OnePlus 5T: Release date, specs, price & features rumor roundup
With the OnePlus 5 no longer available and whispers about a follow-up getting louder and louder, we’re now turning our eyes to the rumored OnePlus 5T.
While OnePlus only released one flagship per year for the first few years of existence, 2016 brought us the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T. Since OnePlus skipped the number 4 for being bad luck in Chinese culture, it looks like this year we’ll be seeing the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T. Much like the 3 and 3T, the 5 and 5T should keep many of the same specs with only a few, but important, changes coming to the phone.
OnePlus 5T: Release date
Information on the release date has been hotly speculated by several sources so far.
We find it unlikely that OnePlus’ shelves will stay bare throughout the holiday season so expect to see the 5T hit before shopping season begins. We’ve seen two rumored dates pop up: November 16 and November 20. It’s entirely possible that the OnePlus 5T will be officially unveiled to the world on the 16 of November, while it will go on sale after November 20. The OnePlus 3T was released on November 15 last year so this timing matches up.
Got a second, reliable confirmation here, claiming a post-11/20 release. https://t.co/KDvBH8y7NO
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 25, 2017
GizChina.it recently uncovered a some alleged marketing materials that backs up the November 16 date. This picture states that the phone will be exclusively available on Amazon so we’re assuming that this is for India as OnePlus has been selling its phone through Amazon for a while now. An interesting note about the pictures is that the release date is covered up which we believe lends some more credence that November 16 is the announcement date while it will actually be released after November 20.
OnePlus 5T: Specs
Rumors suggest that the OnePlus 5T will keep many, but not all, of the same internal specs as its predecessor. You may remember that the OnePlus 3 and 3T shared the same design and specs, save for a bump in the processor and battery capacity. But, if new rumors are to be believed, OnePlus is forming a new strategy with the OnePlus 5T.
Since nothing has come out to supplant the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, OnePlus will use it for the 5T. Last year’s OnePlus 3T featured an upgraded processor but that doesn’t appear to be an option this year.
Some leaks suggest the OnePlus 5T battery might get an upgrade. We’d expect it to be in the same range as the OnePlus 5 which came in at 3300 mAh, and according to an AnTuTu benchmark, the battery capacity sits at 3,450 mAh. A minor bump, but more battery capacity is always better. Unless it makes your phone blow up.
While the battery capacity is far from confirmed, we do know is that the OnePlus 5T will feature DASH charging. Every phone since the OnePlus 3 has featured the fast charging technology and its a major selling point for OnePlus.
The camera could see a small upgrade too, just like the battery. The OnePlus 5 has a dual camera setup that features a 16 MP RGB lens and a 20 MP monochromatic lens. If new leaks are to be believed, OnePlus will bump that to a 20 MP + 20 MP setup. OnePlus CEO Carl Pei recently tweeted a picture with the caption “Cool photo, must have come from a great camera ” This, obviously, set off speculation that the picture came from the upcoming OnePlus 5T. We must say, if this is the kind of low-light quality we can expect from the 5T, we’re excited too.
Cool photo, must have come from a great camera
http://pic.twitter.com/DyiULnyTYN
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) October 25, 2017
OnePlus 5T: Design
A change in design will be the major selling point of the OnePlus 5T. We brought you an exclusive teaser image that shows the OnePlus 5T’s brand new design. The OnePlus 5T will feature a 6-inch 2160 x 1080 resolution display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. This follows the trend of phones in 2017 that have reduced the bezels to almost nothing and stretched out the displays from a 16:9 aspect ratio to an 18:9 aspect ratio.
To make room for the longer display, OnePlus looks to be removing the hardware buttons that have featured on its devices in the past. Since there will be no fingerprint scanner on the front of the device, we can only assume that it has been moved to the back like Pixel and LG phones. The teaser image also gives us a peek at the aluminum frame and bottom-firing speaker on the left side.
To add fuel to the all-display fire, a picture has popped up supposedly showing the phone in-hand. The picture comes from the Chinese social networking site Weibo and seems to backs up the teaser image we brought you. Interestingly enough, there are no navigation buttons shown on the display. Samsung and LG give you the option to drop the navigation buttons until you swipe up from the bottom of the device to reveal them. Could we be seeing something similar from OnePlus? Is this just a bad photoshop job?
The Weibo post also compares the OnePlus 5T to the Oppo R11s. Oppo and OnePlus are closely linked and have been known to share the same design for their phones. Coincidentally, Oppo is releasing the R11s, a phone strikingly similar to the OnePlus 5T, at the beginning of November.
OnePlus 5T: Price
While we don’t have any firm leaks on the price of the OnePlus 5T, we can infer what it might be based on recent evidence. The base model OnePlus 3 launched at $399 and the OnePlus 3T carried a small increase and launched for $439. If OnePlus uses the same math for this refresh, then we could see the base model OnePlus 5T launched at $519 since the OnePlus 5 was $479 at launch.
The price of OnePlus devices has been steadily creeping up since the company released the OnePlus One for $299 back in 2014 which has lead to some fan dissatisfaction. One thing that is undeniable is that OnePlus’ flagship phones are still much cheaper than flagships put out by Samsung, LG, HTC, or Google, and often come with better specs to boot.
So far, these are all the rumors we’ve been able to dig up about the OnePlus 5T. We’ll keep our ear to the ground for more and update this post as we find out even more details.
In the meantime, head down the comments and let us know what you think of the OnePlus 5T. Will you be picking one up? If not, what features are missing for you?
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