I bought the OnePlus 5 last year. A few weeks later, there was a OnePlus 5T. And before I could convince myself on upgrading there was a OnePlus 6, and now in a couple of days, there’ll be a 6T.

OnePlus, the company we first saw as a flagship killer, has evolved from being a small unknown brand, to a big company. And it seems the target is no longer the enthusiasts as we first thought. It also seems to no longer be the true value-for-money option with new entrants like the PocoPhone.

One can argue that it is only Apple who can sit pretty for a whole year without upgrading their smartphones. And their significant upgrades always take two years. Samsung always has two main launches each year: the S series and the Note series. Huawei on the other hand has the P series and the Mate series. LG has the G series and the V series. So in some way, one can say OnePlus is doing what every other company is doing out here.

But herein is the problem. The t-upgrades OnePlus offers cannot be compared to the differences between say Samsung’s S and Note Series. The S9 is very different from the Note 9 from design to target market. They have mostly the same specs, but one group of people will definitely prefer one to the other.

Take a look at the OnePlus 6. There’s 8GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 845. What new thing would the OnePlus 6T bring? In terms of specs… pretty much nothing. But in terms of hardware, we can expect that under-display fingerprint scanner, and the reduced so-called tear-drop whatever notch. They also seem to have removed the headphone jack.

Check back in 24 hours for an exciting announcement. #OnePlus6T pic.twitter.com/mIeveZ0n6H

— OnePlus (@oneplus) October 7, 2018

When the OnePlus 6 launched, I wrote a post telling people to consider skipping it because in a few months there’ll be a better phone from the company. And now, just a little more than 4 months later the OnePlus 6T is coming. And this isn’t like a minor upgrade as you would say the 5T was to the 5. This is a big change. Plus considering the fact that the pricing would be very slightly different, one must feel the pinch.

Why would one want to get a device, whether as an enthusiast or even as a normal buyer, only to hear there’s a newer better version in less than 5 months?

OnePlus should think of either having another dedicated line of devices, or extending their upgrade timelines. In a few months there’s probably be a OnePlus 7. I don’t know what new slogan they’ll go with. OnePlus 7: Speed Unlocked? By the way, where does all the e-waste go?