Oops - ZDNet publishes OnePlus 5T hands-on early, claims it didn't know of NDA

Typically, big name media outlets and online personalities may receive review samples ahead of the official public reveal. In nearly all of these cases, the circumstances are assumed to be under non-disclosure acts (NDA) until an agreed upon date when the information can be made public. ZDNet Germany was lucky enough to receive a OnePlus 5T sample directly from the manufacturer only to "accidentally" publish full specifications and at least one hands-on video nearly a whole week ahead of OnePlus' official reveal event in New York City. ZDNet, of course, is saving face and has already publicly denied that it had broken any NDA terms.

Regardless of the situation, most of the leaked info from ZDNet is now readily available. We've compiled the most important facts and images below.

Improved low-light performance on second lens

The 18:9 AMOLED display and Gorilla Glass 5 protection are not surprising as they have been predicted by early rumors. What's more unexpected, however, are the upgrades to the dual rear cameras. OnePlus will be dropping the 20 MP Sony IMX350 f/2.0 sensor in favor of a 20 MP Sony IMX376 f/1.7 sensor while retaining the same second 16 MP Sony IMX398 f/1.7 sensor as on the original OnePlus 5. In other words, camera quality during low-light conditions will be superior to the OnePlus 5. Optical zoom is no longer available and is instead compensated for with a shorter focal length of 27.22 mm for both rear lenses.

Most other features will be similar to the OnePlus 5

Outside of the new display, improved camera, and rearranged rear fingerprint reader to accommodate the elongated 18:9 design, the core specifications of the OnePlus 5T seem to be identical to its immediate predecessor. The Snapdragon 835, 6 GB to 8 GB of RAM, 64 GB to 128 GB of UFS 2.1 storage, and compatible LTE bands have all been carried over seemingly unscathed from the OnePlus 5. Features that were sorely missing on the OnePlus 5 will still be missing on the OnePlus 5T such as optical image stabilization (OIS) and wireless charging. The manufacturer is instead pushing its proprietary Dash Charge quick-charging technology that works similarly to Quick Charge.

Retail prices are still unknown

Despite the blunder by ZDNet, regional pricing information has not been revealed and it's likely the one remaining major detail left to be disclosed at the New York press show on December 16th. Judging by the small price bump from the 300 Euro OnePlus 3 to the 340 Euro OnePlus 3T, however, it's likely that the OnePlus 5T will also launch for a higher price than the OnePlus 5.

Source(s)