Want to learn about the OnePlus 8T? Here’s everything we know (so far)

Here’s what OnePlus is working on for the second half of 2020.

Despite ongoing world events, 2020 has still been a pretty great year for Android phones — and it’s only going to get even better. Looking ahead towards the coming months, one of the releases we’re most excited about is the OnePlus 8T.

If you’ve been following OnePlus for a while, you know that it doesn’t settle with just one major release per year. Instead, we’re often treated to two — one in the first half of the year and another during the second half. We got the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro back in April, and likely around September/October, we should see their successors in the form of the OnePlus 8T and 8T Pro.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the phones, but if you’re looking for all of the latest available info, you’ve come to the right place. Without further ado, let’s talk all things OnePlus 8T!

Never settle

OnePlus 8

$799 at Amazon

So good you don’t have to wait for the 8T

There’s no doubt that the OnePlus 8T will be an excellent smartphone, but if you’re in the market to buy right now, go ahead and get the OnePlus 8. It has incredible specs, a stunning design, and top-notch software. You get all of that at a pretty reasonable price, making the OnePlus 8 one of the best phones you can buy right now.

Jump to:

• The OnePlus 8T is coming soon(ish)
• What we know about price
• There might be two models
• This is what the 8T looks like
• Here are the specs we’re expecting
• The OnePlus 8 is still great

When is the OnePlus 8T being released?

As noted above, OnePlus’s “T” smartphones are typically launched later in the year. This gives the company some time for its first batch of phones to exist and draw an audience, while still getting out its latest hardware in time for the big holiday shopping season.

For some perspective, here’s when the past few T series phones have gone on sale in the U.S.:

• OnePlus 5T — November 21, 2017
• OnePlus 6T — November 6, 2018
• OnePlus 7T — October 18, 2019

We’d expect OnePlus to follow a similar pattern this year, with the OnePlus 8T being made available for purchase in either October or November. It may get pushed back a bit given production and manufacturing issues that have popped up as a result of the ongoing pandemic, similar to what happened with the OnePlus Nord. At this point, we’ll just have to wait and see.

How much will the OnePlus 8T cost?

Price is a big factor that comes into play with any phone-buying decision, and this is an area in which OnePlus has shifted a lot in recent years. Going back to those three phones mentioned above, here’s how they’re starting price tags compare (and have gone up) over the years:

• OnePlus 5T — $499
• OnePlus 6T — $549
• OnePlus 7T — $599

As you can see, we have a consistent $50 increase every single year. That would lead us to believe that the OnePlus 8T will cost $649, but the actual price will likely be much higher. Why? The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro are two of the most expensive phones OnePlus has released to-date, starting at $699 and $899, respectively. Seeing as how the OnePlus 8T is going to be a better version of the OnePlus 8, that likely means a price tag around $749 or so.

This is all guessing on our end, as no concrete rumors regarding the OnePlus 8T’s price have been reported yet. As soon as they are, we’ll let you know.

How many OnePlus 8T models will there be?

If there’s one big mystery surrounding the OnePlus 8T series, it’s the question of how many models will be released. A OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro were created in 2019, but only the regular 7T came to the U.S. Prior to that, we had just a single model in all markets with the OnePlus 6T, 5T, and 3T.

Both the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro did launch in the United States earlier this year, which leads us to believe that we could get an 8T and 8T Pro in the U.S. if OnePlus sticks with that two-model release cycle.

That’s what we think is most likely at this point in time, but it remains uncertain if the launch of the OnePlus Nord will alter those plans at all.

Do we know what the OnePlus 8T looks like?

On September 1, we were treated to the first render of the OnePlus 8T. It was discovered in a build of the Android 11 Developer Preview for OnePlus 8 handsets, and unsurprisingly, it looks a lot like the company’s current flagships.

The render only shows the front of the OnePlus 8T, revealing a large display with slim bezels, a hole-punch cutout in the top-left, and rounder corners for the frame of the device. It remains unclear what the back will look like, but at least from the front, the 8T will be a very familiar phone.

This is about what we were expecting for the OnePlus 8T, though we are interested in seeing if/how OnePlus will shake-up the rear design for this release.

What specs will the OnePlus 8T have?

Flagship specs are always a given for OnePlus phones, and for the OnePlus 8T, that shouldn’t change one bit.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor will likely be at the heart of the phone, along with a minimum of 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. On September 3, we were able to confirm that the 8T will get a 6.55-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

We’ve also confirmed that the 8T will have a total of four rear cameras, including a 48MP primary, 16MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro, and 2MP portrait cameras. While the OnePlus 8 also has a 48MP primary camera, the OnePlus 8T will use a new imaging sensor for improved results.

Tying all of this together is the fact that the OnePlus 8T will ship with OxygenOS 11 right out of the box, which is OnePlus’s custom software that’s based on Android 11. The response to OxygenOS 11 has been pretty mixed so far, but it’s great to see that the 8T won’t ship with outdated software.

Is it still worth buying the OnePlus 8?

If you’re interested in what the OnePlus 8T has to offer but need to buy a new phone right now, you should really consider picking up the OnePlus 8. Yes, it’ll have a successor in just a few short months, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth buying. In fact, it’s one of the best Android phones you can get in 2020.

Just about everything on the OnePlus 8 is kind of incredible. There’s the 6.55-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 865 processor, 4300 mAh battery, and three rear cameras that take really great photos. Add that together with a stunning design and OnePlus’s excellent OxygenOS software, and you’re in for a treat.

OnePlus will keep updating the OnePlus 8 for years to come even when the 8T is a thing, so you can buy the phone with total confidence and know it’ll continue to be one heck of a handset for a long time to come.

Never settle

OnePlus 8

$799 at Amazon

So good you don’t have to wait for the 8T

There’s no doubt that the OnePlus 8T will be an excellent smartphone, but if you’re in the market to buy right now, go ahead and get the OnePlus 8. It has incredible specs, a stunning design, and top-notch software. You get all of that at a pretty reasonable price, making the OnePlus 8 one of the best phones you can buy right now.