OnePlus 6 officially announced with updated hardware and gesture based interface

The OnePlus 6 was officially announced during a special event in London, introducing the company's newest "flagship killer" to the world. The original OnePlus One was introduced four years ago, paving the way for this popular brand to continue dominating the market.

HARDWARE

The OnePlus 6 is made up of glass and metal, similar to most smartphones today. The front and the back are covered by Gorilla Glass 5, with a metal frame running around the sides of the handset. The manufacturer has maintained the same physical footprint of the previous model, the OnePlus 5T despite the larger display and updated hardware on their new flagship. The smartphone will be offered in three colors - Mirror Black, Midnight Black and a limited edition Silk White.

A 3.5mm headphone connector can be found on the bottom, alongside a single loudspeaker and a USB-C port. An alert slider can be found on the right side above the volume buttons, while the fingerprint scanner is located on the back panel, just under the dual camera. The OnePlus 6 boasts water resistance, while the exact IP rating has yet to be revealed.

The OnePlus 6 is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 and has 6GB of RAM (64GB storage) or 8GB of RAM (128GB/256GB) based on the storage configuration you pick. No additional expandable storage options are available, so be sure to pick up the amount of storage you need.

The handset comes unlocked with support for 40 GSM bands across Europe and America. A dual SIM slot option will allow two SIM cards to be used by those looking for this functionality 

Display

The OnePlus 6 has a 6.3-inch display with a 1080 by 2280 pixel resolution, which gives the smartphone a 19:9 aspect ratio. The display takes up most of the front of the device, besides the cutout at the top for the front camera and earpiece.

Those who are not a fan of the 'notch' on the OnePlus 6 will be able to mask the arena with a black background, but that will be coming in a future OxygenOS update.

Camera

The OnePlus 6 is equipped with a dual-camera setup. The primary 16MP camera has an F1.7 aperture, a 1.22-micron pixel sensor and optical image stabilization. The secondary rear camera has a 20MP sensor also has an F1.7 aperture, and while it doesn't offer any optical zoom, it enhances your photos with the bokeh effect.

A generous 16MP camera is located on the front of the device with 1080p video capabilities for selfies and video calls.

The powerful new hardware, also allows the OnePlus 6 to capture 4K video at 60 frames per second. The handset also gains an updated slow-motion mode, which captures 480 frames per second at 720p resolution.


Battery

The OnePlus 6 is equipped with a 3300mAh battery, which happens to be the same capacity found on its predecessor. While the new glass design hasn't warranted wireless charging on this device, the OnePlus Dash Charge feature will ensure your battery is charged in a snap.

SOFTWARE

As mentioned, the OnePlus 6 will run the latest version of the company's Oxygen OS which sits on top of Android 8.1 Oreo. The manufacturer has done a good job retaining most of Android's natural look and feel, but there are quite a few extras they have included in their customizations. For example, users will have the option to replace the on-screen navigation with gestures. This will free the extra space at the bottom,  allowing users to swipe up for home, or up and pause for recent apps. Swiping up from the left or right replaces the back navigator.

OnePlus 6 owners will also have early access to Android P (9.0) and can find out more about updating their handsets to the pre-release version of Android and testing out some of its native navigation gestures.

OxygenOS also includes features liek Reading Mode, which optimizes the screen setting for clearer text. You also have screen-off gestures, which let you launch the camera or flashlight without having to interact with your screen. The Gaming mode, mutes notifications and gives higher priority to the game being played, while Face Unlock offers an alternate to using the fingerprint scanner or PIN code for lockscreen authentication.

RELEASE AND AVAILABILITY

The OnePlus 6 is set for release on May 22 in the US and Europe. Prices start at 529 dollars for the 64GB storage version which comes with 6GB of RAM. 128GB (with 8GB RAM) of storage will cost you $579, while 256GB (with 8GB RAM) model is priced at $629. The limited edition Silk White model will only be offered in the 128GB configuration.