I referred to the OnePlus 6T as an "S year"-type release when it was launched Monday in New York. But the firm's T-branded releases are more correctly identified as a sideways shift than an upgrade. And I'm starting to doubt the need for this kind of release.

Put another way, the OnePlus strategy mirrors that of Windows 10, with which we're provided with two upgrades a year instead of the industry norm of half that. And as with Microsoft's software, this release cadence may be doing more harm than good.