The scorching Mumbai summer heat didn’t stop thousands of OnePlus fans from flocking to NSCI Dome on Thursday to witness the launch on the Chinese smartphone maker’s flagship for the year – OnePlus 6. There was much excitement at the venue, quite rare for a smartphone launch.
As a brand, OnePlus is known to foster a community of its users, constantly engaging with them through pop-ups, events, campaigns, and other such events. The result? Thousands of fans travelled from all over the country just to come witness the company launch a smartphone.
OnePlus’ flagship for the year, the OnePlus 6 is the first flagship to feature an all-glass design, making it – as the company claims – the most sophisticated handset launched by the smartphone maker.
Coming to the specs, with a 6.28-inch Full Optic AMOLED 19:9 display, the 6 is OnePlus' largest-ever screen. But there isn’t much of a change in the form factor as compared to the OnePlus 5T.
"With the OnePlus 6, we challenged ourselves to deliver an external design as smooth and elegant as the work we've done inside the device. We're proud of what we've accomplished, and we hope our users are too," Pete Lau, OnePlus Founder and CEO said in a statement.
The smartphone runs of the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. Combining new technology from Qualcomm with OnePlus' engineering, the company claims that the OnePlus 6 is the fastest handset the company has ever produced.
“The Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with X20 LTE is designed with new architectures for AI, immersion, and blazing fast download speeds, allowing users to do even more with their mobile devices,” said Keith Kressin, Senior Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., “It was purpose built for premium user experiences like immersive gaming, cinema-grade video capture, and long-lasting battery life.”
The process improves performance by 30%, while being 10% more power efficient. It also come in two RAM variants – 6GB and 8GB. It also comes with dual-lane storage, based on UFS 2.1, which ensures faster app loading and read/write speeds.
Speaking of the design, the OnePlus 6 comes with an all-glass design, which the company claims facilitates better transmission of radio waves, providing users with up to 1 gigabit of download speed. It also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and the back of the device.
The camera, which is the most popular feature of OnePlus smartphones, 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 the OnePlus 6, the company has introduced Portrait Mode on the 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.
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The OnePlus 6 also 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.
OnePlus 6 features a 3,300 mAh battery along with Dash charge. A half-hour charge gives the OnePlus 6 enough power for the entire day, OnePlus claims.
OnePlus 6 comes in three color variants: Mirror Black, Midnight Black and a limited-edition Silk White.
While most of the specs of the phone were already know, thanks to leaks, the most anticipated piece of information was the price. There were many rumours regarding the price. OnePlus took the excitement a notch higher with Amitabh Bachchan, the brand ambassador of OnePlus announcing the price.
OnePlus 6 will be sold at Rs 34,999 for the 6 GB RAM + 64 GB variant and Rs 39,999 for the 8 GB RAM and 128 GB in Mirror Black and Midnight Black color options. It will be available in an early access sale on Amazon.in, oneplus.in and OnePlus experience store in Bangalore on 21 May, 2018 at 12:00 pm.
OnePlus also unveiled the OnePlus 6 x Marvel Avengers Limited Edition that will be available with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage at Rs 44,999 and will go live on sale starting May 29. The limited-edition Silk White with 128 GB of storage will be available for purchase on June 5 at Rs 39,999.
Adding to the exciting lineup of smartphones, OnePlus also launched Bluetooth earphones - OnePlus Bullets Wireless, with features such as seamlessly pausing and resuming music when the earbuds are magnetically clipped together, dash charge giving five hours of continuous audio from just 10 minutes of charging and dust, water and sweat resistance. OnePlus Bullets Wireless is priced at Rs 3,999 and will be available soon in India.