OnePlus 6T

OnePlus launched the new OnePlus 6T at the end of October and for the first time ever it launched on a US wireless carrier. I picked up my Mirror Black model at a local T-Mobile store, after visiting several stores that were sold out, and took advantage of the $300 launch trade-in option.

OnePlus earns a top five spot on my list because of the high end specifications, reasonable price that is hundreds less than other flagships, extremely responsive performance, and use of new technology.

If I had an affordable smartphone list, then the OnePlus 6T would be number one with prices ranging from $549 to $629. The lowest cost one still has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage while the $629 model has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. You will not find another phone with these great specs for these prices.

The OnePlus 6T is composed of two pieces of Gorilla Glass 6 with a metal frame. No other phone available today uses Gorilla Glass 6. The design is elegant and the build quality is excellent. It has a lovely AMOLED 6.41 inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, dual rear cameras (they are a bit underutilized compared to the high end flagships), ample RAM and internal storage options, some level of dust and water resistance, a large 3700 mAh battery and quick charge capability, with excellent radio support for GSM networks.

The display has a very small notch, similar to what we saw on the Essential Phone, and also runs the latest version of OxygenOS with an extremely responsive software experience. You can even enable an all touch interface, similar to the iPhone X. The in-screen fingerprint sensor works well while the face unlock option is handy for less secure daily unlocking of your phone.