OnePlus may be a company known for crafting phones with premium specs and affordable prices but that doesn’t mean it can’t bust loose once in a while. And nothing says busting loose like a partnership with one of the fastest and most recognizable Formula One car makers in the world, McLaren.
In true McLaren fashion, the Speed Orange OnePlus 6T is a glorious testament to over-the-top performance and power. While the design and specs are mostly the same as the standard edition of the phone, there are some key additions that will surely turn heads:
- The phone has orange ring around the bottom of the black back with a carbon fiber pattern to mimic the iconic P1. It also prominently features the McLaren name below the OnePlus logo.
- The power adapter is 30W instead of 20W and has orange accents.
- The charging cable is orange.
- It has 10GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
OnePlus
The OnePlus 6T McLaren edition comes with an orange racing stripe.
Most users will never notice 10GB of RAM versus 8GB of RAM on the previous top-of-the-line 6T or even 6GB on the entry-level model, but OnePlus is basically giving enthusiasts what they want: the most memory in a phone. Ten gigs of RAM is way more than anyone could ever need in a smartphone, but it gives OnePlus bragging rights—the Speed Orange 6T actually has more RAM than the $1,250 Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Is it overkill? Sure. Do I want one? Absolutely.
But while the RAM is the headline feature here, the best reason to buy the OnePlus McLaren edition is something far less sexy: the plug. With a 30W charger, the phone takes advantage of OnePlus’ new Warp charging tech, which can fill up half of the McLaren 6T’s 3,700mAh battery 30 percent faster than when using Fast Charge on the other 6T models. Or to put it another way: The McLaren 6T can go from 0 to 50 percent in just 20 minutes.
Of course, all that cutting-edge power comes at a price. The OnePlus 6T Speed Orange edition will cost $699, $70 more than the Midnight Black model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The McLaren 6T is certainly cheaper than other luxury car crossover phones (like the Mate 20 Porsche Edition and the Oppo Find X Lamborghini Edition), but it’s a lot for a OnePlus phone, and pretty soon we’re going to have to start questioning what affordable really means. OnePlus CEO Pete Launches said the new 6T represents “the start of an exciting partnership with McLaren,” so we can probably except to see future OnePlus phones with the branding, likely with similarly excessive specs and higher prices.
The OnePlus 6T McLaren in Speed Orange will be available on Thursday, December 13 for $699 through OnePlus.com.
[PCWorld is giving away a OnePlus 6T in Midnight Black with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage]
Why this matters: OnePlus is having something of a breakout year. Not only does the OnePlus 6T have premium specs, it’s the company’s best designed phones and is one of the first to feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. Plus it’s being sold in T-Mobile stores, giving the handset visibility like never before. The Speed Orange variant will likely sell out quickly, but most importantly, it gives OnePlus bragging rights and a cool factor you won’t find on any other phone.