Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
TL; DR
- In an interview, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed that there will be no OnePlus 9T this year.
- This comes months after a rumor said there wouldn’t be a Pro model either.
- Granted, OnePlus could launch more phones in 2021, but a T-series model won’t be among them.
OnePlus has been launching an updated version of its current flagship every year since 2016. It started with the OnePlus 3T and continued smoothly with the OnePlus 8T until last year. However, the streak will stall in 2021.
Pete Lau, CEO and co-founder of OnePlus, confirmed Android authority that there won’t be a OnePlus 9T this year. Earlier, the rumor mill hinted there wouldn’t be a Pro T-series model, which wasn’t too surprising considering there wasn’t one either last year. However, the lack of a T-series device is a big change for the brand.
See also: A story of the entire OnePlus lineup so far
But it makes sense. On the one hand, the ongoing global shortage of chips makes it difficult for any large-format smartphone to be launched on the market. Also, the OnePlus portfolio is getting very tight, as phones like the OnePlus Nord 2, OnePlus 9R, and OnePlus 8T are very similar in many ways. If you throw a OnePlus 9T in there it just gets more complicated.
Additionally, Lau also confirmed that Oxygen OS is going through a big change. The company will merge Oxygen OS and Color OS – the Android skin of its sister brand Oppo. Bringing a new smartphone to market in the middle of this major transition would be difficult.
Anyway, if you’ve been looking forward to the OnePlus 9T, it won’t happen. Note, however, that this doesn’t mean that OnePlus won’t have new smartphones on the way in 2021. There might be a few surprises left – just not a 9T.
