November 2, 2018 • 11 mins
With the OnePlus 6T, the company has finally found a footing in the United States with a smartphone that rivals even the best offerings from Samsung, Google and Apple. The best part: it comes at an unbeatable price. Hear my hands on thoughts about the device plus an interview with OnePlus General Manager Kyle Kiang.Watch my TV segment:https://ktla.com/2018/11/02/oneplus-6t-launches-with-innovative-on-screen-fingerprint-unlock-unbeatable-price/$20 off OnePlus accessories [referral]:https://www.oneplus.com/invite#VD1WJHO0Q8FOXJFollow Rich on Social Media:Facebook: http://facebook.com/RichOnTechTwitter: http://twitter.com/richdemuroInstagram: http://instagram.com/richontech Easy ways to listen on your phone or smart speaker:"Hey Google, Play the Rich on Tech Podcast""Hey Siri, Play the Rich on Tech Podcast"
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
The one Plus sixty is now available, and for under
three hundred dollars, you can get a phone that rivals
even the best devices from Google and Samsung. What's going on.
I'm Rich Demiro and this is Rich on Tech. Okay,
so full disclosure. The one plus sixty doesn't actually cost
under three hundred dollars per se, but you can get
it for that price if you trade in your current
(00:24):
phone through T Mobile. It's an incredible deal for a
phone that gives you a lot of what you need
with nearly none of the annoyances that come with other
Android devices at every price point. Recently, I caught up
with Kyle Jung, general manager of one plus, to talk
about the company, the new device, and some of the
design decisions they made. Let's start with the basics. The
one plus sixty features a giant six point four in screen,
(00:46):
the latest Android P software, along with some special tricks
That one plus adds touol cameras on the back and
in a first for the US, a fingerprint reader on
the screen. It's pretty cool. The device retails for five
hundred and fifty dollars unlocked, which lets you use it
on major US carriers, including T Mobile, Verizon, and AT
and T. I'll get more into the carrier thing in
(01:07):
a bit, but first, if you're wondering who the heck
one Plus is, here you go.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
One Plus is a smartphone company that was started about
five years ago that made phones for smartphone enthusiasts and
the people that are most passionate about technology. We take
a little bit of a different approach, and now we
believe we make the best phones in the market for
the most demanding users.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
All of that is true. I remember the first time
I saw a one plus phone, and it was in
an uber in San Francisco. Now I'm a guy who
regularly tests just about every phone that's out there, and
the one Plus is a great looking device. I sort
of discounted it in the early days because it was
tricky to get due to their weird invite system, and
early models did have some major trade offs like no
NFC which enables tap to pay, or a camera that
(01:48):
just didn't compete with the big boys. But the thing
early fans liked it was one of the first phones
to deliver a so called pure Android experience, not stock
since one Plus does add their own tough U but
it wasn't as heavy handed as Samsung or LG.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Our entire company is focused on making a singular product.
Everything that goes into it, the hardware of the software,
everything that goes into that experience, and so I think
that makes us a bit different than other companies. As
we've made more and more products, more and more people
learning about them. The most demanding users in tech have
vouch for us and helped spread the word. And at
this point now when you look at the best rated
phones anywhere, we're now at the top of the list
(02:25):
of those ratings.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
This brings us to the one plus user. You often
hear the company talk about how they are a community
of their users, and this is also true. You have
people buying these phones that expect a lot. Let's be honest,
a lot of them are power users.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I think our users are the most demanding and knowledgable
and technology, and so they expect a lot of us,
and we get a lot of feedback from our users.
They have a close relationship with us. We know a
lot of them personally and we get their feedback. They
test our products early and often, but at the same time,
we believe they helped make our products better and also
they've helped us spread the word in reaching other people
on learning about one plus The.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
One plus sixty represents a major turning point for the company.
Not only does it have a feature that should get
it noticed by the mainstream media, this futuristic looking fingerprint
reader in the screen, it's also the first time the
phone will be sold in a carrier store and available
to use on the Verizon network.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Really excited about the one plus six T. It follows
the approach we've taken in terms of we believe making
the best flagship best combination of hardware and software grave Craftsmanshift.
It also introduces several new pieces of technology that we
think people will be really excited about. One is a
feature we're calling screen Unlock, which is a fingerprint on
display which with a full screen, allows you to unlock
your device by pressing your thumb or finger on the screen,
(03:39):
unlocking the device in lower point three seconds. We think
it's a new feature that will be the first time
any phones had in the United States, and I think
people will be really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Now. I've been testing the one plus six T for
about a week now, and there is a lot to like.
In fact, i'd place it right next to the Google
Pixel three and the iPhone ten s as my top
choice is for a smartphone right now. The n screen
finger print reader is cool and it works, but it
does take some getting used to. I've used so many
fingerprint readers on the backside of phones. This is where
my finger naturally gravitates when I pick one up. But
(04:09):
it works, and the benefit is that you can use
it when your phone is laying flat, say on a
table or your desk at work.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So it's a sense of that basically sits on the
on the motherbard below the screen. When you press down lighten,
its up and captures your fingerprint. So but it'll happen
almost since taneously. We've actually been looking at for a
year and it was working, and we had on previous
devices to test, but it's reached a point where we
feel it matches our high level of user experience and
so we're excited about it.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
One plus told me they tested it for three hundred
thousand unlocks, or about one hundred and fifty unlocks a
day for five years. Yeah, sounds about right.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
So secure as our fingerprint sensors have been in the past,
so feel really confident about people using it for any use,
Education's payment. It also be the fastest fingerprint sensor or
on display fingerprint sensor in the market.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Now about that all important camera. The one plus sixty
has a very capable camera, and I'm really harsh on
this aspect of phones. To me, a good camera is
the most important feature on any device, especially if you
have kids. You want to capture their life and yours
in the best possible way without a lot of fuss.
The one plus sixty camera accomplishes this a large majority
of the time. You're going to get a great shot
(05:16):
in many cases the first time around. Now it's not
as full proof as say the pixel, but then again,
no other camera I've ever tested is. I really like
the way the one plus pictures look overall. The only
sticking point for me is how it captures action. Sometimes
movements can sometimes be blurred, and also pictures are not
quite as clear as the pixel when you zoom in.
But I'm being really nitpicky here. These are things that
(05:38):
ninety nine point nine percent of people will not notice
or care about. Bottom line, it's a great camera, fun,
fast and easy to use. The video it's taking this
time around looks better than ever and the Selfies blow Away,
which you get on Samsung's latest devices. And there's also
this new feature called night.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Moode and so it's based on software algorithms in terms
of stabilization, where basically to capture more images in low light,
especially in city scape settings. And so I think it'll
be relatively seamless. So you switch to the feature in
night settings and you'll capture photo where basically ten multi
frame fots, well we capture at night, no one merge
(06:15):
them together to capture an accurate, natural picture and kind
of what your eye is seen.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Now, I tested out night Mode against the Pixel three
and the iPhone ten s from the balcony of my
New York City hotel room. And which phone took the
best shot. Well, it's a toss up between the Pixel
three and the one plus sixty iPhone not even in
the race. You can see the results for yourself on
my website, rich on tech dot tv or just check
the show notes for the link. Now, there are some
caveats here. First, the one plus sixty did take kind
(06:42):
of a long time to shoot the picture. It tells
you to hold the camera steady while it captures. But
for this reason, the feature only works with landscapes like
a city view. It doesn't work with anything that's moving,
so if people are in the shot, probably not going
to work out. My pixel has not gotten its upgrade
to Google's version of the same feature, which they're calling
night Site. Now I have a feeling Googles is going
to be pretty good just based on some of the
samples I've seen online. Now let's go back to the
(07:04):
one plus software. It is nearly perfect, and if users
do find a bug, it will be fixed in an
update or two. One plus talks about how they have
an entire team dedicated to keeping the device fast and smooth,
and it shows it seems like even Google can learn
a thing or two from one plus about how to
optimize Android software. Users tell me their one plus device
is rarely slow down, even after a few years of use.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, so we actually are. We're proud that we support
devices for two years of software updates and an additional
year for security updates. Also based on our user base,
we were the quickest to actually introduce Google's Android P
into the market forty five days after it launched, and
our new device, one plus sixty will be launching with
Android PI.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Now there are two major downsides to the new one
plus sixty. The first is the lack of a headphone jack.
This is the first one plus device to ditch that feature.
It's not a deal breaker, as pretty much every other
company besides Samsung and LG have done the same, and
they probably will in the future, but it would have
been nice to have on there.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
So obviously for us, it's a bit about balance in
terms of deciding how which where we use space on
the device in our screen alog feature we believe is
significant improvement that people will enjoy now.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
The other big feature the one plus sixt T doesn't
have is wireless charging. But I'll be honest, I'm not
a huge fan of wireless charging. Sure it's fun to
have in a pinch when you're at the airport and
you can just put your phone on one of those
little stands or at Starbucks, but I'm not sure it's
ever better than charging with a plug, which I think
is faster and more full proof. I will admit I
have gotten used to laying my phone on my desk
at work on a wireless charging pad just to sort
(08:33):
of keep it topped off during the day, but I
could easily do without this feature, especially in the case
of the one plus sixt which has a really fast
wired charging system. So there you have it, most everything
you need to know about the one plus sixty. My
recommendation if you want a great Android phone with lots
of screen and nearly all the features you need, just
go ahead and get it. The Pixel three is obviously
(08:54):
my top top choice for a camera on a phone,
but the rest of the phone is kind of boring
and it's way more expensive. Song is great if you
want the best screen available on a phone plus every
single smartphone feature known to mankind. Now, earlier I said
this device was a turning point for the company, and
here is why. For starters, Tea Mobile will be selling
the device in its stores. This is the first time
in history you can walk into pretty much any T
(09:15):
Mobile store nationwide and pick up a one plus. That
alone is huge for the company, But I'm also predicting
that T Mobile employees, many of whom are very tech savvy,
are going to start recommending this thing in droves due
to the incredible combination of features and price, and I
think the feedback they're going to get from customers is
going to be fantastic. So that means a lot of
(09:36):
people are going to start buying this phone, and I
doubt that anyone is going to return it because they're
unhappy with the performance. It's going to be a rock
star right now. Tea Mobile is doing a limited time
offer where you can trade in a wide variety of
smartphones for three hundred dollars towards the one plus sixty,
which brings the price down to a mere two hundred
and eighty dollars. That means a lot of folks can
actually live without a smartphone payment at this price. One
(09:58):
thing to know about the Team Mobile deal. The one
plus phone that you get from them is slightly different.
It will not easily work with two lines or with
other carriers, But if that's not a concern to you
and you're going to stick to T Mobile, then get
it there for the great price. Now on the flip side,
this is the first time a one plus device will
work on the Verizon network. Previously it only worked on
T Mobile and AT and T, so this now opens
(10:20):
the device up to millions and millions of potential new customers.
Keep in mind, Verizon will not be selling the device,
you will not find it in their stores. But if
you want the Verizon compatibility, you'll have to purchase it
direct from one plus. It starts at five hundred and
fifty dollars for a model with one hundred and twenty
eight gigabytes of storage, which is plenty. Bottom line, what
one plus is doing excites me because it is the
(10:41):
right thing for consumers. I see so many people buying
phones that are too expensive and they have this payment forever,
or if they're too cheap, the phones come with a
bunch of trade offs and terrible performance. The one plus
sixty is a solid choice for an Android device, and
even the snobbyiest cell phone person will admit it. Thanks
so much for listening. If you like the show, please
share it with your friends. Take a screenshot of your
(11:02):
podcast player and post it to social media that's Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram Stories and let your friends know how much you
enjoy listening and learning from it. That's the best thanks
you can give me. And for more about the one
plus sixty go to Rich on Tech not TV or
check the show notes. I'm Rich, d'miro I'll talk to
you real soon.
The one Plus sixty is now available, and for under
three hundred dollars, you can get a phone that rivals
even the best devices from Google and Samsung. What's going on.
I'm Rich Demiro and this is Rich on Tech. Okay,
so full disclosure. The one plus sixty doesn't actually cost
under three hundred dollars per se, but you can get
it for that price if you trade in your current
(00:24):
phone through T Mobile. It's an incredible deal for a
phone that gives you a lot of what you need
with nearly none of the annoyances that come with other
Android devices at every price point. Recently, I caught up
with Kyle Jung, general manager of one plus, to talk
about the company, the new device, and some of the
design decisions they made. Let's start with the basics. The
one plus sixty features a giant six point four in screen,
(00:46):
the latest Android P software, along with some special tricks
That one plus adds touol cameras on the back and
in a first for the US, a fingerprint reader on
the screen. It's pretty cool. The device retails for five
hundred and fifty dollars unlocked, which lets you use it
on major US carriers, including T Mobile, Verizon, and AT
and T. I'll get more into the carrier thing in
(01:07):
a bit, but first, if you're wondering who the heck
one Plus is, here you go.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
One Plus is a smartphone company that was started about
five years ago that made phones for smartphone enthusiasts and
the people that are most passionate about technology. We take
a little bit of a different approach, and now we
believe we make the best phones in the market for
the most demanding users.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
All of that is true. I remember the first time
I saw a one plus phone, and it was in
an uber in San Francisco. Now I'm a guy who
regularly tests just about every phone that's out there, and
the one Plus is a great looking device. I sort
of discounted it in the early days because it was
tricky to get due to their weird invite system, and
early models did have some major trade offs like no
NFC which enables tap to pay, or a camera that
(01:48):
just didn't compete with the big boys. But the thing
early fans liked it was one of the first phones
to deliver a so called pure Android experience, not stock
since one Plus does add their own tough U but
it wasn't as heavy handed as Samsung or LG.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Our entire company is focused on making a singular product.
Everything that goes into it, the hardware of the software,
everything that goes into that experience, and so I think
that makes us a bit different than other companies. As
we've made more and more products, more and more people
learning about them. The most demanding users in tech have
vouch for us and helped spread the word. And at
this point now when you look at the best rated
phones anywhere, we're now at the top of the list
(02:25):
of those ratings.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
This brings us to the one plus user. You often
hear the company talk about how they are a community
of their users, and this is also true. You have
people buying these phones that expect a lot. Let's be honest,
a lot of them are power users.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I think our users are the most demanding and knowledgable
and technology, and so they expect a lot of us,
and we get a lot of feedback from our users.
They have a close relationship with us. We know a
lot of them personally and we get their feedback. They
test our products early and often, but at the same time,
we believe they helped make our products better and also
they've helped us spread the word in reaching other people
on learning about one plus The.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
One plus sixty represents a major turning point for the company.
Not only does it have a feature that should get
it noticed by the mainstream media, this futuristic looking fingerprint
reader in the screen, it's also the first time the
phone will be sold in a carrier store and available
to use on the Verizon network.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Really excited about the one plus six T. It follows
the approach we've taken in terms of we believe making
the best flagship best combination of hardware and software grave Craftsmanshift.
It also introduces several new pieces of technology that we
think people will be really excited about. One is a
feature we're calling screen Unlock, which is a fingerprint on
display which with a full screen, allows you to unlock
your device by pressing your thumb or finger on the screen,
(03:39):
unlocking the device in lower point three seconds. We think
it's a new feature that will be the first time
any phones had in the United States, and I think
people will be really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Now. I've been testing the one plus six T for
about a week now, and there is a lot to like.
In fact, i'd place it right next to the Google
Pixel three and the iPhone ten s as my top
choice is for a smartphone right now. The n screen
finger print reader is cool and it works, but it
does take some getting used to. I've used so many
fingerprint readers on the backside of phones. This is where
my finger naturally gravitates when I pick one up. But
(04:09):
it works, and the benefit is that you can use
it when your phone is laying flat, say on a
table or your desk at work.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So it's a sense of that basically sits on the
on the motherbard below the screen. When you press down lighten,
its up and captures your fingerprint. So but it'll happen
almost since taneously. We've actually been looking at for a
year and it was working, and we had on previous
devices to test, but it's reached a point where we
feel it matches our high level of user experience and
so we're excited about it.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
One plus told me they tested it for three hundred
thousand unlocks, or about one hundred and fifty unlocks a
day for five years. Yeah, sounds about right.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
So secure as our fingerprint sensors have been in the past,
so feel really confident about people using it for any use,
Education's payment. It also be the fastest fingerprint sensor or
on display fingerprint sensor in the market.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Now about that all important camera. The one plus sixty
has a very capable camera, and I'm really harsh on
this aspect of phones. To me, a good camera is
the most important feature on any device, especially if you
have kids. You want to capture their life and yours
in the best possible way without a lot of fuss.
The one plus sixty camera accomplishes this a large majority
of the time. You're going to get a great shot
(05:16):
in many cases the first time around. Now it's not
as full proof as say the pixel, but then again,
no other camera I've ever tested is. I really like
the way the one plus pictures look overall. The only
sticking point for me is how it captures action. Sometimes
movements can sometimes be blurred, and also pictures are not
quite as clear as the pixel when you zoom in.
But I'm being really nitpicky here. These are things that
(05:38):
ninety nine point nine percent of people will not notice
or care about. Bottom line, it's a great camera, fun,
fast and easy to use. The video it's taking this
time around looks better than ever and the Selfies blow Away,
which you get on Samsung's latest devices. And there's also
this new feature called night.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Moode and so it's based on software algorithms in terms
of stabilization, where basically to capture more images in low light,
especially in city scape settings. And so I think it'll
be relatively seamless. So you switch to the feature in
night settings and you'll capture photo where basically ten multi
frame fots, well we capture at night, no one merge
(06:15):
them together to capture an accurate, natural picture and kind
of what your eye is seen.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Now, I tested out night Mode against the Pixel three
and the iPhone ten s from the balcony of my
New York City hotel room. And which phone took the
best shot. Well, it's a toss up between the Pixel
three and the one plus sixty iPhone not even in
the race. You can see the results for yourself on
my website, rich on tech dot tv or just check
the show notes for the link. Now, there are some
caveats here. First, the one plus sixty did take kind
(06:42):
of a long time to shoot the picture. It tells
you to hold the camera steady while it captures. But
for this reason, the feature only works with landscapes like
a city view. It doesn't work with anything that's moving,
so if people are in the shot, probably not going
to work out. My pixel has not gotten its upgrade
to Google's version of the same feature, which they're calling
night Site. Now I have a feeling Googles is going
to be pretty good just based on some of the
samples I've seen online. Now let's go back to the
(07:04):
one plus software. It is nearly perfect, and if users
do find a bug, it will be fixed in an
update or two. One plus talks about how they have
an entire team dedicated to keeping the device fast and smooth,
and it shows it seems like even Google can learn
a thing or two from one plus about how to
optimize Android software. Users tell me their one plus device
is rarely slow down, even after a few years of use.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, so we actually are. We're proud that we support
devices for two years of software updates and an additional
year for security updates. Also based on our user base,
we were the quickest to actually introduce Google's Android P
into the market forty five days after it launched, and
our new device, one plus sixty will be launching with
Android PI.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Now there are two major downsides to the new one
plus sixty. The first is the lack of a headphone jack.
This is the first one plus device to ditch that feature.
It's not a deal breaker, as pretty much every other
company besides Samsung and LG have done the same, and
they probably will in the future, but it would have
been nice to have on there.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
So obviously for us, it's a bit about balance in
terms of deciding how which where we use space on
the device in our screen alog feature we believe is
significant improvement that people will enjoy now.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
The other big feature the one plus sixt T doesn't
have is wireless charging. But I'll be honest, I'm not
a huge fan of wireless charging. Sure it's fun to
have in a pinch when you're at the airport and
you can just put your phone on one of those
little stands or at Starbucks, but I'm not sure it's
ever better than charging with a plug, which I think
is faster and more full proof. I will admit I
have gotten used to laying my phone on my desk
at work on a wireless charging pad just to sort
(08:33):
of keep it topped off during the day, but I
could easily do without this feature, especially in the case
of the one plus sixt which has a really fast
wired charging system. So there you have it, most everything
you need to know about the one plus sixty. My
recommendation if you want a great Android phone with lots
of screen and nearly all the features you need, just
go ahead and get it. The Pixel three is obviously
(08:54):
my top top choice for a camera on a phone,
but the rest of the phone is kind of boring
and it's way more expensive. Song is great if you
want the best screen available on a phone plus every
single smartphone feature known to mankind. Now, earlier I said
this device was a turning point for the company, and
here is why. For starters, Tea Mobile will be selling
the device in its stores. This is the first time
in history you can walk into pretty much any T
(09:15):
Mobile store nationwide and pick up a one plus. That
alone is huge for the company, But I'm also predicting
that T Mobile employees, many of whom are very tech savvy,
are going to start recommending this thing in droves due
to the incredible combination of features and price, and I
think the feedback they're going to get from customers is
going to be fantastic. So that means a lot of
(09:36):
people are going to start buying this phone, and I
doubt that anyone is going to return it because they're
unhappy with the performance. It's going to be a rock
star right now. Tea Mobile is doing a limited time
offer where you can trade in a wide variety of
smartphones for three hundred dollars towards the one plus sixty,
which brings the price down to a mere two hundred
and eighty dollars. That means a lot of folks can
actually live without a smartphone payment at this price. One
(09:58):
thing to know about the Team Mobile deal. The one
plus phone that you get from them is slightly different.
It will not easily work with two lines or with
other carriers, But if that's not a concern to you
and you're going to stick to T Mobile, then get
it there for the great price. Now on the flip side,
this is the first time a one plus device will
work on the Verizon network. Previously it only worked on
T Mobile and AT and T, so this now opens
(10:20):
the device up to millions and millions of potential new customers.
Keep in mind, Verizon will not be selling the device,
you will not find it in their stores. But if
you want the Verizon compatibility, you'll have to purchase it
direct from one plus. It starts at five hundred and
fifty dollars for a model with one hundred and twenty
eight gigabytes of storage, which is plenty. Bottom line, what
one plus is doing excites me because it is the
(10:41):
right thing for consumers. I see so many people buying
phones that are too expensive and they have this payment forever,
or if they're too cheap, the phones come with a
bunch of trade offs and terrible performance. The one plus
sixty is a solid choice for an Android device, and
even the snobbyiest cell phone person will admit it. Thanks
so much for listening. If you like the show, please
share it with your friends. Take a screenshot of your
(11:02):
podcast player and post it to social media that's Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram Stories and let your friends know how much you
enjoy listening and learning from it. That's the best thanks
you can give me. And for more about the one
plus sixty go to Rich on Tech not TV or
check the show notes. I'm Rich, d'miro I'll talk to
you real soon.
Host
Rich DeMuro
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Dateline NBC
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