos during Chinese New Year.

The 6T even amazed me with its night-time harbor shots in Hong Kong, leaving significantly more fine lines intact on the skyscrapers far away. The Mate 20 Pro, on the other hand, clearly suffered from both artificial sharpening as well as drop in detail — as is the case even in well-lit shots.

But that’s not to say we have a clear winner here. Despite the Mate 20 Pro’s lower 10-megapixel resolution, its shots picked up more detail in dark areas and even accurately captured the fluorescent lights that were left blown out in the 6T’s shots. The iPhone XS Max also beat the 6T in low-light capture speed and noise level, so moving cars and pedestrians turned out much better in its night-time shots.

Then there’s the battle of night modes, and it’s safe to say that Huawei’s AI-boosted long-exposure mode still easily beats OnePlus’s new Nightscape mode in pitch-black scenarios. While the latter does manage to boost brightness and color accuracy, it fails to match the level of detail and sharpness offered by the pricier Huawei device. To date, only the Google Pixel series’ Night Sight optimization poses a real threat to Huawei’s long exposure tech.

4K video recording at 60 fps continues to be supported by great electronic stabilization, giving me silky smooth, panning motion even when I’m shooting with one hand while entertaining my dog with the other. On the other side, the 16-megapixel selfie camera in the dewdrop notch served me well for my selfie addiction. Though likely because there’s only electronic image stabilization here, this camera was more susceptible to shaky hands when operating indoor. As a result, I’ve developed a habit of taking multiple shots for every selfie, just in case, but I’d much rather have a more reliable front camera.

Wrap-up

OnePlus continues to stand out by offering reliable performance in good-looking packages. The friendly price tags help a lot, too, obviously. But I’d be hesitant to call the 6T a clear improvement on its almost perfect predecessor. While the dewdrop notch is personally my favorite all-screen execution at the moment (more so than the punch-hole alternatives), I don’t share the same excitement for this sluggish fingerprint reader. Had this been responsive, I would have been more forgiving on the removal of the headphone jack.

On the bright side, I continue to be amazed by OnePlus’s photography achievements. The 6T’s cameras perform almost just as well — or better — than those on phones costing significantly more. There’s always room for improvement in low-light shots and dynamic range, but overall, I still prefer the 6T’s more faithful reproduction. Likewise, the front camera could use a speed boost to avoid shaky selfies.

Despite its flaws, the 6T is a no-brainer for those seeking a stylish flagship Android phone, especially if you have budget in mind. It’s also a much better deal than the latest flagship iPhones. But is it worth upgrading from a OnePlus 6 to a 6T? Unless you’re eyeing the McLaren edition for its unique looks and 10GB RAM, you might want to see what OnePlus has planned for later this year.

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