OnePlus confirms what's replacing the Alert Slider and you won't be surprised

The Alert Slider has been a feature on OnePlus phones since the first device was launched in 2014. But it looks like that quirk of OnePlus phones is about to be replaced in a move that will surprise no one at all.

OnePlus is preparing to launch the OnePlus 13T in China and one of the expected features is a change to the Alert Slider. Now we’ve had confirmation of that change, thanks to a Weibo post from Li Jie Louis, OnePlus China president.

The OnePlus 13T Alert Slider will be replaced with a new shortcut key. We can’t be certain what OnePlus will call it as we’re currently working on the translation from Weibo. The button is said to offer an easy way to switch between silent, vibration and ringing, replacing the functions that it offered previously.

However, it will also offer customisation, so it sounds like you’ll be able to choose what it does, a little like the Action Button on the newer iPhone models.

OnePlus goes a little further, saying that the OnePlus 13T shortcut key will also feature a “very interesting function” which will be introduced at some point in the future. That’s likely to be something that gets highlighted on launch day, or is exciting enough to have its own Weibo post at some point in the future.

What do we know about the OnePlus 13T so far?

OnePlus used to use the T moniker for phones that had a mid-year refresh. It often took the base model and made a tweak, like a new processor or RAM, so that OnePlus could have the latest device available for customers. That’s not the case with the OnePlus 13T however.

The OnePlus 13T is said to be a smaller flagship-level handset, with a 6.3-inch display. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite and it’s thought to have a battery capacity of over 6,000mAh, which is impressive for a smaller phone.

The charging rate is said to be up to 80W, which is a little slower than the OnePlus 13, likely because there isn’t the same space for cooling in the device, so charging will have to be a little slower.

We’re expecting a pair of cameras on the back, both with 50-megapixel sensors and a 32-megapixel camera on the front.

The launch of this new phone has been confirmed for later in April, but so far we’ve only heard about it launching in China, with no word on when or if it will launch to a global audience.