OnePlus on Tuesday launched OnePlus 6T in India, following its global launch in New York on Monday The OnePlus 6T comes as the Chinese mobile maker's second flagship of the year. The smartphone packs top-end specifications and design elements and is looking to take on its rivals in one of its key markets, India. The OnePlus 6 successor comes in three variants, brings a new in-display fingerprint sensor, and a smaller display notch. With price in India starting at Rs. 37,999, the OnePlus 6T will be looking to compete with premium-looking, affordable flagship handsets from manufacturers like Xiaomi and Asus, among others.
The OnePlus 6T (Review) is a mid-cycle refresh that succeeds the OnePlus 6, that arrived earlier this year. It goes up against the likes of Xiaomi Poco F1 (Review) and Asus ZenFone 5Z (Review). Xiaomi had launched the Poco F1 back in August as the first smartphone from its sub-brand Poco. Similar to its competitors, the smartphone comes with the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, up to 8GB of RAM, and is priced in the sub-Rs. 30,000 segment. Similarly, the Asus ZenFone 5Z also offers a premium design with top-of-the-line specifications.
The 6GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage variant of the OnePlus 6T has been priced at Rs. 37,999 in India. Meanwhile, the price in India of the 8GB RAM/ 128GB storage model is Rs. 41,999 and the 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage model costs Rs. 45,999 in the country. Notably, the 6GB RAM/ 128GB storage model is only available in a Mirror Black colour variant and the 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage model is available only in a Midnight Black colour variant. However, the 8GB RAM/ 128GB storage model is available in both Midnight Black and Mirror Black colour variants.
It is worth noting that buyers of the OnePlus 6T can avail certain launch offers that have been detailed on Amazon India. The smartphone will go on sale on the e-commerce platform on November 1 at 12am. The offers include a Rs. 2,000 instant cashback on purchases made with Citibank credit cards or ICICI credit and debit cards. You can also avail free damage protection from Kotak 811 and Servify, no-cost EMIs, and Rs. 5,400 instant cashback from Jio in addition to up 3TB of 4G data. You will also get a Rs. 1,000 extra cashback as Amazon Pay Balance. On Kindle eBook selections, users also get a discount up to Rs. 500.
The price in India of Xiaomi Poco F1 starts at Rs. 20,999 for the 6GB RAM/ 64GB inbuilt storage variant. The 6GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage model costs Rs. 23,999 and the 8GB RAM/ 256GB inbuilt storage variant is priced at Rs. 28,999. There is an Armoured Edition of the Poco F1 as well, priced at Rs. 29,999. The smartphone is available for purchase via Flipkart and Mi.com in Rosso Red, Steel Blue and Graphite Black colour variants.
The Asus ZenFone 5Z, on the other hand, costs Rs. 29,999 for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant, and Rs. 32,999 for its 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. The premium 8GB RAM and 256GB storage model is priced at Rs. 36,999. Notably, the handset is available with Midnight Blue and Meteor Silver colour options.
The dual-SIM (Nano) OnePlus 6T runs OxygenOS based on Android 9.0 Pie. The Xiaomi Poco F1 is also a dual-SIM smartphone, but it runs MIUI 9.6 out-of-the-box based on Android 8.1 Oreo. It will soon get the MIUI 10 update and the company has also promised an Android Pie and Android Q update. Notably, the Poco F1 uses MIUI for Poco, a customised version of MIUI that is said to be optimised for speed. The dual-SIM (Nano) ZenFone 5Z, on the other hand, runs ZenUI 5.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo.
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The OnePlus 6T features a 6.41-inch (1080x2340 pixels) full-HD+ Optic AMOLED display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio and PPI of 402 pixels per inch. Meanwhile, the Poco F1 sports a 6.18-inch display and is protected by a 2.D curved Gorilla Glass 3 glass. The ZenFone 5Z, on the other and, comes with a 6.2-inch full-HD+ (1080x2246 pixels) Super IPS+ display with an 18.7:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass protection.
In terms of internals, all the three smartphones in this list - OnePlus 6T, Poco F1, and Asus ZenFone 5Z - are powered by the same 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC. The OnePlus 6T and Poco F1 come with 6GB or 8GB of RAM options, but the ZenFone 5Z features only 8GB of RAM.
OnePlus 6T vs Pixel 3 vs iPhone XS vs Galaxy Note 9
In terms of inbuilt storage options, the OnePlus 6T comes in 128GB and 256GB models, not expandable via microSD card. Meanwhile, the Poco F1 is equipped with 64GB/ 128GB/ 256GB inbuilt storage options expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB), and the ZenFone 5Z comes with 256GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 2TB).
In terms of optics, the OnePlus 6T bears a dual rear camera setup with dual-LED flash. It features a 16-megapixel Sony IMX 519 primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture, 1.2-micron pixel size, OIS, EIS; and a 20-megapixel Sony IMX 376K sensor with f/1.7 aperture and 1.0-micron pixel size. The Poco F1 also has a dual camera setup, but it comes with a 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 primary sensor with 1.4-micron pixel, dual-pixel autofocus; and a 5-megapixel secondary depth sensor from Samsung. The ZenFone 5Z sports a dual rear camera setup as well, that houses a 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 sensor with an f/1.8 aperture lens and OIS support and an 8-megapixel OmniVision 8856 sensor along with a fixed focus, f/2.2 aperture lens that has a 120-degree field of view, paired with a single LED flash.
At the front, the OnePlus 6T contains a 16-megapixel Sony IMX 371 sensor with f/2.0 aperture, 1.0-micron pixel size, and EIS. For Poco F1, there is a 20-megapixel selfie camera that comes with HDR and AI Beautify features, with an IR light that powers the Face Unlock feature. The company had previously claimed that the AI camera is tuned especially for India, and has scene recognition features. On the other hand, the ZenFone 5Z features an 8-megapixel OmniVision 8856 sensor at the front. The smartphone also comes with Face Unlock support.
The OnePlus 6T is fuelled by a 3,700mAh battery with support for up to 20W fast charging. OnePlus has promised a full day of battery power in 30 minutes of charge with the bundled charger. The Poco F1 packs a bigger 4,000mAh battery with 18W charging support and Quick Charge 3 (charger bundled in box). The ZenFone 5Z, meanwhile, comes with a 3,300mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0 and works with a proprietary AI charging tech.
Connectivity options on the OnePlus 6T include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, aptX and aptX HD support, NFC support, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and USB Type-C port. The Poco F1 includes 4G+, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, and 3.5mm headphone jack. The ZenFone 5Z comes with 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, NFC, GPS/ A-GPS, USB Type-C, FM radio, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The OnePlus 6T measures 157.5x74.8x8.2mm and weighs in at 185 grams. The Poco F1 measures 155.50x75.20x8.80 and weighs 182 grams, while the ZenFone 5Z measures 153x75.6x7.7mm and weighs 165 grams.
Has OnePlus 6T removed the best features of the OnePlus 6? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
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