A major strength of OnePlus since its inception has been its willingness to engage with its community of users and, by this point, fans. That doesn't show any sign of changing, thankfully, and in the wake of the OnePlus 6T launch, co-founder Carl Pei and his team hosted an AMA on the company's forum.

Recent decisions, such as dropping the headphone jack, may lead some to assume that the company is no longer listening to its supporters, but the team wants to assure everyone that's not the case. Pei was joined by Manu J (Oxygen OS), Louis S (Product Manager), Bob X (Accessories), Jimmy Z (Camera PM), Emily S (E-commerce) and some Community Managers to field questions — here's a selection of the most interesting topics and answers.

On the lack of notification LED...

"We wanted to maximize the amount of screen real estate while minimizing bezels from all sides." — Carl Pei "We have improved our ambient display - you can pick up your phone to show notifications and tap the screen to show new notifications. These features will help you to check new notifications without turning on the display." — Manu J

Adding an Always on Display setting...

"Always on Display is a great feature to have on a smartphone. However, we are still considering the functional value vs power consumption of this feature before we implement it." — Manu J

Trade-in programs outside the US...

"Our operator partners in Europe might be running their own, different programs, as well.

On oneplus.com, we run our own trade-in program. It covers Europe, and covers the OnePlus One. You can find a link in the footer of our main website." — Carl Pei

Will the T-Mobile OP6T (US) get fast updates from OnePlus?

"Due to the additional level of certification required by T-Mobile on all software releases, there may be a slight offset but we are working diligently to minimize this period in all instances. " — Manu J

Why don't earbuds come in the box?

"We believe that it would unnecessarily create waste and increase the price of our products for something people already own. And most likely, they already own a pair of earphones that are better than what's usually included in the box." — Carl Pei

On the included screen protector...

"Our standard screen protector in the box is made of PET, but the screen protector selling on website [coming soon] is made of 3D glass." — Bob X

Still no IP rating?

"Same as before... We design our products for great every day use, not for edge cases. If you accidentally drop your phone in a puddle or spill some water (both of which are every day scenarios), it will survive. If you want to go diving with it (which isn't an every day scenario), it won't survive." — Carl Pei "To be certified for IP ratings, every component must go through rigorous testing which dramatically increases the cost – about 30 USD per device. Is it worth it to increase the cost of the device by $30 to serve a small selection of users, considering our own water resistance precautions? We think not" — Louis S

Any plans to launch a smaller device?

"Most people are quite happy with the current size and we're not thinking of changing this right now." — Carl Pei

WiFi calling on AT&T?

"Not at this moment unfortunately." — Carl Pei

On the Nightscape camera mode...

"Nightscape is the most complex technology we have ever developed and we are very proud of it. It’s a combination of several technologies and algorithms. First is the Nightscape HDR, where we fuse up to 10 frames to present details both in the dark and lighted areas. Second is the Detail Optimization to make Nightscape photo look clear and sharp. Third is the Noise Reduction. Last but not least is the Multi-frame Stablisation - it avoids blurriness caused by hand shaking as much as possible. It’s worth mentioning that OIS is also offering great help." — Jimmy Z

And will Nightscape come to the 5T or other previous models?

"No, Nightscape will only work on OnePlus 6/6T due to hardware difference." — Jimmy Z

Screen unlock can be blinding at night, any chance of some more considerate animations?

"We consider environmental and ambient light factors when unlocking the phone. This is something we're working on." — Manu J

Those are just some of the highlights from the questions answered, but there are many more, so it's worth checking out the full thread. If you still have any burning questions, maybe a Community Manager will be able to help you. Failing that, perhaps someone in our comments below will have the answer you need. Read our review if you want to see what we made of the OnePlus 6T.