It is expected that OnePlus will come out with a refreshed version of their current flagship. Fans will not have to wait any longer for the rumored OnePlus 3T, as speculations suggest that the step-up variant will release in two weeks' time.
GizmoChina mentions that a post on China-based social media site Weibo has said that the OnePlus 3T will launch on Nov. 14. The industry follower adds that while the announcement is an unofficial one, there may be some truth to the rumor particularly since the OnePlus 3T has been supposedly leaked recently. In addition, it is expected that OnePlus needs an updated flagship soon as the current-gen OnePlus 3 is already considered to be a subpar iteration, with most of its recent competitors already upgraded to SD 821 (OnePlus 3 runs on SD 820). The update needs to be released sooner since the follow-up, the expected OnePlus 4, is not due until next year at the earliest.
It is said that as a step-up variant, the OnePlus 3T, will come out with the new SD 821 chipset, and it may also get a RAM upgrade of up to 6 GB. It is also expected for the OnePlus 3T to come out with Android Nougat 7.0 right out of the box rather than the tech maker's own Oxygen OS.
Meanwhile, although retaining the same 5.5-inch full HD AMOLED display, the OnePlus 3T is said to get an upgraded camera setup. According to speculations, the current-gen OnePlus 3's IMX298 sensor will be updated, with the OnePlus 3T featuring a Sony IMX398 sensor. Other image capture features are expected to be improved too, like new 16-MP optics with f/1.7 aperture, dual-core autofocus, and OIS.
With the step-up variant release, it is also said that the price tag for the OnePlus 3T is expected to go up. How much the difference will be is yet to be seen, though OnePlus will need to keep it within manageable expectations. The tech maker is known to provide "flagship killer" handsets with top-tier specs offered at much more competitive prices. The OnePlus 3 for example, was priced at only $399 at launch, even if the flagship has the same, then-current Snapdragon 820 chipset and 4 GB of RAM as other big-name flagships.
