OnePlus 6: In the evolution of smartphone brands, certain devices stand as milestones that represent pivotal moments in a company’s journey. The OnePlus 6, released in May 2018, exemplifies such a milestone—marking the company’s transition from scrappy upstart to established player in the premium smartphone market.

This device refined the company’s “flagship killer” approach while introducing design elements and features that would influence subsequent generations, creating a legacy that continues to resonate among technology enthusiasts years after its release.

Design Evolution: Premium Redefined

The OnePlus 6 represented a significant design departure from its predecessors, introducing a glass back construction that replaced the metal unibody design of earlier models. This shift aligned with industry trends while enabling practical benefits like improved wireless reception.

Available in multiple finishes including Mirror Black, Midnight Black, Silk White, and limited editions like Red and Amber Red, each variant showcased different material treatments that created distinctive visual and tactile experiences.

The Mirror Black offered a highly reflective surface reminiscent of contemporary flagship devices, while the Midnight Black featured a more subtle, textured matte finish that provided improved grip and fingerprint resistance.

Perhaps most distinctive was the Silk White variant, which incorporated pearl powder to create a smooth, iridescent appearance unlike anything offered by competitors at the time. These thoughtful material choices demonstrated OnePlus’s growing design sophistication and attention to detail.

The front face introduced the controversial but increasingly common notch design, housing the front camera and earpiece while maximizing screen-to-body ratio. At 19.4 × 7.5mm, the notch was relatively modest compared to many contemporaries, representing a reasonable compromise between screen real estate and necessary components.

For users who preferred an uninterrupted display, OnePlus included software options to “hide” the notch by darkening the status bar—an early example of the company’s attentiveness to user feedback.

The physical Alert Slider, a distinctive OnePlus feature, remained present on the right edge, offering quick switching between sound profiles without requiring screen interaction.

The retention of the 3.5mm headphone jack—at a time when many manufacturers were abandoning this port—demonstrated OnePlus’s willingness to prioritize user convenience over industry trends, though this would be the last flagship OnePlus device to include this feature.

At 7.8mm thick and weighing 177 grams, the OnePlus 6 struck an excellent balance between substantial feel and comfortable handling. The slightly curved back edges improved ergonomics, while the centrally-positioned rear fingerprint sensor fell naturally under the index finger during use.

These seemingly minor considerations collectively created a device that felt premium beyond its price category—a quality that helped establish OnePlus as a legitimate competitor to more established brands.

Display Quality: Immersive Experience

The OnePlus 6 featured a 6.28-inch Optic AMOLED display with 2280 × 1080 resolution (19:9 aspect ratio), delivering approximately 402 pixels per inch. While not matching the resolution of some contemporary flagships, this carefully chosen specification balanced visual clarity with performance and battery efficiency.

The AMOLED technology provided excellent contrast with deep blacks and vibrant colors, while supporting DCI-P3 color gamut for expanded color reproduction.

Display calibration options offered valuable flexibility, with Default, sRGB, DCI-P3, and Adaptive modes allowing users to select their preferred color profile.

The standard calibration tended toward vibrant, saturated colors that created visual impact, while the sRGB and DCI-P3 modes provided more accurate reproduction for content creation and consumption. This level of display customization was relatively uncommon at this price point, reflecting OnePlus’s understanding of diverse user preferences.

The 84% screen-to-body ratio represented a significant improvement over previous generations, creating a more immersive viewing experience while maintaining practical bezels that prevented accidental touches.

Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection balanced scratch resistance with improved drop protection, addressing everyday durability concerns without requiring bulky cases.

Outdoor visibility proved better than many contemporaries thanks to a maximum brightness of approximately 450 nits, though this fell short of the 600+ nits offered by premium flagships of the era.

The inclusion of Reading Mode—which adjusted the display’s color temperature to reduce eye strain during extended text consumption—demonstrated thoughtful consideration of real-world usage scenarios beyond specifications.

Performance Architecture: Flagship Without Compromise

At the heart of the OnePlus 6 lay the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset—the flagship processor of 2018—manufactured on a 10nm process. This octa-core configuration combined four performance Kryo 385 Gold cores based on Cortex-A75 running at 2.8GHz with four efficiency Kryo 385 Silver cores based on Cortex-A55 at 1.7GHz, paired with the Adreno 630 GPU.

Memory configurations offered either 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, complemented by 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB of UFS 2.1 storage.

The absence of expandable storage represented one of the few compromises in the device’s specification, though the generous base storage mitigated this limitation for most users.

What distinguished the OnePlus 6’s performance wasn’t merely raw specifications but the optimization that extracted maximum efficiency from the hardware.

OxygenOS, the company’s Android implementation, eschewed bloatware and unnecessary visual effects in favor of fluid animation, responsive input, and memory efficiency. This approach created a subjectively faster experience than many competitors with similar or even superior hardware.

Gaming performance particularly impressed, with titles like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 running at consistently high framerates with minimal heating. The efficient cooling solution prevented the throttling that affected many glass-backed devices during extended gaming sessions, maintaining performance when it mattered most.

The dedicated Gaming Mode optimized system resources and managed notifications during play, demonstrating OnePlus’s understanding of mobile gaming’s growing importance.

Camera Capabilities: Competitive Imaging

The camera system represented one area where OnePlus had historically lagged behind premium competitors, but the OnePlus 6 narrowed this gap significantly. The dual rear camera array consisted of:

• A 16MP Sony IMX519 primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilization

• A 20MP Sony IMX376K secondary sensor with f/1.7 aperture for depth information

This configuration delivered impressive results in favorable lighting, producing images with natural colors, good dynamic range, and pleasing detail. The optical stabilization—a first for OnePlus—significantly improved low-light performance compared to previous generations, though still falling short of the night photography capabilities offered by Google, Huawei, and Samsung flagships of the era.

Portrait mode effectively utilized the secondary sensor for depth mapping, creating convincing background blur with reasonably accurate edge detection around complex subjects like hair.

This implementation demonstrated significant improvement over the somewhat inconsistent portrait effects of the OnePlus 5T.

Video capabilities included 4K recording at 60fps—competitive with the best smartphones of 2018—and 480fps slow-motion at 720p.

The electronic image stabilization worked effectively for handheld recording, though the absence of optical stabilization during video recording resulted in some visible shake during walking or other movement.

The 16MP front-facing camera delivered detailed selfies with good dynamic range in favorable lighting, while portrait mode created convincing background blur despite the single-lens implementation.

The face unlock feature utilized this camera for extremely rapid (though less secure) device authentication, complementing the fingerprint sensor.

Software Experience: Refined Approach

The OnePlus 6 launched with OxygenOS 5.1 based on Android 8.1 Oreo, with a subsequent update to Android 9 Pie. This implementation represented one of the most balanced Android experiences available, combining near-stock visual design with thoughtful enhancements that added genuine utility rather than complexity.

Navigation options included both traditional three-button controls and a new gesture system that maximized screen space—offering user choice at a time when many manufacturers were forcing transitions to gesture-only interfaces.

The customization options extended to accent colors, icon shapes, and status bar modifications, allowing personalization without requiring third-party launchers.

Off-screen gestures for common functions like camera access and flashlight activation provided convenient shortcuts, while the double-tap to wake and raise to wake features improved everyday usability.

The Reading Mode mentioned previously adjusted color temperature for extended text consumption, demonstrating attention to specific use cases beyond general operation.

Perhaps most significant was OnePlus’s update commitment, with the device receiving major Android updates through Android 10 and security patches for approximately three years. While not matching the extended support now offered by some manufacturers, this represented reasonable longevity for the era and contributed to the device’s excellent resale value.

Battery Life and Charging: Practical Endurance

The OnePlus 6 housed a 3,300mAh battery that delivered reliable full-day endurance for most users despite the relatively modest capacity by modern standards. The efficient processor and carefully optimized software extended battery life beyond what specifications might suggest, with typical usage patterns yielding 5-6 hours of screen-on time between charges.

The proprietary Fast Charge technology (previously branded as Dash Charge) provided rapid power replenishment, delivering approximately 60% charge in 30 minutes using the included 20W charger.

This charging implementation emphasized consistent speed rather than maximum power, maintaining rapid charging even while using the device—an advantage over solutions that required display-off charging for maximum speed.

Battery optimization features included adaptive battery management that learned usage patterns to reduce background consumption, though without the aggressive app killing that plagued some competitors’ approaches.

The absence of wireless charging represented one of the few missing premium features, though this helped maintain the relatively accessible pricing that defined OnePlus’s market position.

Specifications Table

Key Strengths and Historical Context

Strengths:

1. Performance Optimization: The combination of flagship hardware and lightweight software created exceptional responsiveness that defined the OnePlus experience.

2. Material Design: The various finishes, particularly the unique Silk White option, demonstrated growing design sophistication beyond mere specifications.

3. Value Positioning: Delivering premium specifications at a substantially lower price than established flagships continued the “flagship killer” approach that built OnePlus’s reputation.

4. Software Experience: OxygenOS offered meaningful enhancements without compromising the clean, efficient nature of stock Android.

5. Fast Charging: The proprietary charging solution provided practical rapid replenishment that maintained speed even during active device use.

Historical Context:

The OnePlus 6 represented a pivotal moment in the company’s evolution, arriving as OnePlus transitioned from niche player to established brand.

Released when smartphone prices from major manufacturers were rapidly increasing, it maintained the value proposition that built the company’s following while incorporating premium design elements previously reserved for higher-priced flagships.

This device also marked the beginning of more frequent release cycles, with the OnePlus 6T arriving just six months later—introducing the in-display fingerprint sensor and teardrop notch that would define subsequent generations.

Despite this relatively quick succession, the OnePlus 6 maintained its relevance through a combination of robust hardware, continued software support, and thoughtful design that aged gracefully.

The inclusion of the headphone jack—which would disappear in the 6T—made the OnePlus 6 something of a transitional device, retaining this legacy feature while embracing the glass construction and notched display that represented contemporary design trends.

This balance of tradition and innovation helped broaden the device’s appeal beyond the tech enthusiast community that formed OnePlus’s initial customer base.

OnePlus 6 Conclusion: Enduring Legacy

The OnePlus 6 represented the maturation of OnePlus as a smartphone manufacturer, successfully transitioning from upstart disruptor to legitimate competitor in the premium segment.

By delivering flagship-level performance, design, and features at a significantly lower price point than established brands, it continued the “flagship killer” approach while refining the execution to appeal to a broader audience.

What distinguished the OnePlus 6 from both predecessors and many competitors was the thoughtful balance achieved across all essential attributes. The performance delivered flagship experience without compromise.

The camera system, while not class-leading, provided reliable results across various scenarios. The software enhanced functionality without introducing complexity or bloat. This holistic approach created a device greater than the sum of its specifications—a quality that extended its practical lifespan well beyond typical smartphone lifecycles.

For the company itself, the OnePlus 6 helped establish the foundation for future growth, demonstrating that OnePlus could compete on design and build quality rather than merely specifications and pricing.

The success of this approach influenced subsequent devices not only from OnePlus but from the broader industry, as other manufacturers sought to replicate the combination of premium experience and accessible pricing that defined the OnePlus 6.

Years after its release, this device remains fondly remembered by technology enthusiasts as representing OnePlus at its most focused—delivering exceptional value without the compromise often associated with lower-priced alternatives.

In this respect, the OnePlus 6 stands as not merely a successful product but as a device that helped redefine expectations for what a smartphone could deliver at its price point.