Android buyers who have had their hearts set on getting themselves an OnePlus3 for Christmas have had their plans thrown into a tailspin by the fact that OnePlus went and discontinued the model a few weeks back. What was leaked online as a rumour that there would be a higher end version of the OnePlus3 turned out to be a straight up replacement of what is still one of the hottest, most vaunted and most wanted phones of 2016, on the Android side of the fence at least. It's hard to say what make the company actually pull such an audacious move.
OnePlus is a relatively young brand that is still struggling for recognition in some of the biggest markets in the world and in some markets, it is only now becoming a well known brand and that too, only amongst the most hardcore Android fans and enthusiasts. While their first phone was popular the OnePlus 2 was seen as somewhat of a miss. It is only with the OnePlus3 that OnePlus managed to create a truly great smartphone level device that had a killer price tag. Since the OnePlus3 was launched barely six months ago and has never ever been easily available, many question the wisdom of phasing the phone out in favour of a replacement so soon.
Higher price better value?
For people who have been planning to buy an OnePlus3 and have been stretching their budget to afford it, the announcement of the higher priced OnePlus 3T may come as a little bit of a disappointment but the price rise is small enough as a percentage that it should be something that most potential buyers should be able to manage. For people who loved the design and the size of the OnePlus3 there's good news.
The OnePlus 3T is exactly the same phone externally and all accessories and cases for it predecessor should work just perfect as OnePlus 3T cases and accessories as well. For potential buyers who found the design of the OnePlus3 a bit too understated for their tastes, there is already a huge ecosystem of designer cases that will fit the OnePlus 3T just fine, thanks to the fact the OnePlus3 was such an incredibly popular phone. Even if you want a custom OnePlus 3T case, it's easily available on the day of the phone's launch; simply buy a OnePlus3 custom case and snap it right on!
What do you get actually?
So what does the OnePlus 3T buyer get for the little extra that they have to spend for the new phone? Well firstly and most importantly, in our opinion at least, is a much larger battery. The ‘old' OnePlus3 has a 3000 mAh battery that sometimes struggles to get through a long day. With the OnePlus 3T, OnePlus has done some engineering magic to fit in a battery that is more than 13% larger into a phone that is exactly the same size. So the OnePlus 3T now gets through a day quite easily, thanks to its 3400 mAh battery.
