On Friday, OnePlus confirmed its next flagship device, the OnePlus 5, is coming this summer. The company has yet to disclose an official specs sheet, price, or release date, but rumors say the upcoming smartphone could cost around $500 or less upon launch.
The now official launch window for the OnePlus 5 will mark roughly one year since the debut of its successor, the One Plus 3. An improved version of this last flagship, the OnePlus 3T, came out in November last year as well.
Both of these handsets were premium smartphones with a mid-range price tag under $500. However, the new OnePlus 5 is rumored to come with features like a dual camera setup that could ramp up the costs. Here is what we know so far.
OnePlus 5: Rumored specs and design
There have been lots of leaks focusing on the OnePlus 5. The only things officially confirmed so far are the release window and the name of the device. Some people wondered about the odd number jump this time over, but the company explained why they made this decision.
In their homeland of China, the number four is considered unlucky because its pronunciation is similar to the word “death.” Superstition about the number goes so far that even some buildings skip the number in elevators and floor plans, jumping from three to five instead.
Workers at OnePlus also cited former NBA star Robert Horry as a reason for the new flagship’s name. The basketball player wore the number five on his jersey, and a lot of people at the company are fans.
As for the device itself, it is all speculation at the moment. Leaks suggest it will come in an all-metal casing and that it will have a dual camera setup, although reports disagree on whether the lenses will be arranged vertically or horizontally.
Under the hood, further rumors point out at the inclusion of a Snapdragon 835 chipset and two possible memory configurations: 6 GB of RAM with 128 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage.
The OnePlus 5 will reportedly have the same 5.5-inch AMOLED screen as its predecessors, but this time over with QHD resolutions. The home button will come with an embedded fingerprint scanner, and a new 3,600 mAh battery with Dash Charge support will power the device.
OnePlus 5: Rumored price and availability
Historically, OnePlus has released their phones in China first before bringing them to other markets, but models like the OnePlus 3 and 3T launched simultaneously in the U.S. and landed in Europe just weeks afterward.
Experts suggest this will be the case again with the OnePlus 5. As the company’s latest flagship, widespread availability is just as important as price, which is rumored to start at $449 give or take.
The dual camera setup is the biggest element that could inflate the price tag, although specialists say it won’t cross the $500 line. The first units are expected to ship in early June after OnePlus officially unveils the 5.
Source: The Verge