A special OnePlus 8T variant has been spotted with an enticing bonus feature. The problem is there's only one place you can get it from.
As revealed in a T-Mobile hands-on video, there is also a OnePlus 8T Plus variant, exclusive to the carrier. It's pretty much the same phone, but offers additional support against water and dust.
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The OnePlus 8T Plus is rated IP68 against intrusion from dust and water. Historically OnePlus hasn't bothered getting its phones officially rated, a trend it only broke with the OnePlus 8 Pro. It's not enough to make the phone water- or dust-proof, but knowing your phone would be safe after being submerged is a comforting guarantee to have.
Aside from this, and the fact it supports T-Mobile's specific 5G frequencies, this version of the phone is pretty much indistinguishable from the normal 8T. That includes the the same choice of two colors, a 6.55-inch, 120Hz display, 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, the Android 11-based OxygenOS 11 operating system, quad rear cameras and 65W charging.
What's more unusual is that T-Mobile is selling the OnePlus 8T Plus for the same price as the normal 8T: $749. It looks like T-Mobile is the one paying for the IPX rating, and is not passing on the cost in order to avoid putting off potential customers.
In our OnePlus 8T review, we complimented the phone's display and fast charging, but didn't have much good to say about its cameras. While the addition of an IP resistance rating is a bonus, it likely wouldn't do much to change our mind about the phone's overall quality.
If you're interested, the OnePlus 8T goes on sale in the U.S. on October 23, costing $749. In the U.K., the same model costs £649, but there's also a cheaper £549 version that uses 8GB RAM and 128GB storage instead. Both of these go on sale on October 20.
