In what is probably a flagship's shortest life on store shelves (not counting recalls), the OnePlus 3T has already reached its end of retail life.

OnePlus has officially announced that it has discontinued its OnePlus 3T flagship smartphone, which launched back in November 2016. It's quite uncommon to see a flagship discontinued after less than a year on the market, but OnePlus has had a peculiar business model from the get go. With the OnePlus 5 launch just around the corner, the OnePlus 3T is out the door.

The company became famous for launching 'flagship killers" with high-end specs at a fraction of the cost of other comparable flagships, but for a good while it had an invite-only sales system that significantly limited the handsets' availability. Many fans wanted to purchase a OnePlus smartphone but didn't get the chance, but the company finally made its flagships more readily available.

Even if it ditched the invite-only model, however, OnePlus still discontinues each model as soon as the next iteration is ready to launch and now it's time for the OnePlus 3T's demise, although it's been on the market for less than a year.

What About Existing OnePlus 3T Units?

While OnePlus has decided to discontinue the OnePlus 3T, it says will not drop support for the smartphone. The company says it will keep delivering software updates to the OnePlus 3T, as well as the OnePlus 3 that reached its end of retail life once the 3T launched.

"We were thrilled by the response our device received both in the media, and by our users around the world," OnePlus notes in its announcement. "It's been far and away our most successful device yet, and we're incredibly proud of what we've accomplished together."

Nevertheless, the company has decided to discontinue the OnePlus 3T and it's likely to make room for the upcoming OnePlus 5 powerhouse. OnePlus's business model from the beginning has been to avoid having more smartphones than it can sell, and discontinuing one model as another one hits the scene seems to be part of that strategy.

OnePlus 3T Availability And Support

At the same time, however, fans are starting to worry about the company's trend of ditching previous-generation devices as soon as a new model comes along, and not keeping its promises. For instance, when the company discontinued the OnePlus 2 it promised that it would still deliver the Android 7.0 Nougat update but it hasn't happened yet. With this in mind, it remains to be seen if the OnePlus 3T will continue to get new Android builds as they become available.

For now, the OnePlus 3T is still on sale as the company clears existing inventory. Once all existing units leave the warehouse, the OnePlus 3T will remain permanently out of stock. Interested customers can purchase the OnePlus 3T from the company's website while it's still available.

As a reminder, the OnePlus 3T packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, 6 GB of RAM, 16-megapixel cameras on both its front and back, dual SIM support, up to 128 GB of native storage space, and a 3,400 mAh battery. It's considered one of the best Android smartphones on the market, and it's significantly more affordable than other flagships.

The OnePlus 5, meanwhile, is expected to make its debut soon boasting top-tier specs and features, including the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, a dual rear camera setup, 6 GB of RAM, and more exciting specs. Previous rumors even hinted at a whopping 8 GB of RAM, but that seems like an overkill for a smartphone.