OnePlus 6 review: Dollar-for-dollar, the best value in smartphones

OnePlus 6 makes far fewer compromises to hit a low price tag

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The OnePlus 6 has far fewer compromises than the company's previous handsets.

Published: 3:00pm, 20 Jun 2018Updated: 8:29am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Ever since it burst onto the Android scene in 2014 with a phone that offered similar specs to top Samsung phones for less than half the price, Shenzhen-based OnePlus has proudly flaunted its company motto: “Never Settle.”

Those two words can be found sprinkled all over OnePlus handsets, from promotional material to the device's default wallpaper. But truth be told, that slogan has always been marketing hyperbole.

The reality is that OnePlus, in order to achieve its ultra-competitive pricing strategy, do compromise certain aspects of their smartphones.

For example, the original OnePlus didn’t have the premium aluminum finish of other phones at the time; the 2 lacked NFC support; the 5 had outdated bezels that were thick compared to competing flagships; and the most recent 5T, like all previous OnePlus phones, had solid cameras but couldn’t quite keep up with the competition.

FEWER COMPROMISES

With the OnePlus 6, the story has changed a bit, but the core message is the same. There are fewer compromises — the OnePlus 6 is as well-built and designed as any Android phone, with a drastically improved camera — but it’s still missing some key features, most notably wireless charging and water-proofing.