The OnePlus 3 is a fantastic smartphone and although the company ditched the "flagship killer" branding, it is probably this generation that would have been most-worthy of the tagline.

Unfortunately for all those who thought the same as us and purchased the OnePlus 3, your device is now outdated. No the OnePlus 4 isn't coming just yet, but there is the OnePlus 3T: a faster, longer-lasting and more future-proof version of the device. 

Here is everything we know. 

OnePlus 3T: Release date and price

  • 22 November in the US, 28 November in Europe
  • Pricing starts at £399 in the UK

Leading up to its launch OnePlus tweeted  we would find out more on 15 November, and find out more we did. The OnePlus 3T will be available in the US from 22 November, with a European launch set to follow six days later on 28 November.  

As you'd expect for a device with boosted specifications and performance, the OnePlus 3T is slightly more expensive than the OnePlus 3. In the UK, it costs £399, that's around £70 more than the OnePlus 3. In the US and mainland Europe, it's $439 and €439 respectively, for the 64GB model. 

All this means we have a competitive smartphone on the market that's virtually as good as the best phones available, but still available for much less than the likes of the S7 and S7 Edge or the Google Pixel. 

OnePlus 3T: Design

  • Same design as OnePlus 3
  • New black and gunmetal variant

The OnePlus 3 features an all-metal, beautiful design and the OnePlus 3T features the same as was rumoured in the run up to launch. Apart from a slightly different shade of grey on aluminium, there is no difference. 

The OnePlus 3T is made from a single piece anodised aluminium alloy, measures 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35mm and weighs 158g. When the OnePlus 3 launched, it was made available in Graphite and Soft Gold colour options, the OnePlus 3T differs slightly in that it comes in a new Gunmetal colour, which isn't significantly different to the older Graphite colouring. 

A capacitive button with a fingerprint sensor built-in is be found on the front of the OnePlus 3T, while the rear will see a small centralised OnePlus logo, with a larger camera sensor above it towards the top.

OnePlus 3T: Display

  • Same Optic AMOLED 5.5-inch display as OnePlus 3
  • Full HD 1080 x 1920 resolution

Like the design, the display of the OnePlus 3T remains the same as that on the OnePlus 3. That means a 5.5-inch Full HD panel with a pixel resolution of 401ppi, putting it slightly lower than the recently launched Google Pixel and Pixel XL.

Despite rumours that OnePlus would move to a quad HD LCD-based display, the company has decided to continue with its own Optic AMOLED panel which has built in dual polarising panels to reduce the negative impact of bright daylight. That should mean content on screen is clearly visible even when outdoors in the sun. 

A sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass 4 covers the display to protect against scratches and impact and, like the OnePlus 3, it'll come with a screen protector pre-installed out of the box.  

OnePlus 3T: Hardware

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
  • 3,400mAh battery
  • 64GB and 128GB models
  • 6GB RAM

The OnePlus 3T features the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, which is a slightly enhanced version of the Snapdragon 820 found in the OnePlus 3. This was all but confirmed by Qualcomm and OnePlus  - both through Twitter - in the lead up to launch

Launching a OnePlus 3 upgrade with the new processor not only puts it in line with the latest Google flagships terms of speed, but it will also make the OnePlus 3T more VR-friendly given the SD821 has been specifically associated with virtual reality. 

As well as a processor boost, the battery has been given a significant boost. With its 3,400mAh capacity, it's a full 14% more capacious than the 3,000mAh OnePlus 3. And while the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage remain, there is a new and improved 128GB storage model which is only available in the new Gunmetal colouring. 

Dash Charge - the company's really fast charging technology - is, of course, supported again; USB Type-C is also present.

OnePlus 3T: Camera

  • New sapphire crystal coating
  • 16MP rear sensor, 16MP front-facing snapper

The main camera resolution has been kept the same as the OnePlus 3, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been improved in other ways. It's a 16-megapixel Sony sensor on the rear featuring 1.12µm pixels, an aperture of f/2.0 and 4K video recording capability.

As well as optical image stabilisation, it comes with an enhanced electronic image stabilisation, so that both still imaged and video are as smooth as possible. There's also phase detection autofocus and a new sapphire glass coating on the top to protect the camera from scratching and cracking. 

On the front, the OnePlus 3T has an all-new selfie camera boasting the same resolution as the main camera on the back. That means 16-megapixels for taking all your favourite selfie poses. In low light, the front camera has a nifty feature that binds the pixels together, effectively creating bigger pixels to capture more light, detail and colour without the noise. 

OnePlus 3T: Software

  • Android Marshmallow with latest Oxygen OS on top
  • Enhanced doze mode 
  • Redesigned "Shelf"

The OnePlus 3T arrives running Android Marshmallow with the Oxygen OS overlay. Although Android Nougat is now available, the new device doesn't come with Google's latest update, but it does borrow its enhanced doze mode feature to extend battery.

The Shelf - a screen which lives to the left of the home screen, giving you a quick snapshot of any important events and widgets - has been tidied up a bit to make it cleaner and more refined. There's a redesigned file manager and resized app icons to make the whole interface more uniform. 

As well as those there are new weather and voice recorder apps and, at some point in the future, an update will arrive that lets you take longer, expanded screenshots, so that you can capture full web pages in one go. 

OnePlus weren't the quickest to update its devices to Marshmallow after the final build was announced in October 2015, with users having to wait over six months. However, the company has said the Nougat build for OnePlus 3 should be released before the end of the year. 

OnePlus 3T: Conclusion

The OnePlus 3T is essentially the OnePlus 3 but with the latest Snapdragon 821 processor and increased battery capacity. There's a new colour and tweaked software, all of which help refine the product and prepare it for life with Android Nougat and Google's Daydream VR. 

It will arrive before the end of November, so if you're considering buying a OnePlus 3, you might want to hold off for a couple of weeks.