OnePlus has picked September 26 as the official unveiling date for its next flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 7T. The company is hosting a “unique online reveal of the OnePlus 7T in North America” at 10:30am ET with a follow-up “OnePlus 7T Series Launch Event” happening in London on October 10.
OnePlus releases a new flagship smartphone about once every six months. March saw the company launch two models, the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro. The US lineup got a bit weird this year, with only the OnePlus 7 Pro launching in the US, and the older OnePlus 6T continuing to be sold in the US in lieu of the OnePlus 7. Read through that first paragraph again and it seems like OnePlus is suggesting that it’s sticking with the two-phone launch plan (the “OnePlus 7T “), and the cheaper OnePlus 7T will make it to North America this time (The “online reveal of the OnePlus 7T ).
The OnePlus 7 Pro is the best Android phone on the market right now. The six-month-old phone’s all-screen design, pop-up camera, and silky smooth 90Hz OLED display is something most manufacturers still can’t match at any price point, and delivering it all for $670 makes it hard to consider any of the higher-priced alternatives in the flagship arena. The cheaper OnePlus 7, which, again, didn’t come to the US, continued the design of the 2018 OnePlus 6T, just with the internals upgraded with a new SoC.
Typically the mid-cycle “T” updates from OnePlus are relatively minor compared to major releases that come at the beginning of the year. If OnePlus sticks to the usual plan, expect a “OnePlus 7T Pro” that is heavily based on the OnePlus 7 Pro. The cheaper phone is still new territory for OnePlus, but since it recycled the 2018 design, it would make sense to see some changes. A render of the OnePlus 7T from OnLeaks shows the same front design as the 6T, but with a new, triple-camera setup on the back, housed in a circular camera module. OnLeaks also managed to put together a spec sheet for both phones. Highlights include the newer Snapdragon 855+ SoC that debuted a few months ago, the 90Hz display coming to the cheaper OnePlus 7T, 20 percent faster charging, and an update to the newly released Android 10. It appears the two biggest flaws of the OnePlus 7 Pro, the lack of wireless charging and the lack of an always-on ambient display, will not be addressed.
As we mentioned, OnePlus has been playing strange availability games with the US lately. After withholding the OnePlus 7 from the US in March, for this release there is a rumor that the standard OnePlus 7T Pro won’t make it to American shores. Supposedly the US will only see the cheaper OnePlus 7T and a 5G mmWave version of the OnePlus 7T Pro, with 4G version of the 7T Pro available everywhere else. 5G mmWave networks barely exist right now, and the first-gen hardware is grossly unoptimized and power hungry, so you do not want to buy a 5G phone. If the rumors are true, the US will be missing out on the best version of OnePlus’ flagship.
The silver lining for the 5G version is that we might get a new entry for the list of ridiculously long Android smartphone names. OnePlus is rumored to be going with the incredible title of “OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition,” a full-and-meaty 13 syllables. If this rumor pans out, OnePlus’ wordsmiths would best previous high marks set by devices like the “LG V50 Thin Q 5G” and the legendary “Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch.”
Anyway, check back on the 26th.
