When rumors of the OnePlus 5T started showing up a while back, OnePlus fans who had already purchased the OnePlus 5 weren’t so happy about this. Some felt like the company had played them and apparently, the story is set for a repeat as far as the OnePlus 6 is concerned.
Some people had hardly used the OnePlus 5 when the news broke, but lucky were those who had not yet made the decision to buy the phone because in the OnePlus 5T, they had a much better device that lives up to the 2017 smartphone hype. Talk of a near bezel-less design, the futuristic Face Unlock, dual-lens camera, lots of raw power under the hood and a big enough battery, but even before all these find a new home in OnePlus fans’ hearts, there’s already talk of the 5T successor, the OnePlus 6.
Usually, this talk would have waited until next year, probably from mid-Q1 onwards, but according to the latest reports, the OnePlus 6 could see an earlier than usual launch. The Chinese OEM is known for launching its phones in the summer, but it appears that it’ll be joining other OEMs at the MWC 2018 show that will run until early March.
Besides the expected launch date, we also have some details of what to expect when the OnePlus 6 comes out. Of course, none of these are confirmed, rather, they are based on rumors, speculations and what we expect to see with respect to the OnePlus 5T. In this regard, we’ve put together four good reasons you should wait for the OnePlus 6, but there’s also one spoiler. Read on.
Google Project Treble
One of the biggest features that made its debut with Android Oreo is Project Treble. This is Google’s way of ensuring that OEMs will be able to roll out timely software updates to devices compared to the current trend. While a handful of devices have received the feature through Oreo OTA updates, none of OnePlus’ current phones will be getting the feature, including the OnePlus 5T. This means that the only way to get a Treble-enabled OnePlus phone is to wait for next year’s OnePlus 6. This will ensure that updates to Android P and future operating systems will be a lot quicker than what the company is already doing with Oreo.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Qualcomm has already confirmed the next flagship processor will be the Snapdragon 845. As you would expect from any processor upgrade, the 845 brings a bunch of improvements to what we already have in the Snapdragon 835 that powers the OnePlus 5T. This means that we are looking at a more powerful OnePlus 6 handset that will likely join the AI party thanks to the abilities of the chipset. You can also expect improved battery life, better gaming and superior performance compared to what is already one of the best handsets in the market.
In-display fingerprint scanner
Not so long ago, Synaptics unveiled a new in-display fingerprint scanner that is set to go mainstream starting this 2018. As it is, Vivo will be the first OEM to take advantage of the technology. But did you know that both Vivo and OnePlus share the same parent company, BBK Electronics? Well, now you know and apparently, OnePlus 6 will also feature an in-display fingerprint scanner. It’s a futuristic feature, much like what the OnePlus 5T boasts with respect to Face Unlock, and it should help with those who prefer having the sensor on the front rather than the back panel.
What this means is that OnePlus 6 will stick to the same near bezel-less design or perhaps go all bezel-free like in the case of the Apple iPhone X.
Better camera
The OnePlus 5 was the first from the company to feature a dual-lens camera. Like many others, the phone had a telephoto lens paired with a normal lens, but this changed with the OnePlus 5T, where the telephoto lens was replaced with a low-light lens. This wasn’t a bad choice, but it was weird for many, especially since the normal lens already serves this purpose and the fact that it didn’t bring significant upgrades to the original 5. Like any other year, though, we expect to see an improved camera on the OnePlus 6, but we cannot go into the specifics at this point in time.
More expensive
With all these goodies coming on board, there will also be a small price to pay. We’ve seen consistent price increments coming with each upgrade and with this in mind, the OnePlus 6 won’t be the cheap steal you are used to when it comes to OnePlus phones. Still, we don’t expect an abnormal price hike, but you can expect the phone to be priced at over $500 for the base model, probably at $539, which should still be a great price tag for an even better piece of hardware.
What do you like to see on the OnePlus 6? Let us know in your comments below.