OnePlus Nord 6 First Impressions

Over the decades, OnePlus Nord has created a niche for itself by trying to bring ‘the company’s flagship experience back to broader price-point — even below R-branded models. The expectations have also increased, however, with each generation of . This especially applies to an industry where mid-end devices from other brands are increasingly reducing the gap with premium products.

The OnePlus Nord 6 comes in this context, taking inspiration from the brand’s flagship phone. Most notable is the clean lines and the square-shaped camera module, which replaces the pill-like layout we saw on the Nord 5. Certainly, it is a welcome change that not only makes the rear design easier but also reduces wobble when you put the phone on flat surfaces. In the deco itself, it appears to have an aluminium finish, which subtly contrasts with that of the rest of its rear panel.

The Nord 6 has been launched in three colourways by OnePlus Holographic Quick Silver, Fresh Mint and Pitch Black. Our Quick Silver variant is the most visually unique of the lot.

It’s a subtle holographic treatment with. ribbon-like pattern that runs through the back panel, giving it clingypunk appeal to cyberpank fans. This element also extends around the camera module as well. A variation in pattern is slightly varying depending on how light hits the surface, giving the rear panel an almost reflective look. I used for the first few days. The finish did not pick up fingerprints in my initial usage time. It has a matte glass finish that is smooth to the touch and an aluminum frame made of polycarbonate, while the rear panel uses.

While the phone feels pretty good in hand, it is quite hefty (perhaps because its massive battery of 9,999mAh) and perhaps due to some weight. Depending on port and button placement, the power and volume buttons are placed at right side of the frame (in terms of port/button position), while the Plus Key sits left. The dual-SIM tray, USB Type-C port, primary microphone and speaker grille are located at the bottom edge of the ; further microphones and the IR blaster sit along the top edge.

One key area where the brand has introduced a major upgrade is durability. Unlike its predecessor, the Nord 6 has an IP66 + IP68 +IP69 + IRC69K-rated build for dust and water resistance, a step up from its original with an ID65 rating.

OnePlus Nord 6 1 on the front, . The refresh rate of 165Hz 5K AMOLED screen is 5 K A MOLED. Compared to the flagship OnePlus 15, refresh rate and display resolution numbers are the same. It is a typical OnePlus display with vibrant colours and good black levels, although we can’t give much details but from the initial impressions it has been. After long usage we’ll look at its colour accuracy and brightness behaviour.

The Nord 6 is a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset under the hood, with an Adreno 835 GPU. It claims up to 136 percent CPU performance, 64 per cent better GPU performance and 25 percent higher AI performance with an AnTuTU score of 2,503,854 in terms of its A-list. Furthermore it is marketed to deliver sustained 165fps in popular titles such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Call of Duty Mobile and Free Fire Max. When we run our standard benchmark tests and extended usage scenarios, it will be clearer in real life.

The Nord 6 has been a dual rear camera unit for photography, with OnePlus’s 50-megapixel Sony Lytia primary camera (with 2x zoom and dual-axis optical image stabilisation) and an 8-MP ultra-wide-angle camera that is available in the US. For the very short time we’ve been with the handset, it captures natural-looking photos without much artificial processing. If additional test results in image quality and consistency across lighting conditions, further testing will be analyzed in detail.

The most notable upgrade on the Nord series, perhaps ever since, is Battery (along with its predecessor), or a . It features a large cell phone (9,000mAh) the largest on any OnePlus smartphone launched in India to date, . Support The phone supports 80W SuperVOOC wired fast charging and 27W wires reverse charging. With the numbers alone, it should be a two-day period with moderate usage. If I take a long time to use battery endurance and charging behaviour, it will be clearer.

In terms of our initial impressions, the OnePlus Nord 6 seems to be building on the series’ strengths and is adding some meaningful improvements (especially in design and durability) with particular emphasis. Another notable addition on paper is the larger battery, which also features in a prominent manner. Nevertheless, how well do these changes work beyond first impressions will only be clear in our full review of them. So, so stay tuned on .