OnePlus 9 RT apparently slated to launch in October, a 9R refresh with 50 MP IMX766 sensor and OxygenOS 12 that will not adopt Google's Material You design

It is not uncommon to see OnePlus refreshes mid-way through the year, but the company seems to be taking a different approach this time. Apart from the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9, the company also unveiled the OnePlus 9R this year that is exclusive to the Indian market. The OnePlus 9R is essentially a OnePlus 8T redux, but it looks like OnePlus may refresh the OnePlus 9R with a 9 RT some time in October. 

Early information from Android Central indicates that the OnePlus 9 RT will not be a huge upgrade over the current OnePlus 9R. The 9 RT would use the same Snapdragon 870 5G SoC, 120 Hz AMOLED display, 4,500 mAh battery with 65 W fast charging, etc. However, the camera is said to get some nifty upgrades. The OnePlus 9 RT is expected to feature the Sony IMX766 50 MP sensor that is part of the OnePlus 9 series and Nord 2 devices. 

The leak also suggests that OnePlus 9 RT would be the first to run OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12 out of the box. Similar to what we saw with the Nord 2, OxygenOS 12 will also be a ColorOS derivative but will continue to feature the OnePlus Launcher and other familiar OxygenOS features such as Zen Mode, Shelf etc. OxygenOS 12 is slated to get some new features such as floating windows, enhanced privacy features, and a theme store. So far, OxygenOS never featured a dedicated theme store but the integration with ColorOS has resulted in some of the features being ported over.

Also being ported over from ColorOS are alerts when apps try to access the Clipboard, Private Safe that allows you to lock sensitive data with a password, and a redesigned Settings page. Android Central notes that OxygenOS 12 will not sport Google's new Material You UI and that the overall design will be relatively unchanged from what we currently see with OxygenOS 11.3. 

Apparently, OnePlus was scheduled to release a closed beta of OxygenOS 12 by now but has held back due to much bug fixing. The author notes that his version of OxygenOS 12 is quite ridden with bugs as well. If all goes according to plan, OnePlus may release the first closed beta around August end followed by a public beta some time next month just in time for Google's stable Android 12 rollout. 

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