The OnePlus 5T is indeed coming later this year, just as expected. And we know for a fact that it’s going to be called OnePlus 5T because OnePlus first trolled the name, then it confirmed it.
On top of that, we also know that the phone will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack, rather than finally kill it.
It all started on Wednesday when OnePlus tweeted an image showing the profile of six devices, with the headphone jack clearly visible.
What do our phones have in common? 🎵 pic.twitter.com/sd9PcSdptw
— OnePlus (@oneplus) November 1, 2017
A few hours later, the company resorted to some brilliant trolling to confirm the name of the upcoming handset:
Oh, look! It's five cups of… pic.twitter.com/vWWWxyiUuf
— OnePlus (@oneplus) November 1, 2017
Yes, it’s five cups of tea.
If that’s not enough for you, then you need to read this forum post that explains why the OnePlus 5T will have a headphone jack. Posted on Thursday, the post is titled The OnePlus 5T – Let’s talk about the headphone jack.
Apparently, OnePlus really want to explain why it’s keeping the port on the phone, and it’s all about sound quality and money:
First, audio quality. When we surveyed the OnePlus community, 70% of users told us that their priority was sound quality. On the whole, wireless earbuds aren’t there yet to provide the same quality of audio. Are the best wireless headphones comparable to the best of the wired? That’s possible. But as you get closer to the under $200 category, the options are more limited. Keeping the headphone jack allows our users to continue to take full advantage of the excellent range of audio choices on the market. Not to mention our own Bullet V2 earphones.
I think OnePlus really needs to check out Apple’s AirPods or Beats X. Even Google has Pixel Buds that might be worth testing. All of them cost less than $200.
What’s interesting is that OnePlus wanted to replace the jack with a second USB-C port. That would have been insane. Thankfully, it’s not happening.
Finally, OnePlus also took a hit an Apple’s courage to replace the headphone jack:
Don’t get me wrong. Wireless audio technology has a lot of potential. And if you prefer wireless headphones, our flagships have excellent Bluetooth capability for this choice. But our goal from the beginning has been to bring better technology to the world. That’s why we prioritize the user and make good technology accessible. Sometimes, industry trends go against our core beliefs. This is one of those times when we respectfully disagree on what it means to be courageous. That’s why we’re proud to announce that we’re keeping the headphone jack for the OnePlus 5T – and confident that our product decisions for our upcoming device will offer the best flagship experience possible.
That is a bit ironic considering that OnePlus was pretty quick to copy the iPhone 7 with the OnePlus 5. But maybe that’s a different kind of courage, the kind that deserves replication.
