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Should you replace your OnePlus 5 or 5T with a new OnePlus 6T?

We answer the question on if owners of the OnePlus 5 or the OnePlus 5T should make the leap and upgrade to the new OnePlus 6T.
By
October 29, 2018
OnePlus 6T back

While we already compared the OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 6T, the reality is that only the most hardcore fans are going to upgrade after less than six months. But what if you’re coming from the OnePlus 5 family?

It’s hard to believe it has been less than two years since the OnePlus 5 launched, and about a year since the OnePlus 5T debuted. These phones shared most of the same hardware and software, but the OnePlus 5T had a much larger 6-inch screen than the 5.5-inch OnePlus 5. The OnePlus 5T also had some small camera hardware improvements.

Today, the company announced its latest smartphone, the OnePlus 6T — a follow up to this year’s OnePlus 6. When compared to the OnePlus 5 and the 5T, the OnePlus 6T has a ton of changes. It’s got an even larger 6.41-inch display, a more powerful processor, improvements on the battery and camera side, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and it’s now finally compatible with Verizon’s wireless network. All of that comes with launch prices only a little higher than the introductory prices of the OnePlus 5 and 5T.

So here is the big question: is the OnePlus 6T a good upgrade for owners of the OnePlus 5 and 5T?

Specs: OnePlus 6T vs OnePlus 5/5T

Even though the OnePlus 5 is barely two years old, the OnePlus 6T represents a huge spec upgrade over it and the 5T. Here’s a quick look at the hardware and software specs for the new OnePlus 6T compared to the OnePlus 5 and 5T.

OnePlus 6TOnePlus 5/5T
Display
OnePlus 6T
6.41-inch AMOLED
2,340 x 1,080 resolution
402ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 6
OnePlus 5/5T
5.5-inch AMOLED
1920 x 1080 resolution (OnePlus 5)
6.01-inch AMOLED
1080 x 2160 display (OnePlus 5T)
401 ppi
Gorilla Glass 5
SoC
OnePlus 6T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Octa-core, 10nm, up to 2.8GHz
OnePlus 5/5T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
2.45 GHz octa-core
10nm
GPU
OnePlus 6T
Adreno 630
OnePlus 5/5T
Adreno 540
RAM
OnePlus 6T
6GB/8GB LPDDR4X
OnePlus 5/5T
6/8 GB
LPDDR4
Storage
OnePlus 6T
128GB/256GB
UFS 2.1 2-LANE
OnePlus 5/5T
64/128 GB
UFS 2.1 2-lane
No microSD expansion
Cameras
OnePlus 6T
Rear cameras
Main: 16MP, f/1.7 aperture
Secondary: 20MP, f/1.7 aperture
OIS & EIS
Video: 4K resolution video at 30/60fps

Front cameras
Main: 16MP, f/2.0 aperture
EIS: Yes
Video: 1080P video at 30fps
OnePlus 5/5T
Rear camera
Main: 16 MP Sony IMX 398 sensor, 1.12 μm, ƒ/1.7 aperture, EIS, dual LED flash
Telephoto: 20 MP Sony IMX 350 sensor, 1.0 μm, ƒ/2.6 aperture (OnePlus 5)
20 MP IMX 376K sensor, 1.0 µm, f/1.7 aperture, 27.22 mm focal length (OnePlus 5T)

Front: 16 MP Sony IMX 371 sensor, 1.0 μm, ƒ/2.0 aperture, EIS
Audio
OnePlus 6T
USB 2.0 Type-C
No headphone jack
Bottom-facing speaker
Dirac HD Sound
Dirac Power Sound
OnePlus 5/5T
Bottom-facing speaker
3 microphones with noise cancellation
Supports AANC
Dirac HD Sound
3.5mm headphone jack
Battery
OnePlus 6T
3,700mAh battery
Non-removable
Fast Charge (5V 4A)
OnePlus 5/5T
3,300 mAh
Non-removable
Dash Charge (5V 4A)
IP rating
OnePlus 6T
N/A
OnePlus 5/5T
N/A
Sensors
OnePlus 6T
In-screen fingerprint sensor
Hall
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Proximity
Ambient light sensor
Electronic compass
Sensor hub
OnePlus 5/5T
Fingerprint
Hall
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Proximity
Ambient light
Electronic compass
Sensor hub
Network
OnePlus 6T
LTE: Supports 5xCA, 64QAM, 256QAM & 4x4 MIMO,
up to DL CAT16 (1Gbps)/UL CAT13 (150 Mbps) depending on carrier support

NA/EU: FDD LTE: Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/32/66/71
TDD LTE: Band 34/38/39/40/41/46
TD-SCDMA: Band 34/39
UMTS(WCDMA): Band 1/2/4/5/8/9/19
CDMA: BC0/BC1GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

CN/IN: FDD LTE: Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/1213/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/66
TDD LTE: Band 34/38/39/40/41
TD-SCDMA: Band 34/39
UMTS(WCDMA): Band 1/2/4/5/8/9/19
CDMA: BC0/BC1
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
OnePlus 5/5T
LTE:
Supports 3xCA, 64QAM & 256QAM
Supports up to DL CAT 12 (600 Mbps) / UL CAT 13 (150 Mbps) depending on carrier support

Bands:
FDD LTE: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/66
TDD-LTE: Bands 38/39/40/41
TD-SCDMA: Bands 34/39
UMTS (WCDMA): Bands 1/2/4/5/8
CDMA: BC0
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Connectivity
OnePlus 6T
Wi-Fi: 2x2 MIMO, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4G/5G
Bluetooth 5.0, support aptX & aptX HD
NFC
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galile
WLAN
OnePlus 5/5T
Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz, 2x2 MIMO
Bluetooth 5.0, supports aptX & aptX HD
NFC
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
SIM
OnePlus 6T
Dual nano-SIM slot (single on T-Mobile model)
OnePlus 5/5T
Nano
Dual-SIM
Software
OnePlus 6T
OxygenOS based on Android 9 Pie
OnePlus 5/5T
OxygenOS based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat

Colors
OnePlus 6T
Mirror Black, Midnight Black
OnePlus 5/5T
Midnight Black, Slate Gray
Dimensions and weight
OnePlus 6T
157.5 x 74.9 x 8.2 mm
180 g
OnePlus 5/5T
154.2 x 74.1 x 7.25 mm
153 g (OnePlus 5)
156.1 x 75 x 7.3 mm
162 g (OnePlus 5T)

Reasons to upgrade from OnePlus 5/5T to OnePlus 6T

You are getting a much bigger display

The biggest physical change on the OnePlus 6T, compared to the OnePlus 5 and 5T, is its larger 6.41-inch AMOLED display. This phone has small bezels on the front, and even the large notch of the earlier 6.28-inch OnePlus 6 has been cut down to a smaller “teardrop” design for the OnePlus 6T. In simple terms, this is the biggest display ever for a OnePlus smartphone.

Faster processor and more onboard storage

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor in the OnePlus 6T is much faster than the older Snapdragon 835 chip powering the OnePlus 5 and 5T, with a higher clock speed and supporting faster download speeds on both LTE and Wi-Fi networks. Also, OnePlus ditched the 64GB onboard storage option for the cheapest OnePlus 6T — the phone’s minimum storage option is now 128GB. You can also get one with 256GB of storage.

In-display fingerprint scanner

The OnePlus 6T joins the small but growing number of smartphones moving the fingerprint scanner from the back of the phone directly to the front, embedded in the display itself. While these kinds of scanners are usually not as fast as ones on the back, OnePlus claims the in-display fingerprint sensor on the OnePlus 6T is the fastest ever made, and will unlock the phone in about .34 seconds.

A bigger battery

The OnePlus 5, 5T, and even the OnePlus 6 had a 3,300mAh battery, but the OnePlus 6T finally gets a boost up to a larger 3,700mAh battery. In addition, the OnePlus 6T retains the fast charging technology it developed for the earlier phones. Even with its larger battery, we expect the OnePlus 6T to take very little time to charge up.

Better cameras

Both the OnePlus 5 and the 5T have rear 16MP and 20MP f/1.7 cameras in the back, but while the OnePlus 5 had a Sony IMX 350 telephoto sensor for the 20MP camera, the OnePlus 5T switched it out for a Sony IMX 376K sensor. The OnePlus 6T has the same camera hardware as the OnePlus 6. Compared with the 5T, the main 16MP sensor has been switched over to the Sony IMX 519 sensor, which has 19 percent larger pixels than the sensor on the 5T, to help with low light performance. The OnePlus 6T also has a 16MP front-facing camera.

OnePlus says the 6T has improvements for the camera’s HDR and portrait modes, as well as new studio lighting modes to help recognize faces and adjust lighting to simulate professional lighting. Finally, the phone has a new Nightscape Mode, which is supposed to improved clarity and create less noise in low light conditions.

Android 9.0 Pie out of the box

There will be no need to wait for an Android OS update for the OnePlus 6T. While both the OnePlus 5 and the 5T shipped with OxygenOS, based on Android 7.1.1. Nougat, owners had to wait a little while to get the promised upgrade to 8.0 Oreo. For the launch of the OnePlus 6T, the company has updated OxygenOS with Android 9.0 Pie, the latest version of Android, so owners will have the latest and greatest software features from Google’s operating system as soon as they get the phone.

Sold at T-Mobile and works on Verizon

The OnePlus 6T is perhaps the biggest launch ever for the company in the U.S. market. It’s the first OnePlus phone to be sold by a U.S. wireless carrier, T-Mobile. Not only that, but the carrier will let previous OnePlus phone owners trade in their older handset for the OnePlus 6 for a $300 credit. In addition, the OnePlus 6T has been certified to work on Verizon Wireless’s network for the first time, which means the unlocked version can be used on the biggest carrier in the U.S.

Reasons not to upgrade to OnePlus 6T

OnePlus 6T Speakers

No headphone jack

After a couple of years of bucking the trend, the OnePlus 6T is the first phone from the company to ditch the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack. Many diehard smartphone owners still won’t buy a new handset without a headphone jack. If you are included in that category, you might think twice about ditching your OnePlus 5 or 5T for the new 6T. The company at least sells OnePlus Bullets wireless earbuds, which support aptX for high-quality audio streaming.

Higher launch prices

The OnePlus 5 launched with a starting price of $479, and the 5T started at $529. The OnePlus 6T will have a starting price of $549 — $70 more than the OnePlus 5, and $20 more than the 5T. The OnePlus 6T still has a very reasonable unlocked price for all of the hardware and software upgrades you are getting. Also, keep in mind that the OnePlus 5 and 5T’s starting launch price came with just 64GB of onboard storage, while the OnePlus 6T comes with a minimum of 128GB of storage.

So should you upgrade from the OnePlus 5 or 5T to the OnePlus 6T?

There’s no doubt the hardware and software specs on the OnePlus 6T beat those of the OnePlus 5 and 5T in nearly every way — at a price only a bit more expensive to boot. It has a bigger screen, an in-display fingerprint scanner, a bigger battery, improved cameras, support for Verizon’s network, and more. We wish the headphone jack had stayed, but that’s really the only major hardware strike against the phone, which makes the decision to upgrade to this phone if you own the OnePlus 5 and 5T pretty easy.

How do you feel about the OnePlus 6T compared to the OnePlus 5 and 5T? Can you live without a headphone jack? Let us know in the comments!