Compare and Recycle
07/02/2019

OnePlus 7 - What we Know So Far

OnePlus has become synonymous with “flagship” toppling specs delivered within the svelte mid-range priced handsets. This balancing act has helped OnePlus become a major player within the mid-range phone market. The 2018 flagship-killing OnePlus 6T was well reviewed and was well received by the market at large because it remained price conscious whilst retaining near-flagship tech within its beautifully crafted unibody design.

What Do We Know?

Last year, OnePlus was the first mainstream phone manufacturer to bring to market an in-screen fingerprint sensor (sorry Vivo). The OnePlus 6T was an audacious handset. However, the rumours are rife that the ‘big game changer’ for 2019 could be 5G-ready handsets. This could be a major disruptor within the mid-range marketplace (even the premium high-end marketplace).

Another major rumour – thanks to TechRadar – is that Snapdragon could be providing the processing power in the guise of the latest 855 chipset. There could be changes to the camera and big changes to the designs thanks to a new slider release for the camera mechanism.

When Will The OnePlus 7 Be Released?

As the OnePlus 6T has just been released last November, we can assume that the OnePlus 7 is still several months away. Whilst there is a corporate media event which teases a new phone in Q1 of 2019, it would be brand madness to release a new flagship two months after the release of the previous model – just think about how apoplectic those 6Ters would be! So, we can estimate that the usual life cycle norms will be followed which will mean an early summer release in 2019.

The original OnePlus One was a pioneer it cost £220 and beat low-level premium flagship devices. This is what made OnePlus stand out – the ability to shell out a small amount of cash for premium specs. The 5T and the 6T have been a little pricier around the £450-550 mark. However, in relation to the £700+ cost of a Samsung Galaxy or Apple iPhone that price point is still incredibly attractive when you consider the specs.

Splashleaks have thankfully photographed a OnePlus 7 in the wild. There are rumours that the camera is behind a slider – following the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 format. However, this could pose long-term questions surrounding durability? It also poses questions about waterproofing technicalities as many smartphones now place water resistance as a central ‘norm’ within their spec sheets – by being ‘gimmicky’ they could turn some possible customers off the smartphone?

What Could We Expect From The OnePlus 7?

We can expect OnePlus to remain 1080p HD-ready and this is due to the available cost of alternative superior screen resolution technology. The 1080p-beating resolutions of the £699 premium smartphones, like Apple, LG, Sony or Samsung, are a testament to Quad HD technologies. The whole USP of OnePlus is to pay a ‘mid-range’ smartphone price point for a premium-level handset. This is a trade-off that OnePlus has been happy to continue to provide its users. Once the technology becomes cheaper, we can guess that OnePlus would start to deploy this tech in their handsets but until that starts to happen, we can expect the resolution to remain at 1080p.

The processor chipsets are another so-called ‘trade-off’. The industry leaders like Apple’s A12 chipset or Samsung’s Exynos 9810 chipset technologies are peerless. However, OnePlus does provide suitable processing power in the guise of Snapdragon. The question is will it deploy the trusted Snapdragon 845 or will it showboat with the brand-new Snapdragon 855 – which Qualcomm believes will provide one of the fastest mobile processing experiences available on a smartphone platform. We will have to wait to see what Snapdragon tech they’ve installed under the hood.

The so-called ‘Triple camera’ trend – whereby there are three sensors within the camera’s infrastructure – has proved popular. However, the same cost challenges that permeate the HD question and the processor question come to the fore within the camera challenge. OnePlus wants to make sure the 7 is a premium-level handset but with a mid-range price point. Therefore, it might remain focussed on the dual-camera approach to maintain cost similarities.

When to Hear More?

The Mobile World Conference is due to start later in the month, and we can reveal that OnePlus have been sending out invites for people to join them at the Conference.

We expect them to be releasing an updated, 5G version of the OnePlus 6T and maybe the rumoured OnePlus TV box could make a showing, but we feel either way there should be some hint around their next mainstream release.

Whatever else is announced, Compare & Recycle will keep you updated. Why not check back regularly to see our latest OnePlus updates? We will keep you informed of the latest news regarding the OnePlus 7’s launch date, price and availability once we know more. So, keep tuned!

Andrew Marchant

See more posts by Andrew Marchant

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