We’ve just heard about the OnePlus 6T, a brand-new phone that has a couple of remarkable upgrades on the lauded OnePlus 6. Its beefed-up specs as well as functions, along with the very first in-screen fingerprint scanner in the US market, make it an actual challenger to challenge more expensive devices. 

While it might not have the ability to go toe-to-toe with pricey front runners apple iphone XS or Google Pixel 3, the 6T could compete versus phones in the next-highest cost tier. 

So we’ve pitted the 6T versus an appropriate opponent, the Samsung Galaxy S9, to see where the scrappy upstart stands in contrast with the king of small front runner smartphones.

Design

The Samsung S9 is the smaller sized of both at 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm and 163g. Compare that to the OnePlus 6T at 157.5 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm (barely larger than the OnePlus 6 to consist of the in-screen finger print sensor) as well as a slightly much heavier 185g.  

Each phone has a glass back and also glossy finishes, though OnePlus 6T likewise has a matte appearance, yet that’s it for variety. That’s unlike the variety of shades that the Samsung S9 is available in, as you can only get the 6T in black (in the meantime).  

On the rear, the S9 has a finger print sensor below its cam while the 6T doesn’t: the new OnePlus phone’s noteworthy attribute is an in-screen sensor embedded in its front. In our screening, this functioned really well. 

The phones likewise comparison in their physical button format. The S9 has its much-maligned dedicated Bixby switch on the left side, which we periodically accidentally pushed when toggling volume or sticking the phone in our pockets. The OnePlus 6T retains its predecessor’s three-position button on the appropriate side to move between ring, vibration and quiet setting, an ease that’s rare in today’s phones. 

Catch-all comparisons: The OnePlus features double SIM ability, therefore does the S9 – unless you’re acquiring one in the United States, which is single-SIM just. The S9 has an official IP68 water and dust security rating, while you’ll just have to take OnePlus’ word for it that the 6T is water resistant enough. Oh, and there’s one various other huge distinction: the 6T shed its headphone jack, while the S9 still has one. 

As with several Android mobile phones, both phones show up so similar that it’s hard to provide one an edge over the various other, but the S9 has a somewhat classier appearance, maintains its headphone jack as well as is offered in a plethora of colors. The edge goes to Samsung’s phone, unless you absolutely need to have the biggest device.

Display

Speaking of size, there’s a genuine difference in between the 2 phones, though that doesn’t tell the whole story. 

The Samsung S9 has the smaller sized display at 5.8 inches, yet its AMOLED display screen is available in high-resolution Quad HD+ (2960×1440), which gets to an impressive 570 ppi pixel density.

The OnePlus 6T has a bigger 6.41-inch 19.5:9 AMOLED display screen, though its 2340×1080 resolution handles just 402 ppi. 

You encounter a predicament: much better resolution or bigger screen dimension? But the far better inquiry is, will you even notice? Possibly, as the S9 has one of the sharpest displays out there, and in side-by-side contrasts, the Samsung display was unquestionably crisper. But you need to scrunch up your eyes to see it. 

The other distinctions are a lot more stylistic. The S9 display screen features Samsung’s signature bent sides, which don’t simply look trendy – you can likewise allow motion controls focused around these glossy margins, though you could neglect concerning them (we did).  

Then, of course, there’s the notch concern. The S9 doesn’t have one, though it’s basically just passed out the areas beside the front-facing video camera. The 6T has a notch, though it’s smaller sized than the vanilla OnePlus 6: they shifted around a sensor so the screen hugs the front cam very closely. Regardless, you can black out the “ears” surrounding to the video camera if you hunger for a notchless life.

All told, the S9 wins this round, though the OnePlus 6T didn’t underperform by any type of ways. It ought to be noted that the S9 also deals with the Gear VR and Google Virtual Reality arrangements, while it’s unclear if the 6T deals with any kind of Virtual Reality arrangement. That’s not something everyone will certainly respect, however it is added functionality. 

OS and power

While Samsung has actually taken its time slowly presenting Android 9 Pie in various alpha and beta waves for screening, OnePlus 6T launches with it currently mounted. While we haven’t messed around much with the updated OS on the phones, if newest is best for you, the 6T might have the edge.

But if we’re speaking about brand name OS overlays, that’s up to your taste. 

The S9 features the suite of Samsung apps as well as user interface, which doesn’t look to have changed excessive for Android 9. The 6T, on the other hand, comes with the expected minimalist choice of OnePlus applications, which is much better for the user that prefers third-party programs in a light-weight interface.

Performance-wise, the 6T comes packed with an octa-core Snapdragon 845 chip, and so does the Samsung S9 – but only in certain markets (including the US). In the EMEA regions, the S9 comes packed with the much more effective, Samsung-developed Exynos 9810 cpu. The S9 only includes 4GB of RAM, while the 6T can be bought with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM.

Going by Geekbench 4 records, the S9 (Exynos 9810 edition) racked up a respectable 8,721 points, which in our testing puts it only below a handful of more recent Android phones along with Apple’s apple iphone X and iPhone XS. The brand-new 6T, on the other hand, scored 8,846 on our Geekbench 4 examinations.  

The capacity of the 6T’s 3,700 mAh battery exceeds the 3,000 mAh battery in the S9. Simply just how much battery life the previous has beyond the last won’t be clear until we do some even more screening with the two phones together.

Given its side in specs, efficiency, and also the truth that phone currently has Android 9 Pie while the various other is taking its time rolling the new OS out, we’re giving this area to the OnePlus 6T.

Camera

The camera is where many midrange phones reduced corners, however both the S9 and OnePlus 6T have decent performance from extremely different setups. 

The Samsung S9 packs just a solitary 12MP lens, however it’s double aperture, and can shift between f/1.5 (for lower-light shots) as well as f/2.4 immediately (for brighter scenes). This works intelligently, but you can just get a lot efficiency out of one lens.

The 6T has 2 lenses, a 16MP main and 20MP sensor, both at f/1.7. While it took great photos, users grumbled concerning poor low-light performance, so OnePlus added the Nightscape setting to deal with those concerns. 

The S9 definitely has the edge in slow-motion footage: it’s with the ability of capturing 960fps at 720p for breathtakingly slow-moving video (like, also much more dragged out than those slow-motion shots in Creation), Meanwhile, the 6T takes care of a reputable 480fps at 720p, or 240fps at 1080p.

Honestly, both phones have enough pros as well as cons that it may be up to taste. The S9 likely has a side as a result of the much more durable Samsung camera interface. 

Price and availability

By price, the 6T has a significant advantage, as it starts at $529/ £499 for 6GB of RAM/ 128GB of storage, $579/ £529 for a bump up to 8GB of RAM with the same 128GB area and a top version for $629/ £579 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. 

The S9 is priced greater, beginning at $719 (£739/ AU$ 1,199) for 64GB of storage with 4GB of RAM as well as climbing to $839 for 256GB of area. The phone has been out long enough that you can likely locate a discounted opened version (maybe on our convenient US deals and UK deals pages.

It’s a bit simpler to get your hands on a Samsung S9, which most providers sell and also sustain. It introduced back in March, so even finding an unlocked phone shouldn’t be too hard. 

The OnePlus 6T … not a lot. T-Mobile is the only service provider marketing the phone in the United States, which goes on sale in shops as well as online on Nov 1 (or for European customers, Nov 6). And also T-Mobile will certainly only sell the 8GB RAM, 128GB storage space design in mirror black for $629. Verizon will support the 6T, but not sell it.

Takeaway

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and also OnePlus 6T are rather uniformly matched, which is a testament to OnePlus as the underdog here. In terms of large value, we’d give the match to the 6T. 

Of course, there’s a whole lot much more going on than a basic cost-to-specs equation. The OnePlus does not have the heavily-refined Samsung interface that loads a whole lot of bells and whistles in its fancy framework. The 6T also has a notch and likewise disregarded its earphone jack.

In other words, it’s type of an image finish in between these similar-looking yet significantly different phones, and also the last boost might boil down to which user interface you favor as well as which features you can’t live without. 

Think hard on whether you desire the Samsung S9’s very experienced arrangement or if pure capability at a seriously budget-friendly rate suggestions your hand in support of the OnePlus 6T.

• Be sure to review our full OnePlus 6T review