The OnePlus 8T might make 120Hz refresh rate phones more affordable

It looks like OnePlus might finally make 120Hz smartphones more affordable — because its upcoming OnePlus 8T will include that higher refresh rate, the company confirmed today. The T-series of OnePlus phones typically serve as a half-step between its numbered phones, but bring premium features from the company’s Pro models, like that 120Hz screen, to a lower price. The OnePlus 7T did the same thing last year, by bringing the OnePlus 7 Pro’s 90Hz screen to $599.

While we don’t know quite how much the OnePlus 8T will cost, 120Hz screens typically come at a premium: the OnePlus 8 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S20 each cost $1,000 to start; gaming phones such as Asus’ $900 ROG Phone II and the $800 Razer Phone 2 also have 120Hz screens, but to go cheaper you’d have to find a sale. Despite Apple not releasing a phone with a 120Hz (yet), its iPad Pro model with the higher refresh rate also costs $800.

Image: OxygenUpdater

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau told TechRadar that the OnePlus 8T’s screen will also “dominate the front of the handset with a screen-to-body ratio of 91.9%.” For comparison: the OnePlus 8 Pro’s display takes up 90.8 percent of the phone, the OnePlus 8 takes up 88.7 percent, and the OnePlus Nord’s display takes up 86.7 percent.

Lau also claims the OnePlus 8T screen can hit 1,100 nits, so if you are using your phone and it is exceptionally bright outside, you probably won’t be squinting your eyes trying to respond to a text message in a brightly-lit area. That’s only slightly more than the OnePlus 7T’s 1000 nits, though.

OnePlus plans to announce the OnePlus 8T on October 14th. The company has not confirmed what type of specs the phone will have, but Android Central reported the phone’s battery will be a little bigger at 4,500mAh, compared to the OnePlus 8’s 4,300mAh battery. A source also told the publication that the OnePlus 8T has a Snapdragon 865+ processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and four cameras on the back (48-megapixel primary, 16-megapixel wide-angle module, 5-megapixel macro, and a 2-megapixel portrait lens).