Chinese smartphone makers must love fast cars because we have another company partnering up with a carmaker for a co-branded smartphone. Following the Porsche Designs versions of the Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro, Oppo’s Find X Lamborghini edition, we’re not going to get a McLaren 6T phone. Yes, that’s probably a maxed out OnePlus 6T that will sport significant McLaren branding.
OnePlus posted the following teaser video on Twitter, setting up the stage for a December 11th announcement:
OnePlus and @McLarenF1. Forever in pursuit of speed. Experience the #SalutetoSpeed on December 11. https://t.co/inqbUCRYcK pic.twitter.com/Q7HGBqmZtw
— OnePlus (@oneplus) November 27, 2018
The partnership with McLaren may be surprising, but this isn’t the first special edition OnePlus phone coming from the Chinese smartphone maker. OnePlus launched Star Wars and Avengers versions of previous OnePlus phones, although not all of them were available in all markets where OnePlus is present.
Also, given that “speed” is one of OnePlus’s favorite buzzwords this year when it comes to describing its phones, the association with McLaren does make some sense. Expect the McLaren 6T to pack 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and to be priced above the most expensive OnePlus 6T, which retails $629 right now.
But you shouldn’t expect a brand new phone from the event. Just a few weeks ago, OnePlus announced its second flagship of the year, the OnePlus 6T (here is our review) and OnePlus only makes two new phones per year. Things are expected to change in 2019, when a OnePlus 5G phone should join the expected OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7T flagships, according to recent reports. OnePlus already confirmed that it’s making a 5G phone based on Qualcomm’s 5G platform, without revealing any details about the handset.
