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The OnePlus 8T 5G will bring the 8 Pro's 120Hz technology to a much lower price point

By Adrian Diaconescu

Updated: Sep 25, 2020, 3:30 AM

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OnePlus 8 Pro

As awesome as the OnePlus 8 Pro looked on paper and as great an impression the 5G-enabled flagship made in our in-depth review back in May, many of the company's hardcore fans had serious difficulty getting excited about a phone priced at $900 and up... especially after not being able to actually order said ultra-high-end handset for months on end.

But now the OnePlus 8T 5G is right around the corner, and believe it or not, the inexpensive 6.55-inch device is already confirmed to borrow one of the greatest features and key selling points from the significantly costlier 8 Pro variant.

We're not talking about something "confirmed" via a premature product listing on Amazon that may or may not end up being entirely accurate, mind you, with OnePlus CEO Pete Lau himself sharing detailed information on the state-of-the-art OnePlus 8T screen with TechRadar ahead of an official virtual launch event on October 14.

A "buttery smooth display experience" on a budget

Before going into the technical details revealed by Lau, it's important to remember this is no Nord-branded mid-ranger, so when we say we're dealing with a budget-friendly phone here, we mean that by late 2020 flagship standards.

Specifically, the current expectation is the unlocked OnePlus 8T 5G could start at €599 or €649 on the old continent and $649 or $699 stateside, which would be an incredibly low price to pay for a Snapdragon 865 powerhouse with a 120Hz panel.

OnePlus 8

That's right, the next big T-branded OnePlus high-ender will upgrade the 90Hz display refresh rate capabilities of last year's 7T and 7T Pro, as well as this year's "regular" OnePlus 8, matching the "buttery smooth" performance of the pricey 8 Pro. That means a OnePlus 8T Pro 5G model might be pointless after all, even though the 8T is obviously not set to match the 6.78-inch screen size and QHD+ resolution of the 8 Pro 5G too, instead settling for the same 6.55-inch diagonal and FHD+ pixel count as the OnePlus 8 5G.

Unsurprisingly, OnePlus is touting a whole slew of impressive display achievements and improvements for the 8T, including the "highest color accuracy possible across the industry", a maximum brightness of up to 1100 nits enabled by the company's first-ever adoption of 2.5D flexible technology, and a mind-blowing screen-to-body ratio of 91.9 percent, up from "only" 88.7 and 90.8 percent on the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro respectively. So, yeah, it sounds like the bezels will also be thinner than ever before.

A revised design with upgraded rear-facing cameras and more

Rumored to be released in snazzy Aquamarine Green and Lunar Silver hues on October 20, the OnePlus 8T 5G is set to move the centered vertical camera system on the back of the 8 and 8 Pro to the top left corner and display its four imaging sensors in an L-shaped formation sitting next to an LED flash in a rectangular module.

Said quad shooter setup is likely to consist of the same 48MP primary and 16MP ultra-wide-angle sensors as the OnePlus 8 alongside an improved 5MP macro camera aiming to prove macro mobile photography is not completely useless and an added 2MP depth lens. All in all, the upgrades in this department don't sound particularly drastic, and the 8T is pretty much guaranteed to remain at least one or two steps behind the 8 Pro in terms of imaging prowess.

Leaked OnePlus 8T renders

On the bright side, the 16MP selfie cam on the 8 and 8 Pro is expected to go all the way up to a 32 megapixel count on the front of the 8T. Despite its smaller screen and more compact body, the OnePlus 8T 5G could also match the 4,500mAh battery capacity of the 8 Pro 5G while bumping the fast charging support up from 30W to 65W top speeds.

Last but not least, you should know the entry-level configuration tipped to cost 650 or 700 bucks will probably pack 8 gigs of RAM and 128 gigs of storage space, with a 12/256GB variant likely to be priced anywhere between $700 and $800.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.