OnePlus 6 Hands-On Preview

The new OnePlus 6 features dual cameras on the back, with 20mp and 16mp cameras, an f/1.7 aperture, plus OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) and EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation). The camera can record 4K video at 60fps, as well as high-speed video at 240 or 480fps for up to a minute. There is a portrait mode, which uses both cameras for better subject separation, and bokeh (background blur). You can also choose the style of the background blur, and use portrait mode with the selfie camera. The OnePlus 6 will be available from 22 May, from £469 for the 6GB+64GB version.

OnePlus 6 Features

The 6.28inch AMOLED screen is impressive, with the smartphone offering a larger screen than the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, but with a shorter height. The screen is also impressively bright, with very good viewing angles, which we thought was slightly better than than the S9 Plus, when viewed side by side. The OnePlus 6 offers a 2280x1080 resolution, compared to the S9 Plus, with a 2560x1440 resolution. 

The main 16mp f/1.7 camera on the smartphone has a larger sensor than the OnePlus 5/5T, with 1.22um pixels (find out what pixel size means here), and also features Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). The second camera is a 20mp f/1.7 unit, which is used for portrait mode and depth effects. The front selfie camera features a 16mp sensor, and an f/2.0 aperture. 

The camera app features a panoramic mode, time-lapse mode, plus a Pro mode wth full manual controls, including raw support, as well as a histogram display, and electronic level. 

Key Features

• Dual cameras, OIS + EIS 
• 16mp f/1.7main camera, 1.22micron pixels
• 20mp f/1.7second camera, 27.22mm equivalent (both)
• 16mp, f/2.0 selfie camera
• Sony IMX519/376K sensors
• 4K 60fps video
• Highspeed FullHD at 240fps, and 720p at 480fps - up to 1 minute
• 6.28inch 19:9 AMOLED screen, with Gorilla Glass 5
• Glass front and back
• SnapDragon 845 (up to 2.8GHz)
• Android 8.1
• 3300mAh Battery

OnePlus 6 Handling

The smartphone has a physical side switch to let you switch between normal, vibrate, and silent sound profiles. The sides of the phone are made of metal, and this gives the smartphone a premium feel. The left and right edges of the smartphone are thinner than the centre, making it look and feel slimmer than other smartphones. There is a glossy black, or a matt black available, with a white version of the phone to follow.

The camera app has a number of different shooting modes including:

• Video
• Photo
• Portrait (with depth-effect)
• Slow motion
• Pro mode
• Time-lapse
• Panorama

To access the different shooting modes, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, as shown above. The slow-motion video mode lets you record FullHD video at 240fps, or 720p video at 480fps. You can record for a whole minute, which is much longer than most other smartphones with high-speed video recording. There is built-in video editing software so that you can edit the video to keep the best bits.

The Pro mode has the most options and settings, and lets you shoot raw images, has an on-screen histogram, and electronic level. You can adjust the ISO, WB, shutter speed, metering and exposure compensation.

The smartphone features a headphone socket on the bottom, along with a USB 2.0 Type-C connection. With the DASH charger, OnePlus say you can get 60% charge in just 30 minutes. NFC is built-in, and the phone is said to have "Daily Water Resistance" which means it should survive the odd rain or light sprinkling of water, but is not actually water resistant, so shouldn't be used under water.

We will update this when we have the smartphone in for review.

OnePlus 6 Photos of Equipment