Update: A leaker claims that the OnePlus 10 Pro could be revealed at CES 2022 in early January. This is slated to be OnePlus' next flagship smartphone.

It has been almost two weeks since OnePlus announced that the OnePlus 9T would not be released. However, unlike many other cancelled phones, I am still thinking about it.

Not only because the OnePlus 9 series was so good that I wanted to see how OnePlus would up its game with the T version. It's also because this model could have been the last glimpse of OnePlus as we know it before the merger with Oppo gets into full swing.

With the OnePlus 9 Pro and the lesser but based OnePlus 9, the Shenzhen-based company has come the closest to making the best Android phone. When it comes to photography, several new sensors and a partnership with the experts at Hasselblad solved the company's historical weaknesses, leaving the phone's only drawbacks - low-light photography and battery life - to OnePlus, which, by taking another shot at the same basic phone, finally put these OnePlus may have finally nailed these as well by giving the same basic phone another shot.

Similarly, I was curious what OnePlus would bring to the 9T as its centerpiece new feature. For example, last year's OnePlus 8T introduced 65W charging to OnePlus' flagship line and also introduced a 120Hz refresh rate to OnePlus' small device size.OnePlus is rumored to be bringing a large 108MP main camera to the 9T, which could bring Apple and It may have been what was needed to boost photography to Samsung levels of quality; it's a shame we'll have to wait until at least the OnePlus 10 to see if OnePlus can pull this off.

I wanted to see the 9T not only because of the phone's potential feature set, but also because this will probably be the last phone developed by an independent OnePlus; OnePlus' stablemate at BBK Electronics, Oppo, has already been working with OnePlus for several years on batteries and displays, and other components have been fully integrated with the company after sharing them for several years. Both companies promise that this will only apply to the back end and that the two brands will continue to operate independently of each other.

The effects of the merger are already visible: OnePlus' new Android 12 skin, OxygenOS 12, is very similar to Oppo's ColorOS 12, and the two OSs will be fully integrated in the near future. The same is happening with OnePlus hardware, with several mid-range OnePlus Nord devices, including the latest OnePlus Nord 2, which is essentially a rebadge of Oppo's phone.

OnePlus phones will no doubt continue to have their own unique selling points compared to Oppo's phones after this merger, and since Oppo does not seem interested in launching products in the U.S. at this time, OnePlus should still have the U.S. market to itself as well. However, the OnePus 10, or whatever the next flagship model of OnePlus will be called, will undoubtedly be a phone built under very different circumstances than the previous model, and will have a lot of impact on how phones are designed and manufactured.

And this is why I wish there was a OnePlus 9T. It could have served as a bridge between the old and new OnePlus and helped us understand how the reformed OnePlus would work before the next complete device refresh. Seeing what was showcased in the marketing and what got attention would not only have been a potential teaser for next year, but also an unofficial send-off for the company we know.

But I don't think my plea will change OnePlus' mind. They won't be in the business long enough to develop, launch, and sell an entirely new phone just for tech geeks to analyze or fans to buy as a collectible.