The OnePlus 7T's 90Hz screen is all but confirmed, but this may not be good news for all

OnePlus' CEO, Pete Lau, has given an interview to CNET in which he confirmed that at least 1 of this OEM's late-year phone releases will have a screen with a 90 hertz (Hz) refresh rate. Furthermore, this device is now to be cheaper than the 7 Pro, a current 4G flagship. It is projected to be launched in late September 2019, and may do so alongside the company's first smart TV.

Lau did not reveal the name of the phone to which he referred in the interview. However, it is reasonable to speculate that it will be the 7T, a slightly updated version of the pre-existing 7. The executive was equally tactiturn on the subject of the CPU this phone will run. He did note that "implementing the best-in-industry Qualcomm 800 series processors is a major part of achieving this high-end performance."

This implies that the putative 7T could be powered by either the Snapdragon 855 or 855 Plus processor. However, whichever variant of this high-end SoC is used in the 'cut-price 90Hz' OnePlus phone may lead to antagonism among its existing customers. Some of them will already have shelled out at least US$669 for their 7 Pros from May 2019 onward, and may not relish the concept of a new phone with a display of equal quality going for a reduced price.