Smart Boost on OnePlus 6T: Does it work as advertised?

There are a lot of flagship Android devices on the market today with high-end specs at different price points, but OnePlus’ flagship devices are second to none when it comes to performance. The OnePlus 6 launched earlier this year is a great smartphone in its own right, offering the best performance for its price, if not the best, and the recently launched OnePlus 6T is no exception.

The new OnePlus 6T builds on the legacy of the OnePlus 6 and claims to offer even better performance than its predecessor. The device has the same SoC and the same amount of RAM, but OnePlus says it introduces new software technology that improves app launch speeds by 5 to 20 percent.

OnePlus calls it Smart Boost and claims it utilizes system RAM to speed up app startup times and works best with frequently used apps that require large amounts of input/output data. The new Smart Boost technology is now being applied to many gaming apps, and OnePlus promises more compatibility, updates, and improvements in the near future.

All of this sounds pretty amazing (or maybe not, depending on who you ask), but it won’t make a difference unless app startup times are significantly improved. To test that, we compared app launch times on the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 6, and we didn’t find much of a noticeable difference in app launch times from a cold start.

To test the Smart Boost technology, we ran popular games like PUBG Mobile, Asfalt 9, and Shadowgun Legends, and in all cases the older OnePlus 6 was able to keep up with the OnePlus 6T. Watch the video below to see for yourself.

We don’t know much about the apps OnePlus has optimized for Smart Boost technology, so we don’t know if the feature works with the games we tested. However, OnePlus promises support for more apps, so you might notice a difference by the time this phone reaches users. As of now, the OnePlus 6T’s Smart Boost doesn’t seem to have any real impact on the app experience.