While just a week's time is left for the official launch of the OnePlus 5T, CEO Pete Lau on Wednesday once again reached out on the OnePlus forums and revealed the presence of Dash Charge on the upcoming smartphone. The executive also confirmed the new OnePlus flagship would not support wireless charging. In another news, the price of the OnePlus 5T is now reported to be the same as of the previously launched OnePlus 5 - a move that may disappoint OnePlus 5 owners.
Lau mentioned two major reasons for retaining Dash Charge on the OnePlus 5T. The first reason highlighted by the 42-year-old executive points to the proprietary technology that is touted to deliver as much as 20 watts of power to deliver a day's charge in half an hour. Unlike OnePlus' Dash Charge, wireless charging pads in the present market support a maximum of 15 watts of power, OnePlus says, which is also subject to the position and number of devices on the pad.
The second reason Lau stated for choosing Dash Charge technology over wireless charging on the OnePlus 5T is the consistency of power delivered. Also, he pointed out that wireless charging doesn't enable users to pick their devices up to play a game or take a photo. He believed that the present model of wireless charging "brings more limitations than freedom", and the available wireless charging pads, cases, tables, and even lamps are "creating constraints" for end users.
"Wireless charging is an exciting concept that's matured a lot over the last few years. But given the current state of this technology, Dash Charge is still the superior choice," Lau asserted in the post.
Lau updated the forum post to clarify that he had referred to wireless charging technologies based on Qi standard, which has been adopted by companies like Apple and Samsung.
"We'll consider adopting when the time is right. Until then, we'll stick to Dash Charge," Lau concluded.
By leaving wireless charging support for a future model, OnePlus has joined the club of Google that brought the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL earlier this year with only wired charging option. Apple, on the other hand, finally succumbed to consumer wishes and this year added Qi standard-based wireless charging on the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X.
OnePlus 5T price leaked
Alongside abandoning wireless charging, it has reportedly been found that OnePlus is not making any changes to the price of the OnePlus 5T and will sell the new handset at the price of the OnePlus 5. TechRadar has claimed that a confidential documentation from carrier O2 confirmed that the identical price of the OnePlus 5T as that of the OnePlus 5.
If the report by TechRadar is believed to be true, the OnePlus 5T will be available in India at a starting price of Rs. 32,999. The Chinese company would also announce a price cut on the OnePlus 5 to make space for the new offering.
Fingerprint sensor spotted on back
In spite of the uniformity in the price, the OnePlus 5T is expected to have some major upgrades over the OnePlus 5. The new smartphone has already been confirmed with an enhanced camera experience and tipped with a bezel-less display. A fresh leak showcases a back-facing fingerprint sensor on the OnePlus 5T -- hinting the entire front panel covered by the screen that would have 18:9 aspect ratio. As 9to5Google mentioned, the handset appeared in the leaked render looks similar to the Oppo R11s - a similarity that's been speculated before.
OnePlus is launching the OnePlus 5T on November 16. Following the pomp and show in the US, the new OnePlus smartphone will come to other markets and will go on sale in India starting November 21.