OnePlus 7T release date, price, news and leaks

The OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro have only been out for half a year, but OnePlus typically refreshes the range with a ‘T’ model later in the year and we’re set to see it later today.

That might surprise you – after all, the Pro model is a new part of the range so could easily have replaced the expected late-year T update. 

Coming so soon after the OnePlus 7 Pro, we’re not expecting many massive changes, but there are a number of things we’re hoping to see, which we’ve listed below. 

We’ve also heard rumors of the OnePlus 7T Pro, which may also launch alongside the OnePlus 7T today.

Latest news: Want a clear look a the the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro? We’ve already seen leaked product shots of the two phones leak.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next OnePlus phone
• When is it out? Confirmed for today in India, London on October 10
• What will it cost? A lot – but less than most flagships

OnePlus 7T release date and price

The OnePlus 7T is set to be announced on stage for the first time today (September 26), but oddly that’s just for India.

That will be followed up by an October 10 announcement for the US and Europe with events scheduled for New York and London. Exactly why it’s launching at two separate times is currently unclear, and it’s likely we’ll have to wait until October 10 to learn the full picture for those in the US and UK.

October 15 is the rumored on-sale date for those markets as well. If that date sounds familiar it’s because an earlier unclear tweet from the same source also pointed to October 15.

TechRadar later received confirmation from a source close to the matter that this date was wrong, but at that time it was assumed that October 15 was being put forward as the announcement date, not the date the phone would go on sale.

These dates would also more or less line up with past releases. The OnePlus 6T was announced in October 2018 then hit stores in November, while the OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 3T were both announced and went on sale in November of their respective years, so an October or November announcement looks very likely.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

As for what it will cost, it’s first worth noting that we might get two new phones – a OnePlus 7T and a OnePlus 7T Pro. But in any case, based on past form we wouldn’t expect prices to be much different to the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro, though they may rise a bit.

That would mean a likely starting price of at least £499 (around $600/AU$890) for the OnePlus 7T and at least $669 / £649 (around AU$990) for the OnePlus 7T Pro, assuming both phones launch. However, it’s worth noting that the standard OnePlus 7 isn’t officially available in the US and neither model came to Australia.

OnePlus 7T design and screen

Since OnePlus CEO Pete Lau shared a picture of the OnePlus 7T rear, we know a lot about the design of the upcoming device.

The key take-away is its rear camera bump, which is a design choice we haven’t seen on a previous OnePlus phone. We’d expected that, thanks to a series of leaks that suggested as such.

It also looks set to be a little larger than the OnePlus 7, judging on the shared picture, but we’ve no idea just how large it’ll be.

(Image credit: OnePlus)

Matching the previously released image of the OnePlus 7T is a leaked press shot that shows the phone in a gray shade. 

You can see that below, and it comes with a rumor from WinFuture that the device will sport a 6.55-inch display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 with 90Hz refresh rate technology.

There’s also a shot of the OnePlus 7T Pro, that seems to have a remarkably similar design to the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Two separate leaks have now possibly shown the OnePlus 7T Pro too. One set of images was shared on Weibo (a Chinese social network) and shows the alleged OnePlus 7T Pro from both the front and back.

However, it’s in a case, so many details are obscured, and what we can see looks basically identical to the OnePlus 7 Pro.

(Image credit: Weibo)

That includes a curved bezel-free screen, and three rear cameras in the same arrangement. The only possible difference is that the speaker grille above the screen looks as though it might be more prominent, which could suggest an audio upgrade.

The same design can also be seen in the leak below, albeit only the front of the phone this time. That said, IBTimes India claims to have received confirmation from OnePlus that this second set of images actually just shows the OnePlus 7 Pro.

(Image credit: SlashLeaks | Weibo)

That’s interesting because the speaker again seems to stand out more here than on the 7 Pro, but it could just be the design of the case emphasizing it. In any case, it seems these images are likely fake, which also makes us seriously question the images further up in this article, since the design is the same.

It would make sense for the design to stay much the same though, since ‘T’ models tend to look similar, just with a few spec upgrades.

EXCLUSIVE! Here’s your first look at an upcoming OnePlus Device I don’t know much about. This image shows the device in prototype/designing stage and it is not final but this is probably how the device may end up looking. That’s Pete (CEO of OP) in the img and the device itself. pic.twitter.com/Yau9EsgSDyDecember 19, 2018

Having said that, an alternate design has also been leaked. First seen in the photo above back in December 2018, and then more recently leaked in the render and sketches below.

So… Today, I bring you #OnePlus7T and #OnePlus7TPro complete specs sheet as well as launch and availability date, on behalf of my Friends over at @compareraja -> https://t.co/7TrVeEYo7A pic.twitter.com/zEQuB3EP2GSeptember 13, 2019

As for the screen specs, a leak suggests that the standard OnePlus 7T will have a 6.55-inch 1080 x 2400 screen, while the OnePlus 7T Pro will have a 6.65-inch 1440 x 3100 one, but both apparently use AMOLED, have a 90Hz refresh rate and support HDR10+.

OnePlus 7T specs and camera

OnePlus’s CEO has confirmed that a new OnePlus phone with 5G will be launching by the end of the year – so this will almost certainly be some version of the OnePlus 7T.

We know that the OnePlus 7T will have three rear cameras, thanks to the aforementioned picture shared by Pete Lau, but we don’t know what specs these snappers pack.

We’ve also seen a huge info-dump in the form of leaked specs for both the OnePlus 7T and One Plus 7T Pro. It suggests both handsets will use the new Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset, have 8GB of RAM, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and a 16MP front camera.

There are of course plenty of differences listed though. The OnePlus 7T Pro supposedly has a 4,085mAh battery, 256GB of storage, and a triple-lens rear camera, with a 48MP f/1.6 main lens, an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens with a 120-degree field of view.

The OnePlus 7T meanwhile is said to have a 3,800mAh battery, and a choice of 128GB or 256GB of storage. It also has two of the same rear cameras, but the 7T Pro’s telephoto one is apparently replaced by one with slightly different specs here, namely a 12MP one with 2x optical zoom.

Based on all the leaks so far, it sounds like the OnePlus 7T Pro will only be a very slight improvement on the OnePlus 7 Pro, but that the OnePlus 7T could be a big upgrade on the OnePlus 7.

The phone is confirmed to be sporting Android 10 software from day one, so you’ll have access to the latest features such as the system-wide Dark Mode and a variety of privacy upgrades.

OnePlus 7T battery and performance

Here’s something that isn’t rumor – TechRadar heard it directly from OnePlus CEO Peter Lau himself: the OnePlus 7T will charge 23% faster than the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro. 

This isn’t due to a new charger – the OnePlus 7T still uses the Warp Charge 30W power brick that came in its predecessor. Instead, new internal technology, called Warp Charge 30T, juices up the phone at a faster rate. 

In our internal tests, the OnePlus 7 Pro charged up from 0% to 100% in one hour 23 minutes, so we’re excited to see how much faster the OnePlus 7T goes.

What we want to see

The OnePlus 7 and especially the OnePlus 7 Pro were impressive phones, but they could be even better with these upgrades.

1. A class-leading camera

(Image credit: TechRadar)

While the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro both have decent cameras, they’re not among the best around, and given that the OnePlus 7 Pro is essentially a flagship, it’s not unrealistic to ask for it to have a truly top camera.

So we hope that the OnePlus 7T and/or OnePlus 7T Pro does. We’d particularly like to see low-light photo quality improved, along with the ability to zoom in further.

2. An IP rating

While OnePlus claims that the OnePlus 7 range does have some water resistance, there’s no official IP rating, meaning no certainty as to how water resistant the phones are.

The lack of an IP rating was apparently to save money – since it costs money to get the phones certified, and since even with such a certification most brands don’t cover water damage as part of the warranty.

It’s a reasonable argument, but for the OnePlus 7T we’d still like the reassurance that an IP rating provides, and ideally improved water resistance too, since various third-party tests suggest the OnePlus 7 range isn’t quite as water resistant as most flagships.

3. An in-screen camera

(Image credit: TechRadar)

The standard OnePlus 7 has a teardrop notch for its front-facing camera, which almost feels dated in 2019. The OnePlus 7 Pro meanwhile has a pop-up camera, which is more modern and allows for an all-screen design, but also makes the camera feel more vulnerable.

Not only that, it also makes facial recognition less appealing, since you have to wait for the camera to pop up, and since doing that dozens of times a day to unlock your phone could wear the mechanism out.

So for the OnePlus 7T we’d love to see an in-screen camera. That would allow the phone to retain the OnePlus 7 Pro’s all-screen design, without any of the problems that come with a pop-up camera.

We should note that this is unlikely to happen. While the tech exists, it’s not yet available on any handsets, and with the T model likely to be a minor upgrade we wouldn’t particularly expect it, but you never know.

4. Wireless charging

One small feature that OnePlus hasn’t yet embraced is wireless charging. This probably isn’t a huge deal for most people, but it is a standard flagship feature, so it’s something we’d like to see, especially with the OnePlus 7 Pro being more of a real flagship, rather than the usual more affordable alternatives that OnePlus offers.

5. A slimmer, lighter, smaller build

(Image credit: TechRadar)

The OnePlus 7 Pro in particular is a big, heavy and fairly thick thing, so we’d love to see the OnePlus 7T get shrunk down slightly, and be a bit lighter.

There will be limits to what can be done here while still offering a big screen and battery, but we reckon that refinements are possible. And the screen doesn’t really need to be quite as big as the OnePlus 7 Pro’s mammoth 6.67-inch one anyway.

6. A bigger battery with better life

The OnePlus 7 has a 3,700mAh battery and the OnePlus 7 Pro has a 4,000mAh one. Those are both respectable sizes, but not the biggest around, and neither phone delivers particularly brilliant life.

So we’d like to see a bigger battery in the OnePlus 7T, and beyond that possibly some software or hardware optimizations to help it last longer. Though in the case of software optimizations, we don’t want the company to take the sort of approach that could interfere with the functionality of apps.

7. Fast charging from third-party chargers

The OnePlus 7 range charges very fast, but only if you use an official OnePlus charger. That’s not a huge problem as one comes in the box, but if you ever need a replacement or a spare, they’re expensive.

This also means that if you borrow someone else’s charger you won’t get fast speeds (unless they happen to have a OnePlus one) and nor will you get fast charging from portable chargers/power banks. So we’d like to see this addressed for the OnePlus 7T.

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