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T-Mobile will reportedly sell the OnePlus 6T, marking OnePlus’ first major US carrier deal

T-Mobile will reportedly sell the OnePlus 6T, marking OnePlus’ first major US carrier deal

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OnePlus has had carrier deals in Europe in the past

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Photo by Stefan Etienne / The Verge

We’re still weeks away from the rumored October announcement of the OnePlus 6T, but the Chinese smartphone company’s next flagship might offer a big change from its predecessors: a deal with T-Mobile that would make it the first major US carrier to offer one of OnePlus’ devices, according to a report from CNET.

OnePlus already has some carrier partnerships in Europe, but a T-Mobile deal would be a first for OnePlus in the states, and offer the less-than-well-known company a better chance to get its phones (and brand) out to customers who haven't heard of it before. In the past, OnePlus has sold all of its devices in the US unlocked and directly to customers.

The deal isn’t set in stone yet

The T-Mobile version of the OnePlus 6T is said to be optimized specifically for T-Mobile’s network — including support for the 600MHz band of spectrum that the carrier acquired last year to offer better service — although the regular international version will also be offered from OnePlus itself.

CNET’s report does caution that OnePlus is still in the middle of the “technical approval” process with T-Mobile, meaning that the deal isn’t quite set in stone just yet. But if it does happen, it could be a major step forward for OnePlus’ attempts to break into the mainstream US market.