It is confirmed that OnePlus will launch another device and hopefully in time for Christmas, but what features do you expect from the next OnePlus device?
There are going to be a ton of rumours flying around as to what the next OnePlus phone will be and what it will offer. Below I’m going to write down a few of those suggestions we have heard and some which we ourselves believe to be true. We would like you guys to comment on our thoughts and add your own in the comment section below.
OnePlus 2 mini?
Is the next OnePlus simply going to be a OnePlus 2 mini? I’m not entirely convinced that’s all it will be but some people who claim to be in the know do believe that a smaller (5-inch) OP2 mini will be released at the end of the year. What do you think?
Stylish mid-ranger with high-build quality?
Personally I feel that OnePlus have already covered the market for mid-range and flagship phones with the OnePlus 2. It’s a low-cost phone for the spec, and launching a OnePlus 2 mini would risk the company eating in to sales of the full size phone.
Instead I feel that OnePlus will launch a mid-range phone with mid range hardware but high-end build. It won’t necessarily be cheap and will focus on design, fashion, camera features and likely audio.
Think of a device similar to and designed to compete against the Oppo R5, Oppo R7, Vivo X5Pro and iPhone 6. Does this sound plausible to you?
Qualcomm or Mediatek?
I personally love the new Helio range of chips from Mediatek, and it seems that the Taiwanese chip maker are already working with some brands to release source code (finally). I would love to see a Mediatek X10, X20 or X30 powered OnePlus phone but I don’t think this is likely this year.
Unfortunately I believe OnePlus will stick to their partner Qualcomm for their next phone, which leaves us with the Snapdragon 615 V2 chipset. This is a huge concern and worry for me as both the Vivo X5 Pro and Xiaomi Mi4i use an SD615 and both are laggy and overheat.
5-inch display?
I certainly think the next OnePlus is going to be smaller than 5.5-inch and we will likely see a 5-inch of 5.2-inch phone. Since the launch of the OPO core fans have asked for a smaller phone and this is the time to offer it to them.
NFC?
There is no chance the next OnePlus will use NFC. OnePlus have taken a stance much like Apple when it comes to certain hardware in that they say users don’t need it and so they won’t ship a phone with NFC until they decide its a good idea. In all honesty I do see OnePlus’s point about NFC not being used by most people, but with Google Pay rolling out we are going to see NFC usage surge in the next few months, making the OP2 and next Oneplus not entirely future proof.
Cameras
OnePlus have just started to use Omnivison for their cameras and will want to concrete their decision and back it up by continuing to spec OV cameras. This is not a problem at all as the latest OV sensors are some of the best on the market.
As I feel the next OP will be more of a fashion device and less of a powerhouse I expect the phone to come with a powerful 8+ mega-pixel front camera and 8+ mega-pixel rear. Remember the iPhone still uses an 8 mega-pixel main camera and there is no reason Oneplus can’t do the same while saving a few $.
Fingerprint Scanner
Yes, I think a fingerprint scanner and physical home button will be used once again. OnePlus said it was the best solution for the OP2 and are likely going to stand by those ideas for their upcoming Oneplus device.
Materials
Glass and alloy materials seem perfect for the next phone. We could possibly even see OnePlus make their next phone out of a liquidmetal material which would offer a very strong and smooth finish. 2.5D glass panels meeting a rounded alloy chassis would be a wonder touch too, perhaps even Sapphire glass is possible too.
Invite only?
The mid-range OnePlus phone I envision isn’t going to have the same sort of impact as the OnePlus One or OnePlus 2. Instead of being aimed at core phone users the next OnePlus will be aimed at the partners, wives, girlfriends and boyfriends of current OnePlus phone users.
It will also make sense to launch the phone at around Christmas time as it makes the perfect gift.
It could be possible we won’t see an invite system for the next OnePlus, but just because they won’t necessarily need one doesn’t mean the company will choose to ditch the controversial system.
Other
Quality speakers and audio chips, enhanced beautification mode for the front and rear cameras, USB Type C and 3GB RAM plus no SD card support seem likely for the next OnePlus device.
So those are some of our predictions for what OnePlus have in store for later this year, and we have around 5 months to wait to see if our ideas are accurate or not. We will revisit these ideas as more information is announced, to see if we were on the mark or completely wrong.
Not it is over to you guys, what are your predictions for the next OnePlus phone?