OnePlus have managed to build a name for themselves in an already highly saturated market, mostly through the clever use of hype and social media marketing. The launch of their first device, the OnePlus One, was met with a lot of positivity and was a huge success for the company, and even though the follow-up – the OnePlus 2 – did not manage to make the same splash, it was still noted as a good device for its price.
Now there are various rumors going around regarding the OnePlus 3 (or whatever naming convention the company is planning to use this time), and while there is no concrete information about it, this is probably exactly what OnePlus want. The company mostly built their success on hype and mystery, and it’s obvious that they would try to capitalize on those factors in the development of their newest phone as well.
With that in mind, when can we expect the official announcement? Some predictions point towards April, but others are not so convinced that the presentation will be ready so soon. The company is going to host a special event on April 7, but reports claim that it will not be related to the launch of the OnePlus 3. The most popular speculation is for a launch in late June, but even that is hard to confirm.
In terms of hardware, the device will likely not stray too far away from the system that the company has already established. We expect that it will come with a better processor, display and battery, but it should keep the overall approach more or less the same. Some more specific rumors indicate that it could come with a 5.5 inch display running a quad HD resolution, but this conflicts with other reports of an 1080p screen.
The OnePlus One and 2 were pretty capable devices for the Android market, so we would expect the company to retain the same level of power under the hood. Most experts claim that the device will likely come with a Snapdragon 820 and might actually have 4 GB of RAM. Phones are becoming more and more demanding in terms of processing power and memory, especially for more recent releases of Android which have become very power-hungry. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if this is close to the specifications of the actual device. Combined with a good battery, it will have all factors in place to take on the competition.
There are also rumors that OnePlus might join the current wave of USB Type-C adoption, as other companies have started to release devices with the new connectivity standard. However, the situation is still very messy as Type-C is still relatively unpopular among most manufacturers, leaving users of such devices in an awkward spot. It can be difficult to find a charger on the go, for example, as standard USB connectors are still prevalent in the industry and likely will be for some time to come.
Most fans of the company are apparently only hopeful that they will not do anything too drastic with the physical design of the device. The OnePlus brand relies a lot on its style for recognition, so it would be a bit strange to see the manufacturer throwing the current design out of the window in favor of a complete rework. Of course, they might have found a way to improve on the current setup, but not many people would agree that it needs improvements in the first place.