OnePlus McLaren Editions Are No More

Up until recently, OnePlus' selection of smartphones per year has been more or less straightforward and simple. That doesn't mean it doesn't diverge from time to time to make special editions of those phones. Its most consistent special edition, however, has been its souped-up McLaren Editions since 2018. Now it seems that it will no longer be the case this year and until further notice now that OnePlus is no longer a partner for McLaren's 2020 F1 season.

While other special edition OnePlus phones revolved around themes and franchises, the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren editions have always been about giving the impression of speed. That ranges from boosting the RAM to getting a paint job that resembles one of McLaren's racing cars.

Of course, that's because OnePlus has been, for two years now, named as one of McLaren's partners for its F1 seasons. OnePlus does have the distinction of being the only smartphone maker on that exclusive club, though tech companies like HTC Vive, Dell, and even Logitech are also part of the group.

That, however, is no longer the case this year as OnePlus is noticeably absent on McLaren's partners page. That page does only list partners for the 2020 F1 season and may change for 2021. That does, however, mean that there might not be a OnePlus 8T or OnePlus 8T Pro McLaren edition this year.

Whether or not there will be other special editions of the phone is a different question. The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are both powerful and expensive already and OnePlus will have to find a partner to give that a special twist worth paying more for. Then again, there are definitely many brands waiting for such an opportunity as well, especially during these days when phones have become even more critical to people's daily lives.