OnePlus 8T and 8T Pro: 7 things we want to see

Update, October 2, 2020 (3:30 p.m. ET): At this point, we are only a little over a week away from the official launch of the OnePlus 8T. We are now confident that some of the features below will not make it for this release cycle while others will. We also know that there won’t be a OnePlus 8T Pro.

For the latest rumors and confirmed information on this upcoming phone, check out our hub here.

Original article, July 1, 2020: OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are here and can be bought. The two devices were a logical progression over the OnePlus 7 series from 2019. Therefore we ask ourselves: What could be on the way with the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8T Pro?

Obviously, we are far too early in the release cycle to be able to say with confidence that there will even be OnePlus 8T and 8T Pro. The existence of the OnePlus Nord (and other rumored Nord devices) as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could have an impact on how and when OnePlus launches flagship smartphones.

However, judging from the company’s history, we expect there will be a landing of the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8T Pro this fall. Below are some of the features that these new phones hopefully will offer. These aren’t based on rumors we’ve heard or industry insights – it’s literally a wish list created by a smartphone geek.

That being said, the wish list is realistic. I won’t be hoping the headphone jack will return or that the expandable storage will finally be available on a OnePlus phone. The following list consists of features that OnePlus offers could in OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8T Pro.

Wireless charging for OnePlus 8T Pro and OnePlus 8T

In OnePlus’ six year history, I don’t think there has ever been a time when fans haven’t complained about the lack of wireless charging on OnePlus phones. This year, OnePlus finally gave fans what they asked for and delivered wireless charging – but only for the OnePlus 8 Pro.

Connected: Six years of OnePlus: The greatest hits (and misses) in its short history

It pretty much goes without saying that wireless charging will show up on the OnePlus 8T Pro, but I hope it ends up on the OnePlus 8T too. It doesn’t even have to be the fancy 30W charging system we saw on the OnePlus 8 Pro. In fact, this kind of inequality between the two phones would help keep the 8T Pro premium versus the Vanilla 8T.

Honestly, I don’t even use wireless charging. The main reason I want this is because the complaints about OnePlus devices that lack this feature will finally stop.

Throw away the tricky camera

There is a camera system with four lenses on the back of the OnePlus 8 Pro. Hence, it’s pretty sure that we’ll see a quad lens setup on the OnePlus 8T Pro as well. However, I really hope the fourth lens is something useful and not the tricky color filter lens of the 8 Pro.

The above picture will give you an idea of what the color filter lens does. While this is a neat ploy, the existence of this lens drives up the price of the phone. And what for? To take artistic photos once or twice and then forget about the function, does it even exist?

The chromatic filter lens recently got OnePlus into PR problems when it emerged that the camera could act as a pseudo X-ray lens. The company released an update temporarily deactivating the lens in response, although it was reactivated shortly afterwards.

Instead of that goofy lens, OnePlus could put something useful like an optical zoom lens or even the macro lens we saw on the vanilla OnePlus 8. Anything other than the color filter lens would be welcome.

Increase the storage capacity

OnePlus has shown no fear when it comes to increasing the RAM size of its phones. The 2019 OnePlus 7 Pro was one of the first commercial devices to feature a whopping 12GB of RAM, and the OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus Nord also have 12GB variants. However, OnePlus has never released a phone with more than 256GB of internal storage, and it is time to break that barrier.

Since no OnePlus device has ever offered expandable storage, it would be a real treat to offer a OnePlus 8T Pro in a 512GB option. People who may overlook OnePlus phones because they need as much storage space as possible can finally give the brand a try.

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This move would also have two positive side effects: OnePlus phones could compete directly with other big flagships that offer 512GB options (including iPhones), and the company could only charge additional fees for the higher capacity. It’s not even like losing money on the option. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!

All colors available to everyone

A few years ago (but following the weird invitation system) buying a OnePlus phone was very easy: go to OnePlus.com, select your phone, and go. Now that the company is considering carrier partnerships and third party vendors, it is starting to break its portfolio so that only certain colors and configurations can be sold from certain sources.

Connected: Which color OnePlus 8 or OnePlus 8 Pro should I get?

I’ve already written about how annoying this is, and I really hope OnePlus doesn’t become another Samsung in that regard. Even if the company decides to only sell a carrier version of the OnePlus 8T or OnePlus 8T Pro in one color, fans should be able to purchase the device in any color / configuration available on OnePlus.com. It can (and should) be that simple.

To be clear, I’m not even saying that the OnePlus 8T and 8T Pro should come in the same colors. That would be nice, but I don’t even go that far. What I want to see is that if there is a color scheme on a OnePlus phone, I can get it in my country by buying it direct from OnePlus. I don’t even understand why that wouldn’t be common sense.

Pick the curve back just a little

There is much debate about the benefits of curved displays. While they have an aesthetically pleasing look that makes the display seem like the display just keeps scrolling to infinity, they make holding a phone awkward. They can also cause apps to have trouble displaying controls that appear on the edge of the screen. Gamers in particular hate it when holding a phone in landscape orientation and using controls on the screen causes problems.

I actually really like curved displays myself, but I would agree that OnePlus may have taken the feature a little too far. Going back to a completely flat screen on the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8T Pro might not be on the cards, but going back a bit would be a solution of both worlds that should make most users happy.

For what it’s worth, that’s exactly what Samsung did with the Galaxy S20 series. These phones still have curved displays, but they’re much less pronounced than the ones we saw on the Galaxy S10 series. Apple is expected to do the same with the iPhone 12 series. Follow the instructions from Samsung and Apple, OnePlus.

The prices for OnePlus 8T and 8T Pro remain unchanged

We have an overview of how much OnePlus has increased its prices over the years, which you can read here. Traditionally, the T-Series phones have had very little or sometimes no price increases.

Connected: We are really puzzled by the recent comment from the OnePlus CEO on cheap phones

Given that the OnePlus 8 Pro is now the company’s most expensive offering, I really hope the OnePlus 8T Pro is offered at the exact same price. Of course, it would be nice if the company cut the price, but that probably won’t happen. OnePlus has jumped to the next level on the price list, and it’s very rare for companies to jump back down again.

Now that we know there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus out there, it’s very likely that the OnePlus 8T series has it, which would inevitably increase the price. I think the best we can do right now is to keep our fingers crossed.

In-display selfie camera or bring the popup back

Ok, I’ll admit that the company that uses an in-display selfie camera system is very, very unlikely with the OnePlus 8T Pro, let alone the OnePlus 8T. If we ever see this anytime soon, it would be in the OnePlus 9 or even the OnePlus 9T instead.

Still, I can’t help but hope that OnePlus will find a way to eliminate the display cutout on the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro. In the OnePlus 8 Pro in particular, the screen section seems to be a step back from the all-screen all-time display of the OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro.

Unfortunately, I can’t decide which is more likely: a selfie camera in the display or the return of the pop-up camera. I fear this will be the pipe dream that I will not see come true this year.

What do you hope to see on the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8T Pro? Click a button on the poll below, then go to the comments section to explain your answer!