Originally Posted by
cx4ever
Kind of off topic, but Airbus unveiled a new winglet design on the A350s like (a year ago?). If I believe correctly then this upgrade is complemented with a slightly different wing twist or something. I'm pretty sure I've never seen a CX A35J with the new winglets, any reason why CX would decide not to upgrade the ones not yet delivered? Seems a bit odd...
The new sharklets were tested in 2017 and became standard last year. First outfitted on the A350-900ulrs, all A350-1000s, and subsequent A350-900s. All A350 family planes delivered starting sometime on 2018 and onwards now have them. They are not optional....they improve the spanload distribution of the wing. Essentially these were improvements to efficiency possible that Airbus realized during initial A359 testing phase, and they were then incorporated a few years later. (And I am no aviation expert....I'm basically just copying and pasting what Airbus executives told me a few years ago).
The changes are subtle, but with a keen eye you can detect them. They are less roundy shaped, a bit boxier, and taller. But subtle. Hard to totally tell unless next to two birds.
If you Google around I think there are images comparing the two on the internet.
I'm not sure but I don't think original A359 birds are "upgraded" though to the new winglets. Maybe someone else knows.
EDIT: apparently NO a350-1000, according to a trusted poster below. But I think the other info is correct.