OnePlus’ all-new flagship, the OnePlus 6T, has just received yet another update. This time around, the company is rolling out OxygenOS 9.0.6 to the device, and this update actually brings a number of improvements to the phone, even though new features are not a part of it. That being said, the company has published a changelog on its official forums, so let’s see what’s new. This update will “Improve unlocking experience” for you, says the company, and that probably relates to both the phone’s in-display fingerprint scanner and its facial scanning feature, as the company is usually way more specific when they improve something in particular. In addition to that, the company has also improved standby power consumption on the device, which is a welcomed addition, even though the OnePlus 6T did not really have battery-related issues.
Now, the company has also fixed issues with adding APN on the Verizon network, which some US-based users have experienced and reported a while back. Some users also experienced issues with the Play Store, as they did not receive notifications from the Play Store, well, according to the company’s changelog, that has been fixed as well. This update also brings some improvements in the camera department, as OnePlus says that it also “optimized image processing” on the device. We’re not sure if this change relates to Nightscape only, or in general, but chances are it’s the latter, as OnePlus did not mention Nightscape in specific. On top of everything, general bug fixes and improvements are also listed by the company, though such changes are a part of pretty much every update. That is more or less it, as you can see there are no new features in this update, but that was to be expected, as OnePlus usually releases several such updates after a device launch, simply because the company wants to further fine-tune its devices. It is worth noting that this update is rolling out as we speak, OTA (Over-The-Air), but it’s a staged rollout, so it may take a bit of time to reach your phone. Installing a VPN may not help you install this update, says OnePlus, as the rollout is not region-based.
Background: This is not the first update for the OnePlus 6T, not even by a long shot. The OnePlus 6T got announced last month, but the company released several updates for the device already. At the end of October, the OnePlus 6T received the OxygenOS 9.0.4 update from the company, which brought a number of changes to the table. That update brought the November Android security patch to the device, while it optimized the phone’s standby power consumption. Some additional gesture-related tweaks have been rolled out as well, along with improvements to ‘Screen Unlock’ aka the OnePlus 6T’s in-display fingerprint scanner. On top of that, the OxygenOS 9.0.4 also brought improvements for Nightscape, and it added Studio Lighting to enhance face contour. That update was followed by the OxygenOS 9.0.5, which arrived in early November, and that update further improved Screen Unlock, while it also brought a number of general bug fixes and improvements.
The OnePlus 6T was announced last month in two color variants, Mirror Black and Midnight Black, while the third color option, Thunder Purple, arrived earlier this month. The OnePlus 6T is made out of metal and glass, and as far as general build is concerned, it’s actually quite similar to the OnePlus 6, its predecessor. The OnePlus 6T does sport a considerably smaller notch, while the phone also does not have a fingerprint scanner on the back, but it sports an in-display fingerprint scanner instead… that makes its design even cleaner. The OnePlus 6T also has the same cameras, RAM setup, and a number of other internals as the OnePlus 6. The OnePlus 6T features two cameras on the back, while the phone is fueled by the most powerful processor Qualcomm has to offer at the moment, the Snapdragon 845. The device comes in 6GB and 8GB RAM variants, while it sports a 3,700mAh battery on the inside, which is considerably larger than the OnePlus 6’s 3,300mAh unit. Android 9 Pie come pre-installed on the OnePlus 6T, along with OnePlus’ OxygenOS skin, of course. The device sports a huge 6.41-inch fullHD+ Optic AMOLED display, though the phone is not exactly huge despite that fact, as it sports extremely thin bezels.
Impact: OxygenOS 9.0.6 is not a huge update for the device, but it does bring a number of really useful improvements which are aimed to improve user experience with the device. You can expect to see more updates for the OnePlus 6T in the coming weeks, as the company seems to be really focused on delivering new features and tweaking the user experience on the phone. Having said that, the OnePlus 6T probably won’t remain the company’s flagship smartphone for as long as some may think, as the company’s 5G-enabled handset is expected to arrive in the first quarter of next year. OnePlus already confirmed that its 5G-enabled phone will not be a part of its usual release cycle, and it also confirmed that the OnePlus 7 (though the company did not use that name) will not sport 5G support. This basically means that we’ll probably get three OnePlus-branded flagships next year, the OnePlus 7, 7T, and the 5G-enabled device that is expected to arrive before either of the two other phones. We still do not have any info when it comes to the company’s 5G-enabled smartphone, but chances are it will ship with high-end specifications, simply because it’s OnePlus’ very first 5G-enabled phone. 5G will start rolling out in the second half of 2019, quite probably, but it will not become a standard as soon as some people may think, though it will probably roll out to a number of markets in 2020, slowly. We are only guessing, of course, anything is possible, but chances are the rollout will be much slower than some users may expect, which is why we may not see a ton of 5G-enabled phones in 2019.