After I’d heard the news that OnePlus was abandoning the US and European markets for good, I had the urge to bring my favorite phone from the brand out of its hibernation and give it a try for old times’ sake.
Sadly, when it came out of its box, the phone was far from its best, and ended up being the perfect metaphor for the whole, sad end-of-an-era situation.
OnePlus x McLaren was a match made in heaven
One of three different models
I have a lot of phones in hibernation. Some are kept because they will prove useful, some are forgotten, and others I keep because they’re genuinely brilliant phones.
The OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition firmly fits into the brilliant category. It arrived at the end of 2019, and was the second collaboration with car manufacturer and Formula One racing team McLaren.
I was already a firm McLaren fan, so this was a dream match.
The future OnePlus Concept One may have had the cool electrochromic glass over the camera, but it was never offered for sale.
What makes it a McLaren phone?
The signature Papaya Orange color running around the lower half of the rear panel and around the camera is the first clue, and the cool forged carbon-style detailing around the camera is the next.
Inside the box is a special McLaren-branded charging block, a Papaya Orange braided USB cable, plus a special phone case, and even a letter from OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau explaining why the partnership made sense.
My original intention had been to charge the phone up to see the Papaya Orange details in the software, use the pop-up selfie camera — a feature I’ve not seen in years — and give OnePlus a happy send-off.
Unfortunately, the passing of time hadn’t been kind to my 7T Pro McLaren Edition.
Time hadn’t been kind to the battery
Seeing more of it than I should
Even before I took the phone out of the box, I knew there was a problem.
The device sat proud of its home inside, and sure enough, the 4,010mAh battery cell had expanded to the point where it had separated the rear of the phone from the chassis.
My OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition was a useless, bloated mess.
I couldn’t safely charge it, so I only had the memory of using its fun pop-up camera, and the joy of using a version of the original OxygenOS had been consigned to the past too.
Outside attempting to replace the battery myself, the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition is only really fit for the bin, as the fewer potentially explosive devices I have in my house, the better.
I took the photos of the phone you see here, and found myself realizing the poor, old 7T Pro’s state was oddly appropriate.
What was going to be a celebration of OnePlus’s highs for me was an obituary instead, and a surprisingly fitting one.
QuizOnePlus phones and history
Trivia challenge
From flagship killers to foldables — how well do you really know OnePlus?
HistoryHardwareSoftwareFlagshipsInnovation
In what year was OnePlus founded?
Correct! OnePlus was founded in December 2013 by Pete Lau and Carl Pei. The company was spun out of Oppo with the goal of creating premium smartphones at disruptive prices.
Not quite. OnePlus was founded in December 2013 by Pete Lau and Carl Pei. The two former Oppo employees wanted to challenge the idea that a great smartphone had to cost a fortune.
What was the original asking price of the OnePlus One at launch in 2014?
Correct! The OnePlus One launched at $299 for the 64GB model, earning it the ‘flagship killer’ nickname. It offered specs comparable to devices costing twice as much, which stunned the industry.
Not quite. The OnePlus One launched at $299 for the 64GB model. That price point for a Snapdragon 801-powered device with a 5.5-inch display is exactly what earned it the legendary ‘flagship killer’ title.
What controversial sales method did OnePlus use to sell the OnePlus One at launch?
Correct! OnePlus used an invite-only system, where existing owners could invite friends to purchase a device. While it created buzz and scarcity, it also frustrated many potential buyers who couldn’t get an invite.
Not quite. OnePlus used an invite-only system for the OnePlus One. The strategy was designed to generate hype and manage supply, but it became one of the most controversial marketing moves in smartphone history.
What is the name of OnePlus’s current Android-based operating system, introduced in 2021?
Correct! OnePlus runs OxygenOS, which has been the brand’s software identity since 2015. Although it became controversial when OnePlus merged its codebase with Oppo’s ColorOS, OxygenOS remains the official name for global markets.
Not quite. The answer is OxygenOS, OnePlus’s long-running Android skin. HydrogenOS is actually the Chinese market variant, and while ColorOS underpins OxygenOS behind the scenes now, OnePlus still brands its global software as OxygenOS.
The OnePlus 6T was notable for being one of the first OnePlus phones to feature which technology?
Correct! The OnePlus 6T, launched in 2018, introduced an in-display optical fingerprint sensor — a first for OnePlus. The move came alongside the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack, which also sparked debate among fans.
Not quite. The OnePlus 6T was notable for its in-display optical fingerprint sensor, introduced in 2018. OnePlus has still never offered wireless charging on many of its devices, preferring its wired Warp Charge technology instead.
What is the name of OnePlus’s proprietary fast-charging technology, originally launched as Dash Charge?
Correct! OnePlus rebranded Dash Charge to Warp Charge starting with the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. The rebrand was reportedly due to a trademark dispute with Amazon, which used the Dash name for its own products.
Not quite. The answer is Warp Charge. OnePlus originally called its fast-charging system Dash Charge, but renamed it Warp Charge after a reported trademark conflict with Amazon. The technology itself remained largely the same despite the new name.
Which OnePlus device was the company’s first foldable smartphone?
Correct! The OnePlus Open, launched in October 2023, was OnePlus’s first foldable smartphone. It was widely praised for its slim profile, Hasselblad-tuned cameras, and large cover display, making it one of the most competitive foldables of that year.
Not quite. The OnePlus Open, released in October 2023, was the company’s debut foldable device. OnePlus positioned it as a premium offering with Hasselblad camera tuning and one of the thinnest foldable designs available at launch.
Which co-founder left OnePlus in 2020 to eventually start a new smartphone company called Nothing?
Correct! Carl Pei departed OnePlus in October 2020 and went on to found Nothing, the company behind the Nothing Phone series. His exit surprised many in the tech world, as he had been the public face of OnePlus for years.
Not quite. Carl Pei left OnePlus in 2020 to found Nothing, which later launched its own line of smartphones and earbuds. Pete Lau remained at OnePlus and also took on a broader role at parent company Oppo following Pei’s departure.
Your Score
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Everything OnePlus got right
What shaped the brand for years
OnePlus was only about 6 years old when the 7T Pro came out, and was riding high on a series of excellent phones with strong specs, unusual features, and competitive prices.
The 7T Pro McLaren Edition was around $900 and the 7T Pro, without the McLaren goodies, came in at $670.
For that, you got a Samsung-esque curved 6.67-inch, 90Hz, 1440p screen, and a flagship Snapdragon processor.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 at the time started at $900, and didn’t have a pop-up selfie camera.
OnePlus was adept at striking cool partnerships for its phones too.
In addition to the two McLaren phones, it had already made a Star Wars edition and a Marvel Avengers edition, and would go on to team up with Genshin Impact and Cyberpunk 2077 later on.
All this made OnePlus vibrant, exciting, and desirable. Great phones with only a handful of expected compromises (wireless charging was ignored for years), and at a good price. The formula worked, and worked well.
My poor 7T Pro shows what went wrong
Bloated and confusing
When the OnePlus 7T Pro arrived, it was at the height of OnePlus’s relentless six-monthly refresh cycle.
Done to give buyers immediate access to the best available components, it also helped keep OnePlus in the news.
The strategy also made the range confusing.
Between mid-2018 and late 2019, OnePlus released the OnePlus 6 and 6T, the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7T, then the OnePlus 7T Pro, and a pair of McLaren Editions.
That’s a lot of phones from what was previously a one-or-two model company.
Just like my 7T Pro’s battery is fit to burst today, so was OnePlus’s range back then.
This over-complication continued when Oppo joined forces with OnePlus in 2022, and the character seen in my McLaren Edition phone was eroded away.
I can’t try the original OxygenOS software on my 7T Pro, just like I can’t on the OnePlus 15, where it has become ColorOS under a different name.
Even though I can’t switch on my 7T Pro, I can flick the signature and always wonderfully tactile Alert Slider on its side.
This was also removed from some future OnePlus phones down the line, before being briefly brought back, then taken away again for the OnePlus 15.
Bloated and confusing, OnePlus stumbled through the years after the 7T Pro, making both good (the OnePlus 13) and bad (the OnePlus 10T) devices, but ultimately ending up as a husk of its former self.
That’s it, the end
No more OnePlus
Here we are at the end of July 2026, and OnePlus is no more, at least in the US and Europe.
The lights won’t be switched back on, and the brand many of us have been with since the beginning has ceased to function, just like my OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition.
I feel a twist of sadness, knowing not only will my favorite OnePlus phone never work again, but also that I won’t have the chance to find another new favorite OnePlus phone.
I’ll look back with fondness at the various OnePlus events I’ve attended, smile at the amount of red USB cables I’ve plugged in, and marvel at how the brand always managed to get haptic feedback just right.
OnePlus has settled, but not in a comfy chair to see out its retirement, but in a prone position six feet under. I’ll also be laying my OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition down to rest in its honor.
