The launch of the OnePlus 3T is bad news for those who have already purchased the OnePlus 3

OnePlus has teased a flagship smartphone launch slated for November 15, a rather surprising move given that the company, in its short existence, has only released one flagship per year. The upcoming smartphone, which is expected to be called OnePlus 3T, improves on the company’s existing top model, the OnePlus 3, significantly, without much of a price increase. And that’s just plain unfair to those who bought OnePlus 3 when it launched earlier this year.

(Also see: OnePlus 3T release date, price, specs)

OnePlus 3 is a very good smartphone, offering excellent specifications, a beautiful design, a spectacular camera and smooth software. However, the OnePlus 3T is likely to be better, offering a faster processor, better camera, more storage, built-in Android 7.0 Nougat and new color options. All of these new features would cost buyers an additional $80 (about Rs 5,000).

Now the extra Rs. 5,000 is a pretty big ask for price-conscious Indian customers, but it will still be a heartburn for OnePlus 3 buyers, who will see an upgraded model in the market just a few months after shelling out Rs. 27,999 for their swanky new smartphone.

(Also see: OnePlus review 3)

If the OnePlus 3T had been launched as an original 2016 flagship and not a mid-cycle upgrade, the company would have been forced to price it below Rs. 30,000 in India taking into account consumer sensitivity. Launching OnePlus 3T at over Rs. 30,000 – a significant psychological price for many Indian buyers – would have likely resulted in lost sales, which no company can afford in the current scenario. In comes OnePlus 3 with a price tag of Rs. 27,999, all issues resolved.

Of course, there are other factors at play here. Qualcomm is unlikely to have been able to ready Snapdragon 821, the new chipset powering OnePlus 3T, ahead of its own timeline to accommodate the Chinese smartphone launch, at least on a scale capable of satisfying initial demand for the OnePlus flagship. 2016. Therefore, this burden fell on the Snapdragon 820 processor, a fairly powerful piece of silicon that also keeps top smartphones from Sony, HTC, Motorola, Xiaomi, etc.

The shortage of display panels is said to be one of the reasons for the launch of OnePlus 3T. The company used Optic AMOLED panels in the OnePlus 3, but is rumored to be switching back to IPS LCD displays with the next model in its portfolio. If that happens, it will come as a surprise since the company’s co-founder, Carl Pei, previously pointed out that Optic AMOLED displays are superior to LCD displays and that OnePlus will continue to use them for the near future.

If OnePlus does return to LCD, it will be an indicator of a shortage of Optic AMOLED panels, which has been rumored for a while now. It is unlikely that this shortage, if any, occurred without the suppliers informing the company of the problem well in advance. The launch of OnePlus 3T, of course, will solve the problem. The small number of Optic AMOLED displays that OnePlus gets from its suppliers will continue to be used for the current flagship model, while OnePlus 3T will have the LCD panels, which are more widely available.

So was the OnePlus 3 an interim phone before the company could deliver the OnePlus 3T, the flagship it really wanted to create? This will undoubtedly be the question on all OnePlus 3 buyers’ minds.