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OnePlus is one of the most exciting smartphone companies that we have seen in a long time. This is because the company has been delivering a successful flagship one after the other in the last six years of its existence. Talking about the future plans for OnePlus, the company has adopted a different strategy as compared to everyone else. As per OnePlus’ strategy, they release two flagship smartphones every year.
As per reports, the OnePlus 8 series will be launched in the first half of 2020 and it could be earlier than expected. Later, we should see OnePlus launch the OnePlus 8T series if the company decided to follow its strategy.
Read also: CES 2020: OnePlus Unveils Concept One
Talking about the OnePlus 8 series, we have a few reports regarding the plans from OnePlus with these phones. An interesting report from OnePlus reveals that the company is looking to launch an affordable phone in this series this year. We will also see a regular variant and a Pro variant this year too. So it means that we will see a ‘Lite’, Regular and a ‘Pro’ variant of OnePlus 8 this year.
This is not the first time that OnePlus is releasing an affordable smartphone as we already had the OnePlus X which was not successful as per OnePlus’ own admission.
With the OnePlus 8 Lite, we see that the company will take a different approach and they might not go ultra-aggressive on pricing. It is quite possible that the OnePlus 8 Lite might launch in the upper mid-range segment rather than the budget segment as we saw with the OnePlus X.
OnePlus 8 Lite
Source: @OnLeaks
The most affordable smartphone in OnePlus 8 series this year will be the OnePlus 8 Lite. Now, there are reports that the device will have a 6.4-inch display which is likely to be an OLED one. Also, OnePlus mentioned last year that all their phones from now on will have a 90Hz refresh rate. Therefore, we expect the OnePlus 8 Lite to have a 90Hz refresh rate panel.
At the back of OnePlus 8 Lite, there will be a camera setup with dual cameras along with a time-of-flight sensor. There will also be a single front-centred camera on the front with a hole-punch cutout rather than a notch. Obviously, we will see larger bezels on this device compared to the rest of the OnePlus 8 series.
There are reports of OnePlus using a MediaTek processor on this one rather than the Snapdragon chipset. This chip from MediaTek is believed to be a Dimensity 1000 SoC which is the First MediaTek Integrated 5G Chipset.
The device will have a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. We expect the device to have 20W Dash Charging support too. However, there will not be a 3.5-mm headphone jack on this device too just like other OnePlus devices.
OnePlus 8
Source: @OnLeaks
In the OnePlus 8 series, we will definitely see a regular mid-range variant which will simply be named as the OnePlus 8. It will be similar to last year’s OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7T and will succeed these two smartphones. For the OnePlus 8, we will see a larger 6.7-inch whereas the design will be similar to what we saw on the OnePlus 7 Pro.
The most interesting part about OnePlus 8 would be a 120Hz refresh rate panel on the device. It’ll be paired with AMOLED technology too. However, it depends on OnePlus’ decision to include this panel on the OnePlus 8 or just limit it to the OnePlus 8 Pro.
As for the camera optics, we will see a left-centred single selfie camera inside a hole-punch cutout. Along with that, there will be a triple rear camera setup which should have a 48MP primary camera along with a wide-angle and a telephoto lens.
The OnePlus 8 will have a curved panel too just like last year’s OnePlus 7 Pro and the 7T Pro. Those who don’t really like curved displays will have to rely on OnePlus 8 Lite which might be less powerful.
As for the specifications, we should have more than 8GB of RAM for the base variant along with a Snapdragon 865 processor. We should also see 256GB of internal storage on the base variant if the recent trend is to be taken into account.
OnePlus 8 Pro
Source: @OnLeaks
As we have previously mentioned, the OnePlus 8 Pro will be the best flagship smartphone in the OnePlus 8 series from the company. This is because the smartphone will feature a 6.9-inch display which will be a 120Hz refresh rate panel. It’ll have OLED technology and should also be curved like last year’s Pro variants from OnePlus.
As for the specifications, we will have a Snapdragon 865 processor in the OnePlus 8 Pro too along with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage variants. However, the real difference between the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will be in its camera optics. The OnePlus 8 Pro will have an additional rear camera sensor which will make its tally for the rear cameras to go up to 4. As for the front, there are reports that it will have a single selfie camera with a hole-punch cutout. However, we might see a dual selfie camera on the OnePlus 8 Pro in a hole-punch cutout as well.
Read also: All Phones Expected at MWC 2020
Pricing
Coming to the price of the OnePlus 8 series, we don’t have too many confirmed reports regarding the same but we should expect the OnePlus 8 Lite to come at under the $500 (Rs. 35,000) price range. Regarding the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro, we should see the smartphone launch at a $700-$800 (Rs. 50,000) price range.
As far as the launch of OnePlus 8 series is concerned, we might see OnePlus repeat its same launch timeline and announce its latest smartphones in May this year which is when the OnePlus 6 series and the OnePlus 7 series were launched.