OnePlus has to be admired for its rapid pace of innovation, and iteration, with its smartphones. Aside from a small hiccup with the low-priced OnePlus X, the company has only ever sold one phone at a time — and in the last few generations, it has decided to move to a six-month refresh cycle. That means you're always getting the latest and greatest technology, provided you're willing to regularly upgrade — and at the very least, you get to see what OnePlus has in mind with a new product twice a year.
This is the latest crop of OnePlus phones you should know about.
OnePlus 6
Released May 2018 The OnePlus 6 is another winner. At just $529, it can challenge all of the big name phones for hundreds of dollars less. It has all of the top-end specs you expect, plus lots of nice-to-have features like a big display, long battery life and a headphone jack. The glass body has a bit more class than previous OnePlus phones, and feels like it's worth far more than you paid.
Between a new camera hardware setup and more advanced image processing from the new processor, OnePlus actually took a big step up in overall camera quality as well. Low light photos are much better than even the OnePlus 5T, and that's on top of daylight shots that challenge some of the best cameras available today.
You can get so much phone for hundreds less than the big-name competition — that's why it's worth looking at a OnePlus 6.
OnePlus 5T
Released November 2017 OnePlus is amazingly aggressive about releasing a new phone every six months or so, and it stops selling the previous model immediately. But that also means there's still a robust market for refurbished and used versions of the previous phone — in this case, the OnePlus 5T. If you don't want to fork out the $550+ for a OnePlus 6, you can get a lot of the same experience from the 5T for about $150-200 less.
The OnePlus 5T still feels like a very modern phone, and has the exact same software experience as the OnePlus 6 with a long runway for software updates ahead of it. It has a big, tall display with top-notch specs inside and solid battery life. The cameras aren't quite as good as the OnePlus 6, but they're respectable for this price point.
When shopping for a refurbished or used model, just be sure to read the description carefully and only buy from a reputable source — also remember you won't be getting a warranty with the purchase. But to save some money and still get a great phone, it may be worth it.
Update, July 2018: The OnePlus 6 is the only phone sold new by OnePlus, and so it gets the top spot. We've left the 5T in for an honorable mention because it's still a good phone and a more affordable one used or refurbished.
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