OnePlus 9T may be cancelled: no more OnePlus flagships in 2021?

Date:
Wed, 28 Jul 2021 07:50:13 +0000

Description:
A reputed leakster suggests that there will be no OnePlus 9T or any other high-end OnePlus flagship phone this year.

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The OnePlus 9 series from earlier in the year took the company to new heights in the smartphone market, finally offering a worthy competitor in the ultra-premium segment. A new development suggests that we wont see a
follow-up to them any time soon.

The OnePlus 9, 9 Pro and 9R were unveiled in March a month earlier than its usual launch cycles. At Rs 69,999, the OnePlus 9 Pro became the most
expensive smartphone from the brand to date, bringing all the latest specifications and vastly better cameras. Many expected its successor to arrive later this year, but that might not be the case now. Why would you
need a 9T? What would you expect this phone to do better?A better screen? Better than 9 Series? -NoBetter charging? Better than 65W? -NoNew SoC? The 888+? Maybe, but the 888 is just fineA better cam? 9 Series is already good - maybe some software tweaks July 27, 2021 See more

Max Jambor, a tipster who has often revealed interesting bits around upcoming OnePlus products, took to Twitter to say no 9T, suggesting that there will
not be a OnePlus 9T device this year. In an eventual tweet, he explained the rationale behind this move. His point was that there isnt much left to
upgrade on the existing OnePlus 9 lineup, as the screens, charging tech, performance and cameras are already adequate; a new smartphone with minor improvements would not be viable. This is especially true for the Pro
variant.

His logic is quite sensible, as the only clear change would be to offer the Snapdragon 888 Plus, which is nothing more than an incremental update. However, optimizing a device for a new chipset might be a more difficult
task, which might not even bring the performance gains that are possible. The ongoing semiconductor shortage is also likely to have an impact.

If this ends up being true, this would be the first time since 2015 that OnePlus will follow a refresh cycle of longer than 6 months. There are likely to be bigger reasons for the shift in strategy apart from the existing lineup being good enough. Possible reasons why the OnePlus 9T wont exist (Image credit: Srivatsa Ramesh)

OnePlus might not be only smartphone maker to sit out of the second half of 2021 flagship game, as Samsung and a few others are also expected to stick to only one hero product this year. Apart from better utilizations of resources and greater economies of scale, this would also allow them to launch their next crop of devices a little earlier. Rumours point at a January 2022 unveiling for Samsungs Galaxy S22 and Note 21 phones . If the OnePlus 10 series arrives in early Q1, it could compete with Samsung and not allow it to take a lead in the market.

This move could also be predicated on the recent Oppo-OnePlus merger . While the brands maintain that they will continue to function independently, we
cant help but think about how they wouldnt want to have similar products at similar price points around the same time to avoid internal product cannibalization. So there could be a possibility that Oppo unveils another flagship later this year, while OnePlus opts for early next year.

Then theres also the factor of chipset development. The successor to the Snapdragon 888 is expected in December and should make its way to global markets early next year. With Samsung likely to stick with Exynos for most countries, and the rest of the competition expected to be limited to China
for a bit, it could let the OnePlus 10 be one of the first to adopt the next flagship chipset from Qualcomm. OnePlus Nord 2 review OnePlus-Oppo merger: 5 potential implications of the integration Upcoming smartphone launches in India for 2021

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/oneplus-9t-may-be-cancelled-no-more-oneplus-fla gships-in-2021/


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