OnePlus is reportedly prepping to launch its next phone — dubbed the OnePlus 9 RT — in October, running the Android 12-based iteration of OxygenOS but with only a few hardware upgrades under the hood. To recall, the company launched a rather interesting phone called the OnePlus 9R earlier this year alongside the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro. It was preceded by the OnePlus 8T, a mid-cycle refresh that wasn’t accompanied by a ‘Pro’ variant and had almost the same set of internal specifications as the OnePlus 9R. It’s all a bit confusing.
Since last year, OnePlus has been following a new product strategy that involves releasing only one ‘Pro’ flagship each year. For 2020, it was the OnePlus 8 Pro. This year, OnePlus 9 Pro carries the mantle. That leaves enough space for only one 'T' upgrade each year. So far, rumors have been circulating about an upcoming mid-cycle refresh called OnePlus 9T that will offer a few improvements over the vanilla OnePlus 9. It appears that, instead of the OnePlus 9T, the relatively unknown OnePlus 9R could serve as the foundation stone for the next OnePlus offering.
As per an Android Central report, the OnePlus 9 RT is scheduled for an official launch in October and will be the last phone in OnePlus’ numbered series to debut in 2021. It is said to borrow some key specs from the OnePlus 9R such as its 120Hz AMOLED display, a 4,500 mAh battery with 65W fast charging support, and a tweaked version of the Snapdragon 870 SoC with a slightly higher clock speed. The Snapdragon 870 itself is based on last year’s Snapdragon 865 series chips and has been the go-to choice for smartphone makers aiming to deliver top-tier performance on a budget.
A Few Minor Upgrades And Limited Market Release
There will be a couple of key improvements, according to the report. The OnePlus 9 RT will borrow its 50-megapixel main camera from the OnePlus 9 series. The Sony sensor behind this 50-megapixel snapper has delivered some impressive results on the OnePlus 9 series phones, which means OnePlus 9 RT buyers won’t feel left out when it comes to the imaging prowess. The other notable enhancement to arrive with the next OnePlus phone happens on the software side, as the device will boot OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12 out of the box.
More importantly, the next iteration of OxygenOS has been built on top of the same codebase as the ColorOS skin running on Oppo smartphones. OnePlus and OPPO, both of which fall under the aegis of the same company, have now deeply integrated their resources. OxygenOS 12 reportedly won’t offer much in terms of aesthetic updates, but there will be a host of new features including support for resizable floating windows, a native theme store, and a private safe for storing sensitive files. However, the OnePlus 9 RT will reportedly be exclusive to the Indian and Chinese markets, and won’t make its way to Europe or the US.
Source: Android Central