OnePlus has made its first move into the lower end premium space with the launch of the 8T smartphone.
At a starting price of £549, the phone sits between its flagship OnePlus 8 series and its mid-range OnePlus Nord.
It has a 6.55-inch flat AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, with a glass back as opposed to the 8’s matte finish.
It is the first Android smartphone not manufactured by Google to launch with Android 11, using OnePlus’ OxygenOS 11 skin. Running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G chipset, the 8T comes in 8GB RAM/128GB ROM and 12GB RAM/256GB ROM variants, with the latter costing £649.
It features a quad camera setup, with a 48MP main sensor, a 16MP ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree field of view, and a 5MP macro lens and 2MP depth sensor. Video can be captured at 4K at 60fps. The front camera is a since 16MP wide lens.
Notably absent are wireless charging, a 3.5mm headphone jack and an IP rating, although OnePlus says that its WarpCharge 65 charger can the 4,500mAh battery more than 50 per cent in 15 minutes.
The 8T is available for pre-order from OnePlus’ website before launching on October 20. It will also be available through John Lewis and Amazon. The 8GB variant comes in Lunar Silver and the 12GB in Aquamarine Green.
Its announcement comes shortly after OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has reportedly quit the manufacturer to start his own venture.
OnePlus also unveiled new wireless earphones, the OnePlus Buds Z, just months after unveiling its first OnePlus Buds to accompany the release of the OnePlus Nord.
They are equipped with a Dolby Atmos 3D stereo, and can provide 20 hours of playback on a full charge, while a 10-minute charge can restore three hours.
They are also IP55 rated for sweat and water resistance and feature environmental noise reduction for voice pickup. They will be available from OnePlus’ site on November 4.
