OnePlus announces premium flagship device, the £469 OnePlus 6
In a glitzy affair at London’s Copperbox Arena – best known as a venue for the 2012 Olympics – Chinese firm OnePlus announced a new flagship handset as well as a pair of wireless earphones.
Pitched to OnePlus’ loyal audience of young millennial ‘superfans’ as well as European journalists, including Tech Digest, the event saw the company’s Founder and CEO Carl Pei cheered throughout as he announced new mobile phone features in scenes reminiscent of Steve Jobs’ adulation at Apple.
To begin the presentation, Pei announced a new pair of £69 earphones called the Bullets Wireless which he claims offer 8 hours of battery life, providing up to 5 hours of playback time with just 10 minutes of charge, thanks to Dash Charge technology.
The company says it has integrated the Dash Charge tech into the Bullets Wireless so any compatible USB Type-C adapter can be used to fast charge the earphones.
The earphones also have Google Assistant support for voice assistance and are magnetic so they automatically activate when separated.
Also announced at the event was a new headset, the OnePlus 6. Billed as the company’s most sophisticated handset to date, it features a 6.28-inch Full Optic AMOLED 19:9 display – OnePlus’ largest-ever screen – while keeping a similar form factor to that of its predecessor, the OnePlus 5T.
The OnePlus 6 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, which OnePlus clams improves performance by 30%, while being 10% more power efficient.
Furthermore, OnePlus 6’s dual camera system features a 16MP main camera, supported by a 20MP secondary camera. With a f/1.7 aperture, the 16MP main camera has been bolstered by a 19 percent larger sensor and OIS for improved performance in a range of lighting conditions including low level light.
Portrait Mode will be available on the OnePlus 6’s front camera as well as its rear. Using AI, the front camera is able to apply a depth of field effect to selfies.
Newly added bokeh effects, including circles, hearts and stars also offer new ways for users to customise their portraits while the OnePlus 6 also marks the introduction of OnePlus’ Slow Motion mode, which can capture high-definition video frame-by-frame.
The OnePus 6 will be available in three colour variants including Mirror Black, Midnight Black and a limited-edition Silk White. For the Mirror Black and Midnight Black variants, OnePlus has embedded a thin layer of film underneath the glass to create a sense of depth as light and shadow move on the device.
The OnePlus 6 in 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB storage options will be available on oneplus.com in North America and in Europe on May 22nd starting from USD 529 / EUR 519 / 469 GBP. The limited-edition Silk White with 128 GB of storage will be available from June 5th.
| Device | USD | EUR | GBP |
| Mirror Black 6+64GB | 529 | 519 | 469 |
| Mirror Black 8+128 GB | 579 | 569 | 519 |
| Midnight Black 8+128 GB | 579 | 569 | 519 |
| Midnight Black 8+256 GB | 629 | 619 | 569 |
| Silk White 8+128 GB | 579 | 569 | 519 |
