OnePlus 6T India launch soon: Should OnePlus 6 users upgrade?

OnePlus 6T is set to launch in India next month. The smartphone is expected to come with a range of new features including waterdrop notch and in-screen fingerprint technology. But do the new features mean OnePlus 6T is going to be a better phone?

OnePlus has a strange product upgrade cycle. Unlike Apple's annual upgrade cycle, it launches a newer "T" variant in roughly six months of the main flagship launch. OnePlus 6 launched in May this year with multiple variants, including a premium Avengers edition. OnePlus 6 was probably the most exhaustive range from OnePlus as well. After six months, OnePlus is launching a newer variant of the phone.

OnePlus 6T promises a range of new features along with incremental upgrades in the camera and batter department. For new users, OnePlus 6T may be the new affordable flagship phone but should OnePlus 6 users consider upgrading?

Let's take a look at what OnePlus 6 users have on their phone at the moment.

The 2018 OnePlus flagship phone comes with a 6.28-inch AMOLED display full HD resolution with 19:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (Octa-core, 10nm, up to 2.8 GHz processor along with 6GB/8GB RAM. In terms of storage, OnePlus 6 comes in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB variants. Powered by a 3,300mAh battery, OnePlus 6 comes with USB 2.0, Type-C, support USB audio, dual nano-sim slot, and 3.5 mm audio jack, and rear-facing fingerprint sensor.

OnePlus 6T is expected to come with new screen design. But this change is unlikely to bring anything new to the table in terms of productivity. The waterdrop notch just looks good than the traditional boat-shaped cut outs. OnePlus 6T is unlikely to alter the UI to make most of the notch display or fuller screen or bring iPhone X-like gestures support (native). Software wise, OnePlus 6T is likely to ship with Android Pie. OnePlus 6 users already have the latest Android update (roll-out began this week). We can safely predict the UI will not be very different from OnePlus 6T's. Meet Oppo R17 Pro, the reference phone for OnePlus 6T

In-screen fingerprint technology is certainly an advanced feature. It will also pave way for a clutter free back panel, which most probably use glass again. OnePlus 6 is a big design upgrade over the OnePlus 5-series. It still looks good enough and unlikely to go obsolete anytime sooner. Moreover, it has a fingerprint sensor on the back which works just fine.

OnePlus 6T will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 processor, the same chipset that powers OnePlus 6. There could be some minor tweaks in the performance but based on OnePlus' history, it will not be a big boost from OnePlus 6. Minor bump in megapixel resolution is unlikely to make big difference in the camera quality as well. Recent leaks have suggested OnePlus 6T will retain a dual-camera setup on the back. The phone was initially said to come with a triple-camera setup including an additional depth-sensor.

OnePlus 6 users, however, will have one advantage that OnePlus 6T will not have. The older model has 3.5mm headphone jack. The upcoming OnePlus 6T is going to skip this critical feature.

Summing up, OnePlus 6 users won't be missing much except for new screen design and minor specifications upgrade.