What does the OnePlus 5T have in store for us? We'll find out soon!
The OnePlus 5 may not have stirred as much interest as previous OnePlus devices, but it has proven to be a solid handset with plenty to like — especially at its $479 starting price.
But as OnePlus did with the OnePlus 3T, released just five months after the OnePlus 3, the company is readying a quick successor to its latest flagship, aptly titled the OnePlus 5T.
This year, though, things may be different: OnePlus is expected to launch a new phone with roughly the same specs but a very different design, eschewing bezels and capacitive keys for the trend of the year — an all-screen front.
Care to learn more? Let's round up what we know about the OnePlus 5T so far.
A design to remember
This is going to be the most drastic design change to the OnePlus line ever.
The OnePlus 5 looked a little different from the OnePlus 3 line — mostly in a good way — but it was pretty generic, a big black slab of metal and glass with a front fingerprint sensor and big bezels surrounding the 5.5-inch 1080p display.
With the OnePlus 5T, the company is going in a new direction — well, new for OnePlus — with an all-screen front and an updated design. While the OnePlus 5 was already considerably rounder than any of its predecessors, the OnePlus 5T takes that to the logical next step, bringing the screen closer than ever to those rounded aluminum corners. It's a 6-inch screen with a 2:1 aspect ratio, with a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels.
In a set of leaked images from Weibo (above) we see the front of the OnePlus 5T — and its cool-looking new launcher — along with a render of the phone's back, replete with new fingerprint sensor placement.
Thanks to Evan Blass, we can see the top half of the OnePlus 5T's front, replete with rounded corners on both the metal and the OLED panel itself.
Of course, with the 6-inch screen taking up most of the phone's front, the fingerprint sensor has to go somewhere — so it's moving to the back, right above the OnePlus logo.
Aside from the new fingerprint sensor, the phone's rear isn't expected to look much different to the OnePlus 5: all-metal (so no wireless charging) with a logo just above the middle and a dual camera setup on the left side.
Android Authority received a nice render of the OnePlus 5T showing off its larger 6-inch display, rounded aluminum corners, and bottom-firing speaker.
Oh, look! It's five cups of... http://pic.twitter.com/vWWWxyiUuf
— OnePlus (@oneplus) November 1, 2017
Finally, how do we know it's called the OnePlus 5T? Well, OnePlus basically confirmed it in a tweet. Not exactly subtle, guys.
OnePlus 5T specs
The OnePlus 5T, aside from having a larger 6-inch screen in a new 2:1 aspect ratio, is expected to have similar specs to its predecessor: a Snapdragon 835, 6GB to 8GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of storage, a 3300mAh+ battery, and a dual camera setup.
But it's that camera setup that also may get a nice boost: GSMArena is reporting a dual 20MP setup (up from a 16MP primary sensor and secondary 20MP sensor on the OnePlus 5) with an upgraded Æ’/1.6 lens for the main, along with the same Æ’/2.6 for the secondary telephoto sensor.
We may also see a slight bump in battery capacity: the same leak points to a 3,450mAh battery in the OnePlus 5T.
Here's what we know so far:
| Category | Spec |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 8.0 Oreo |
| Display | 6-inch AMOLED, 2160x1080 (402 ppi) 2:1 aspect ratio Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core 2.45GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 540 |
| RAM | 6/8GB LPDDR4X |
| Storage | 64/128GB UFS 2.1 |
| Expandable | No |
| Battery | 3450mAh |
| Charging | USB-C Dash Charge |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Water resistance | No |
| Rear Camera 1 | 20MP, f/1.6 |
| Rear Camera 2 | 20MP, f/2.6 |
| Front Camera | tbd |
| Security | Rear one-touch fingerprint sensor |
| SIM | Dual Nano SIM |
It's pretty safe to conclude that the OnePlus 5T won't be waterproof, nor that it will have wireless charging. What we don't yet know is whether OnePlus made any other major changes, like an upgraded front-facing camera, or a higher-quality OLED display.
A new camera
As mentioned above, the OnePlus 5T is expected to have an upgraded camera system over the OnePlus 5. We liked what we saw in many of the photos in that phone, but it definitely let us down in low light situations — hopefully this new one will rectify that problem.
Cool photo, must have come from a great camera 😉 http://pic.twitter.com/DyiULnyTYN
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) October 25, 2017
OnePlus co-founder teased the new camera in a tweet, remarking that it "must have come from a great camera."
It has a headphone jack
The number of flagship phones with headphone jacks is dwindling every year, so OnePlus wants to reassure its user base that it isn't part of the trend.
OnePlus CEO, Pete Lau, actually took to the company's very popular forums to talk about how the headphone jack, and high audio quality in general, is a high priority with the OnePlus 5T.
Wireless audio technology has a lot of potential. And if you prefer wireless headphones, our flagships have excellent Bluetooth capability for this choice. But our goal from the beginning has been to bring better technology to the world. That's why we prioritize the user and make good technology accessible.
Sometimes, industry trends go against our core beliefs. This is one of those times when we respectfully disagree on what it means to be courageous. That's why we're proud to announce that we're keeping the headphone jack for the OnePlus 5T – and confident that our product decisions for our upcoming device will offer the best flagship experience possible.
There you go. The OnePlus 5T will have a headphone jack.
Launching with Oreo
We've already seen the OnePlus 3 and 3T receive beta versions of Android 8.0 Oreo, so it's safe to assume that the OnePlus 5T will launch with Android's latest delicious flavor.
Based on the existing beta, we shouldn't expect any drastic changes to the overall design of the UI — OnePlus likes to hew as close to stock Android as possible — but it should be relatively fast, lightweight, and have some excellent add-on features, like offscreen gestures, a nice, fast launcher, and plenty of customization options.
Price, launch date, and availability
The last thing we need to talk about is pricing and availability.
We're pretty sure that the OnePlus 5T will be slightly more expensive than its predecessor; OnePlus has increased pricing for every model since the OnePlus One in 2014. But how much more is the question? My educated guess is a $499 starting point for the 6GB/64GB base model, rising to $559 for the upgraded 8GB/128GB option. Expect an exclusive color in the more expensive model at first, too.
As for launch dates, we now have the official word: OnePlus will launch the 5T in Brooklyn, New York City on November 16. The event will be open to the public (for a $40 entrance fee, the proceeds of which will reportedly go to charity), and the phone will go on sale five days later — in North America and Europe, specifically — on November 21.
Your thoughts?
Is the OnePlus 5T enough of an upgrade for you? Or is OnePlus ridiculous for once again replacing its flagship less than six months after it debuted? Let us know in the comments below!
Update, November 6: This article was last updated with the latest OnePlus 5T info, including its New York City launch event. {.update}
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