Upgrade cycle is a hugely decisive aspect when it comes to consumer tech brands. Especially, for smartphone makers, who have to deal with never settling competition and ever-evolving technologies.
Lately though, OnePlus has risen as a disruptive brand, not only for smartphones, but for upgrade cycles too. For the uninitiated, OnePlus is infamous for its five-month upgrade cycle leaving early buyers envious of the upgraded ’T’ variant.
Even after receiving backlash for its frequent upgrades to existing models, OnePlus has made it pretty clear that they don’t have any plans to change their strategy at this moment. They said this in response to a user who had asked during their OnePlus AMA if they will release a ’T’ variant of the OnePlus 6.
Going by the company's statement, it’s quite safe to assume that we might see an upgrade to the OnePlus 6 later this year.
So yes, this is how OnePlus is going about the upgrade cycle right now.
It’s a big deal
We can’t predict the future for OnePlus 6 buyers, but things haven’t been very pleasant for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 5 users in the past. OnePlus loyalists can either be the first ones to get their hands on the latest flagship or wait for the upgrade to own a "slightly" better phone.
Both the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 5 users had to compromise on a few additional upgrades after buying the original flagship models. But contrarily, the upgrade from OnePlus 5 to 5T was big enough to make the OnePlus 5 users feel envious. More so, because of the same price.
So, in case you're planning on buying the OnePlus 6, arm yourself with an indifferent attitude towards the 6T, unless you plan to upgrade. So far, that’s the only feasible solution. OnePlus, as usual, will hold back on the full capabilities of their innovation for the ’T’ variant. But the only positive aspect of this case is that it won’t be as sudden as it was last time.
Also, OnePlus has shifted the June launch to May this time around, which means a November launch for the OnePlus 6T is exactly six months after the OnePlus 6 launch. This makes it half yearly, in place of the odd 5-month upgrade cycle.
With the OnePlus 6 sporting the latest hardware and features, and practically there’s not a lot that the company can add to the 6T. Considering that, it’s not a bad deal to get the OnePlus 6 right now.
