"Chinese phonemaker OnePlus is officially working on its next phone. Word came out after CEO and cofounder Pete Lau posted a teaser image from the OnePlus Weibo account (via BGR).
The image shows employees working on the gears of a phone (while one bystander laughingly looks on), and is accompanied by the words "indulge in labor without a break, just to make a big surprise", followed by OnePlus' hashtag "#NeverSettle".
The message? That the next phone, rumoured to be called the OnePlus 5 (yes, that skips four since the number regarded as unlucky in China, one that corresponds to death), should come out sooner rather than later.
OnePlus was relatively unknown a few years ago, but the company has since earned a modest global following due to midrange hardware that undercuts typical midrange prices. The company seems to be ramping up its phone releases, perhaps to squeeze other mid-tier rivals. Although the OnePlus 3 came out last June, the follow-up OnePlus 3T appeared in November.
As for hardware, Lau's post doesn't share too many specifics, but we expect it to be a more substantial upgrade. A report from Chinese site PCPop claims that the OnePlus 5 will get the following:
- Dual rear cameras
- Slim bezels with no physical home button
- 8GB of RAM (that's a lot!)
- 5.5-inch display with 2K resolution
- 3,000mAh battery
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (same as the Galaxy S8)
The specs are unconfirmed, but keep a lookout for more rumours to come.
OnePlus did not respond to a request for comment. "
Source: Gordon Gottsegen, www.cnet.com