Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
The new OnePlus 6T smartphone was announced by OnePlus on Monday, but I've had the device in-hand for a few days, so I can tell you about it.
OnePlus had originally planned to announce the OnePlus 6T on Tuesday, but Apple's announcement of its October event on the same day led OnePlus to reschedule its event to Monday to prevent being overshadowed by Apple. It must have been a difficult decision for OnePlus, but the company did have some big announcements that would have likely played second fiddle to Apple's event had it kept its original Tuesday plans.
Apart from announcing the OnePlus 6T itself, OnePlus also announced that it's new device will be carried and sold by a US carrier for the first time in its history. That's a major deal for the company, as smartphone popularity in the US is often dictated by availability in carriers' stores.
That's not to say that OnePlus phones aren't popular - they're the most popular smartphones that a lot of Americans have likely never heard of. Release after release, crowds of people line up to buy the new OnePlus phone outside of temporary popup stores. I went to the OnePlus 6 popup store a few months ago, and while there was a line down the block, passersby didn't know about OnePlus.
The OnePlus 6T is also the first OnePlus phone to become compatible with the largest carrier in the US, Verizon. As usual, it's also compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile, too.
The OnePlus 6T will start at $550 and will be available to buy from T-Mobile and from the online OnePlus store on November 1. For T-Mobile customers in New York City, the Times Square T-Mobile store will be selling the OnePlus 6T three days before it's official release starting at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Check out what's new with the OnePlus 6T: