Refreshed OnePlus 3T is a powerhouse Android phone that fills the void left by Samsung

Samsung still hasn't figured out exactly why its popular Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was exploding in users' hands, so it had no choice but to discontinue its flagship phablet and recall every single one of the millions of devices that had been sold to users. In doing so, Samsung left something of a void this holiday season. Shoppers looking to purchase a brand new flagship smartphone during the holidays always have plenty of great choices, but fresh new iPhones and Galaxy Note phones have been at the top of the list for the past five years. In 2016, however, Apple's new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus don't have any new competition from Samsung, which is instead pushing its eight-month-old Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge to holiday shoppers.

There are a number of flagship Android phones out there that could fill this void. Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL are well reviewed, LG has a new phablet called the V20, and LeEco burst onto the scene recently with the affordable Le Pro3. On Tuesday, however, OnePlus took the wraps off of its refreshed OnePlus 3T, and it could be just what Android fans have been looking for.

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Android fans will definitely be divided with today's announcement. The OnePlus 3 was released just five months ago, and eager Android users have been very happy with the sleek and affordable "flagship killer." Many people who bought the phone recently will be far less happy when they learn that OnePlus has already developed an updated version, which will launch next week.

On the other hand, most Android fans out there don't yet own a OnePlus phone, and the OnePlus 3T might be just the handset to make them reconsider.

Aside from a new "Gunmetal" color option that looks a great deal like the Space Gray color Apple scrapped from its iPhone lineup this year, the OnePlus 3T looks exactly like the original OnePlus 3. In fact, it even oddly carries the exact same A3000 model number. The recycled design isn't necessarily a bad thing considering the OnePlus 3 is still one of the best looking phones of the year, and it also allowed the company to move more quickly in developing and launched the updated phone.

As for how the updated OnePlus 3T compares to the original, there are six main differences:

1. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 processor replaces the Snapdragon 820
2. The battery was made 13% larger (3,400 mAh instead of 3,000 mAh) without increasing the size of the phone
3. The front-facing camera was bumped up to 16 megapixels from 8 megapixels
4. A new 128GB option was added to the 64GB option
5. OxygenOS has been updated (Android 7 Nougat is coming soon, and the original OnePlus 3 will get the update)
6. The new Gunmetal color replaces Graphite; Soft Gold is still available as well

There is one more change that some fans might not appreciate as much as the specification and design improvements: the OnePlus 3T will start at $439 for the 64GB model, rather than $399 as was the case with the OnePlus 3. The 128GB version will only be $40 more at $479, making it the better deal by far.

OnePlus will make the Gunmetal OnePlus 3T available for purchase on its website beginning on November 22nd in the US, and it will come with either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. The Soft Gold version will follow soon after, but it will only ship with 64GB. A video showing off the new OnePlus 3T follows below along with the phone's complete specs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fFx4oMQ0jc