Leaning toward the OnePlus 6 over the Samsung S9 plus

[Darrell KSR]

Let me just ramble a bit, and maybe typing this here will make this clearer for me.

Total cost not much different, despite what is touted (at least for me). It's not "half the price," which would make it a no-brainer for sure.

OnePlus 6, 8GB RAM/256GB storage, plus prime bundle = $708.69. I know the 8GB Ram really isn't used right now, but what about in two years? Remember, I hold onto these things forever. I'm still using my Galaxy S5.

It's also the only one that has 256 GB storage....the 128 GB storage are the 6GB Ram models. And at only $50 extra, seems a no-brainer. The OnePlus 6 does not have a micro-SD card capability, so whatever you buy, you're stuck with. I currently have 162 apps on my phone, and use photos a lot in various forms, including screenshots and such, so I'm concerned about having enough space for years to come. Of course, I have a lowly 16GB storage phone with a 64GB card, and I'm not full up--yet--so maybe 128GB would be fine. But as I said, for $50 more, it seems a no-brainer.

Galaxy S9 plus = $840. (Of course, I have to buy a case for it, and that needs to be added as well, and where I'll buy it I'll have to pay tax, so that's another $85. So say $940 roughly. But at least there, I can mostly pay for it through my normal cell phone bill interest-free, so my immediate out of pocket is probably about $225 (IIRC, you have to pay all the tax up from, plus a down payment, plus the case.)

The reason I am preferring OnePlus 6 is mainly this. It is cleaner from an OS standpoint. My Samsungs, although good phones, all tend to "lag" over time. OnePlus 6 has a definitive maintenance schedule for the next two years, will get updates faster, and 3 years of guaranteed security updates every 2 months. Plus they run a streamlined Oxygen OS that is zippy-fast, loads the essentials of apps super quick. It is second only to the iPhone X in benchmark tests (and I am absolutely wed to android, so it's the fastest thing I can get).

Now, there are a lot of things I like about the S9 Plus more. Dual speakers. Better camera (with some quibbles there, such as the OnePlus 6 doing better at action photos, which is still sorta important to me, even with a phone camera). I do like some of the goofy Samsung apps (such as their health app), although I can easily live without them. The curved screen seems better. Slightly bigger battery (although some debate over whether it truly has better battery liv
fe or not). Wireless charging, which the OnePlus 6 does not have (although the OnePlus 6 has an industry-leading fast charger, 60% in 30 minutes super-quick, 100% in just over an hour, and mostly with the screen on). The telephoto lens...I guess I'd prefer that than not to have it, but a 2x telephoto lens isn't really all that great. Has a dual aperture thing on the camera, too. Samsung is ip68 rated, so drop it in a toilet, it works. Not guaranteed with the OnePlus 6, which isn't rated at all, although described as splash-resistant, etc., and I've seen videos of it being held under a running water faucet.

On the whole, I think both are fine choices. But for me, since I'm not a big music guy (speakers don't hold that much value to me), and since I'm not terribly concerned about super-duper quality of camera in my phone, I THINK my pedantic, business-like self prefers the one I think will be the better business workhorse for me for the next 4 years, and I think that's probably the OnePlus 6.

Tomorrow I will probably go buy the S9 Plus lol.

Any last minute thoughts?

[Darrell KSR]

Fwiw, the OnePlus 6 has been incredible. I did not get the bundle, but I did get the 8gb, 256 gb storage. The glorious lack of bloatware has been blissful, and saving probably close to $250 made the deal.