OnePlus 6T will have an in-screen fingerprint sensor… and look a lot like Vivo and Oppo’s latest phones

Vivo, Oppo and OnePlus are all related, which is probably why their phones adopt the same trends

Smartphones

Karen Chiu

Published: 7:51pm, 11 Sep, 2018

Why you can trust SCMP

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

New leaks are giving us a better idea of what’s in the OnePlus 6T.

But the truth is, if you really want to know what’s in the next OnePlus phone, all you have to do is look at Vivo or Oppo’s latest handsets.

The three companies are related, so they tend to adopt the same trends. In this case, signs point to the OnePlus 6T looking very much like the Vivo X23 and Oppo R17, with a fingerprint reader embedded under the screen and a tiny notch shaped like a water droplet. (And they all have chins -- thicker bezels at the bottom of the screen.)

The in-screen fingerprint sensor was confirmed by CNET, after images circulating on social media already suggested the handset will have the feature.

Pioneered by Vivo, which showed off a prototype phone with the technology at CES earlier this year, the in-screen reader has since appeared in a host of other Chinese handsets. Several Vivo models have it, including the Nex. So does Huawei’s Porsche Design Mate RS and Xiaomi’s Mi 8 Explorer Edition.

Samsung’s upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S10, is also expected to have one -- though it’s believed to be a more secure setup that uses ultrasonic scanning for a 3D map of your fingerprint. Right now most Chinese phone makers use optical sensors instead, which only take 2D images.

One million OnePlus 6 handsets sold in under a month

Besides the fingerprint reader, the OnePlus 6T is also expected to have a tiny curved notch. Shaped like a water droplet, the design has been trending among Chinese handset makers in recent months, appearing on handsets from Vivo, Oppo, ZTE's Nubia and Huawei’s budget sub-brand Honor.

The Oppo R17 (left) and Vivo X23 (right) both feature the so-called water droplet notch. (Picture: Oppo/Vivo)

Despite it’s Western name, OnePlus is actually a spin-off brand of Oppo -- a sister company of Vivo. All belong to BBK Electronics, a consumer electronics powerhouse based in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan (which is near Shenzhen).

T-Mobile could carry the OnePlus 6T

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.

Post