We only have some weeks between now and the official launch of OnePlus 6, at least according to the latest reports. The phone, which is expected to be one of the hottest in 2018, should be out in early May.

If you have plans to buy the new flagship killer, whether you are upgrading from the immediate predecessor, OnePlus 5T, the older OnePlus 5, OnePlus 3T or even the two-year-old OnePlus 3, you are right to be a little skeptical about OnePlus 6.

OnePlus is no longer the undisputed king of the premium midrange segment. Players like Huawei’s Honor, Asus, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and even Nokia are doing an impressive job in this segment too, which easily leaves you spoilt for choice. So, just in case your head got turned by the impressive, yet affordable Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, maybe you feel like trying the Vivo V9 and all of its camera tricks, Nokia 7 Plus and Android One have suddenly become attractive, or you have recently developed a thing for Huawei and think the Honor View 10 or even the Honor 10 is worth a try, here are some reasons we think OnePlus 6 still deserves your attention and, maybe eventually, hard-earned money.

Faster performance

Just like OnePlus 5T and others before it, expect OnePlus 6 to be one hell of a monster when it comes to performance specs. Over the past two years, OnePlus has been using at least 6GB RAM on its phones, but we all know the 6 will get up to 8GB RAM, just like the 5T.

While there won’t be changes to the RAM, the faster performance of OnePlus 6 comes from the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. According to the American chip maker, the SDM845 is 20% faster than SDM835 and it’ll save you 30% more battery compared to the 5T. At peak, the SDM845 supports up to 1.2Gbps download speeds compared to 1Gbps of the SDM835, but of course, this will depend on what network speed your carrier supports.

Up to date software

OnePlus rolled out Android Oreo updates to OnePlus 3 and 3T before the end of 2017, making it one of the first to update its devices to the new OS. The company has also updated OnePlus 5 and 5T to Oreo 8.1, once again making it one of the few that have already upgraded their devices to the latest stable version available.

Besides rolling out timely software updates from Google, OnePlus also runs an Open Beta program that helps users of its devices enjoy up to date software. Here, the company can easily test the software in the real world (unlike others that do internal tests and then release the finished product) and roll out a stable update without any issues.

Value for money

OnePlus might no longer be the dominant player it was back in the years, but it’ll hardly fail to stand out, no matter the kind of competition you throw at it. With the upcoming OnePlus 6, although rumors say it might be a little costlier than OnePlus 5 and 5T (by now you should be used to this [smartphone prices generally increase annually]), you still score one of the best value for money.

Specs include a 6-inch QHD+ notched display screen, Snapdragon 845 processor, 6/8GB RAM, 64/128/256GB storage, Android 8.1 Oreo, dual-lens back camera, rear-mounted scanner, Face Unlock, and Dash Charge. All of this will be housed in a premium glass design, hence support for wireless charging. Cool huh!

According to GizmoChina, which claims to have had exclusive pricing info, OnePlus 6 will attract a fee of 3,299 Yuan for the base model, a small increase from 2,999 Yuan charged for the 5T’s base model. This figure translates to about $525 or about INR 35,000. As for the 128GB and 256GB storage variants, they’ll be priced at 3,799 Yuan and 4,399 Yuan, respectively. These translate to about $605 or INR 40,000 and $700 or INR 46,000.

Apple iPhone X-style design

Oppo R15Unlike around here, many people out there are fans of Apple’s iPhone X design that places a notch at the top of the display screen. This is why big-name companies like Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo have already adopted this design and OnePlus has also confirmed that OnePlus 6 will get the notch.

If you are a fan of the iPhone X-style design but you don’t like the iOS experience and the price of the phone also scares the hell out of you, OnePlus 6 could present an equally impressive alternative running our favorite mobile operating system.

Dust and water resistance

After years of calls, OnePlus has finally answered. OnePlus 6 will be the first from the company to come with a water-resistant body. The company has already confirmed this in a teaser, but we still don’t know what kind of rating (IP6X) it will get.

Nonetheless, the addition of this feature helps narrow the gap that has existed between OnePlus phones and the high-end offerings from the likes of Samsung, LG, and Sony.

A huge development community

Not like it has never existed before, but with each OnePlus device, the development community seems to grow bigger and it’s going to get even bigger with the launch of OnePlus 6. What this means is that you won’t be short of custom ROMs long after the company stops supporting OnePlus 6 software updates. This, in fact, is the reason some people are still enjoying their OnePlus 2 handsets that, for some reason, never got past Android Marshmallow.

So, what do you think about OnePlus 6? Are you buying it or you have other ideas? Let us know in your comments below.