OnePlus 7T preview: Everything we know so far

When will the OnePlus 7T be out?

It’s official: the OnePlus 7T series will be unveiled shortly. The company has announced a trio of events that comprise the overall rollout.

North America and India will get the first glance at the series on 26 September, but OnePlus will unveil more details during a London event at the Magazine London Theater on 10 October. We’re expecting to see the phone release very soon thereafter.

Leaker Max J. suggests that the OnePlus 7T Pro will not release in the United States. Last time, only the OnePlus 7 Pro hit the States, not the standard OnePlus 7, and now it sounds like only the OnePlus 7T will release there this time around.

How much will the OnePlus 7T cost?

We haven’t heard any solid rumours about the OnePlus 7T’s price just yet, but if we had to guess, it shouldn’t vary much – if at all – from the OnePlus 7.

The standard OnePlus 7 starts at £499 while the Pro weighs in at £649+… and with the various enhancements rumoured for the OnePlus 7T, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the price into the £500+ range. We’ll have to wait and see on that front.

OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau suggested to CNET that the new OnePlus phone will be cheaper than the OnePlus 7 Pro… but that would still make sense if he’s just talking about a OnePlus 7T, not necessarily a 7T Pro model.

What will the OnePlus 7T look like?

The OnePlus 7T looks like this! Well, at least from the back. OnePlus took a cue from Google this time and decided to show off its phone ahead of the official reveal event.

As the blue renders show, the new core OnePlus model has a big circular back module with a trio of cameras, matching the array from the OnePlus 7 Pro albeit with a different kind of design. We haven’t officially seen the front, however, but concept renders on this page (which were pretty close on the backing design) suggest that the same waterdrop-style notch will remain intact on the OnePlus 7T.

Meanwhile, purported leaked photos on this page come from Slashleaks, and claim to show the OnePlus 7T Pro inside the kind of protective casing we tend to see from pre-release test phones. Of course, it looks completely identical to the OnePlus 7 Pro, so… either it’s the OnePlus 7 Pro, or we truly aren’t seeing major changes to the 7T Pro design.

OnLeaks/91Mobiles concept renders below give a better look at what to expect from the OnePlus 7T Pro, based on leaked specs… and yes, so far it looks identical. The model on the left is a mockup of a rumoured McLaren Edition, which would feature a carbon fibre backing and is sure to cost more.

What about the OnePlus 7T’s screen?

There’s no real reason to shake up the screens this time around. The OnePlus 7 Pro already has one of the absolute best displays on the market, thanks to its pairing of QHD+ clarity and the stunning 90Hz refresh rate.

The standard FHD+ OnePlus 7 screen isn’t as impressive, but it’s still great for a "budget flagship," and one of the best in that price range. However, leaker Max J. from Samsung News suggests that OnePlus may bump the size up to 6.55in – and bring 90Hz to the OnePlus 7T. It would still be at 1080p, but even so, that sounds like a big boost.

OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau tells CNET that acclaim and love for the 90Hz screen will see it brought to the company’s full flagship lineup: "The overwhelming positive feedback pushed us to bring 90Hz, which we believe will become standard on flagship phones, to our highly acclaimed premium lineup so that more people can experience the smooth scrolling display."

What does that mean? The OnePlus 7T will have a 90Hz screen, although it may well still arrive at 1080p resolution. And the focus on 90Hz in the initial OnePlus 7T marketing makes it seem almost certain that we’ll get 90Hz on both models this time around.

How much power will the OnePlus 7T pack?

Both OnePlus 7 models packed the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip, then the latest and greatest in Qualcomm’s flagship line… but now there’s a better chip about to drop.

The Snapdragon 855+ is, as you might deduce, a slightly upgraded version of the previous edition. We fully expect to see it in the OnePlus 7T, although we don’t anticipate that it will make much of a difference at all in everyday usage. After all, both OnePlus 7 models are already super speedy. Leaks are starting to point to the Snapdragon 855+, and we definitely think it’s coming.

The two images below were leaked by WinFuture and Ishan Agarwal on the eve of the official leak events, and appear to be legitimate final renders of both devices. This is purportedly the OnePlus 7T Pro, while the OnePlus 7T below is shown to be in Frosted Silver.

What kind of cameras will the OnePlus 7T have?

As the official renders show, the OnePlus 7T bumps up from two back cameras to three. That may see the inclusion of an ultra-wide or telephoto sensor to augment the current 48MP/5MP pairing on the standard OnePlus 7.

We’re not expecting much in the way of change from the OnePlus 7T Pro, to be honest. The OnePlus 7 Pro has a very good triple-camera setup as it is, even if it can’t quite reach the peaks of other, pricier flagship phones. But that’s probably just the way it is when it comes to a "budget" premium flagship – even one as brilliant as the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Is there anything else I should know about the OnePlus 7T?

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has confirmed that the company will release another 5G phone by the end of 2019. If we had to bet, we’re guessing that’s a OnePlus 7T model.

Of course, only the OnePlus 7 Pro got a 5G model the first time around, but we’re hoping that OnePlus sees fit to extend that next-gen cellular compatibility to the cheaper model as well the next time around. We’re keeping fingers crossed on that one.

Leaks from Max J. point to a 3,800mAh battery pack on the OnePlus 7T and 4,085mAh on the OnePlus 7T Pro. Both tallies are just a smidge larger than those of the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro models, respectively.

You’re looking at the official packaging for the OnePlus 7T above, as shared by founder and CEO Pete Lau on Twitter. Also, the company has confirmed that Android 10 will be installed out of the box, potentially making it the first such device to ship with it – unless the incoming Pixel 4 hits stores sooner.