The OnePlus 5 is almost upon us. The Chinese manufacturer has announced that its 2017 flagship will be unveiled at an event held on Tuesday 20 June at 5pm UK time. The picture at the top of the page shows the latest leak from Casefanatic, which seems to show the OnePlus 5 alongside their newest case design. It looks very much like an iPhone 7. You can watch the launch in the embedded video below in just a few hours.
But read on if you want to be in the know before it’s officially unveiled.
OnePlus 5: Latest news
A new OnePlus flagship is super exciting. Unlike the likes of Samsung, HTC, LG and Apple, OnePlus may not be a household name, but in tech circles the company commands enormous respect. Offering flagship level performance at mid-range prices, the OnePlus 3 managed to spook pretty much the entire competition. Why pay £150-£200 more when the OnePlus 3 offered similar performance?
The latest news is that OnePlus has pretty much confirmed the leaks ahead of the official unveil tomorrow. This advert aired during the Champions Trophy cricket match between India and Pakistan:
That seems to match the leaks below, but read on to follow our working, and to see the specifications of the OnePlus 5.
Wait, did you say OnePlus 5? What happened to the OnePlus 4?
You didn’t blink and miss it. The last handset was indeed the OnePlus 3T, but there likely won’t be a OnePlus 4 at all. That might seem baffling for people who expect four to follow three, but there’s method in the madness.
The reasoning for this – if it’s true – could be something to do with tetraphobia. The number “Four” is considered unlucky in some Asian cultures, and OnePlus is a Chinese company.
So it’s OnePlus 5 from here on in, until it’s confirmed otherwise.
OnePlus 5: release date
OnePlus has promised to spill the beans at a special event held on Tuesday 20 June at 4PM UK time. It’s highly likely the phone will be available from then, or nearby, though it’s possible it may just be available for pre-order.
Either way, there’s not long to wait to find out.
OnePlus 5: specifications
The latest leaks, if confirmed, leave very little open to surprise next week. Case Fanatic has shown a whole bunch of OnePlus 5 images, showing how their case would fit with the new handset, giving us enough insight to pretty much confirm the previous leaks. You’re looking at a unibody design, physical home button, dual rear-facing cameras and USB Type-C port. And good news – the 3.5mm headphone jack stays.
The specs, according to numerous sources, include a 5.5in Full HD display, Snapdragon 835 processor (the same found in the HTC U11, Sony Xperia XZ Premium and the US version of the Samsung Galaxy S8), 6 or 8GB RAM, 64GB or 128GB storage and a 3,300mAh battery. Which is actually 100mAh smaller than that in the OnePlus 3T.
This seems pretty close to the word of a Weibo leaker from some months ago.
That leak promised an upgraded screen resolution however. It would be a shame if that was skipped, but not a deal breaker. While we’ve been perfectly happy with the screens previous OnePlus handsets have had, this upgrade makes a lot more sense when you see the likes of Google, Samsung and LG making a big play for virtual reality. In short, if you’re sticking a screen an inch from your eyes, the more pixels the better. You’ll also notice that descripting includes a 5.3in display – a slight surprise as OnePlus handsets have always been 5.5in (with the exeption of the OnePlus X, which was a diddy 5in).
Finally, both leaks suggests we might be treated to a dual-lens camera. Given the OnePlus 3T upgraded the front-facing camera from 8-megapixel to 16-megapixel, I would bet big on OnePlus treating its photographers to further upgrades in the OnePlus 5. More speculation was added to this when a leaked advert appeared on Weibo, which appears to show the camera in a different position and a different orientation.
Easy enough to fake, of course, but we’ll know which is right soon enough.
These broad specifications are pretty similar to another alleged leak, this time from Chinese site PC Pop. The site claims it’s going to have a Snapdragon 835, and up to 8GB RAM. That seems a lot, but never say never. They argue it’ll likely have an all-screen design, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S8, only with the fingerprint sensor moved to the back of a handset they suggest will be just 7mm thick. This is their idea of what it’ll look like – but bear in mind this is a mockup based on a rumour, so take it with a whole shaker of salt:
OnePlus 5: colours
OnePlus phones, historically, haven’t been the most colourful. The official account suggests that might be about to change.
Or it might just be a joke. It’s really hard to tell.
OnePlus 5: price
The OnePlus series has undergone some serious price inflation since it first launched. The OnePlus One launched at £229. The OnePlus 2 nudged it up to £239, before the OnePlus 3 pushed it to £309. Then Brexit pushed the price of that up to £329, before the OnePlus 3T appeared at £399.
With that in mind, and given the suggested design and specification changes listed above, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this trend continue. The OnePlus 5 could be as much as £460, I would guess – which would still make it good value compared to its rivals, but the advantage is definitionally shrinking, if I’m right.
I could be wrong, of course, but in any case I wouldn’t expect to see a price cut, so it will be no less than the 3T’s £399. So let’s say between £400 and £460.
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