Here's what the OnePlus 7T & 7T Pro might look like from the rear

Photos of a mysterious OnePlus phone complete with a circular camera module appeared online way back in December. The device was initially thought to be the OnePlus 7 but the latter’s subsequent announcement confirmed this was not the case. Now, one leak suggests it may have been an early OnePlus 7T prototype.

A circular camera module instead of the vertical setup

Three new sketches courtesy of Evan Blass reveal OnePlus is still working on a new smartphone with a circular rear camera module. This appears to be roughly the same size as the original prototype’s implementation but it does now look slightly different. Specifically, the horizontal bar through the middle has been removed and some blue highlights have been added on either side. The number of sensors this new camera layout will house isn’t yet known due to the nature of today’s leak. However, the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro include dual-camera and triple-camera layouts respectively, therefore making similar setups for their respective successors pretty likely.

In addition to the cameras, the module itself also houses the words ‘Designed by OnePlus.’ This branding accompanies the OnePlus logo, which sits in the center of the rear, and the company name that’s positioned towards the bottom. Other details worth pointing out include the presence of a volume rocker on one side of the smartphone and the power key and Alert Slider along the other. It also includes a bottom-firing speaker and USB-C port. This particular prototype appears to be less rectangular than the one shown off in December, too.

This design could be used on the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro

OnePlus hasn’t yet confirmed its plans for this design but tipster Max J. believes it could be used on both the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro. If true, it could help better differentiate the two models from their respective predecessors. 

In previous years OnePlus has introduced important changes to the front of its T-branded devices. For example, the OnePlus 5T replaced its predecessor’s 16:9 display with an 18:9 panel, while last year’s OnePlus 6T adopted a significantly smaller notch. This year, however, changes to the front are expected to be minimal, so a drastic redesign on the rear will certainly be helpful.

For those of you that aren’t aware, the OnePlus 7 sports a 6.4-inch Optic AMOLED display that boasts a waterdrop notch and a 1080 x 2340p (Full-HD+) resolution. The OnePlus 7 Pro, on the other hand, features an all-screen curved edge Fluid AMOLED panel which supports a higher 1440 x 3120p (QHD+) resolution and an impressive 90Hz refresh rate. Both the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro are expected to adopt the same displays.

Aside from the external details, both the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro are expected to include some important internal upgrades. The primary one should be the presence of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 Plus rather than the standard Snapdragon 855, although higher RAM and storage counts are also likely. Accompanying this will probably be Android 10 straight out of the box alongside the latest version of Oxygen OS and 4G LTE network support as standard, although a 5G version of the OnePlus 7T Pro could be on the way. It’s unclear at this point if any upgrades are planned in the battery department but any improvements are certainly welcome.

Completing the setup on both devices should be upgraded front and rear camera sensors and potentially ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanners rather than optical alternatives. This should result in more accurate readings and a speedier unlock process.