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OnePlus earlier this week launched a OnePlus 6T variation that’s
somehow even faster than the top of the line 6T model unveiled a few
weeks ago. The McLaren Edition
comes with 10GB of RAM under the hood, as well as faster battery
charging technology. But those features will cost you a few extra bucks
compared with the regular OnePlus 6T. In a few months, OnePlus will
launch a brand new smartphone, one that should be even faster than 2018
models both when it comes to processing powers and data transmission.
That’s the OnePlus 5G phone that we keep seeing in various reports, a
phone that will not be part of the current line of flagship devices.
A report back in mid-November said that the unnamed OnePlus 5G phone
would be distinct from the OnePlus 7 handset we all expect the Chinese
makers to unveil at some point in the first half of the year.
Sitting down with CNET,
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed that the company’s first 5G phone would
be a distinct device, supposed to hit markets by the end of May.
The
5G phone should cost $200 to $300 more than the OnePlus 6T, which
starts at $550 in the US, but that’s something we already knew. Lau said
OnePlus would make the handset, not for the sake of sales, but to make
sure it’s at the forefront of 5G technology.
“The 5G product is
not expected to equate to huge sales,” the exec said. “It’s still early
stage. But by 2020 it could already be very different.”
“With a
focus on being one of the first companies to deliver a 5G phone, our
engineers and product development team can receive an early start on how
to best develop a premium 5G phone without compromise to design and
user experience,” Lau also said.
The OnePlus 5G phone would likely
be a flagship device, packing Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 855 platform as
well as Qualcomm’s new 5G antennas and other components required to
make 5G work. However, it’s unclear whether the device will sport other
differentiating features that would convince buyers to spend the extra
cash for a phone whose main feature won’t be exactly useful.
While
the first 5G networks will be turned on in various markets around the
world next year, it’ll be a while until users can enjoy decent 5G
coverage. Owning a 5G phone isn’t enough to experience 5G speeds, as
long as carriers do not activate 5G networks in your market.
CNET
does say that the OnePlus 5G will look a lot like its brethren when it
comes to design. It’s the interior phone that will suffer changes. The
phone will feature a 5G antenna that will use a portion of the spectrum
known as sub-6, the report says, which OnePlus says it’s easier to
deploy than the mmWave part of the spectrum that delivers the highest 5G
speeds over a shorter range than sub-6.
OnePlus has partnered
with EE in Europe to launch the 5G phone next year, although the device
will also be available for other wireless networks around the world.
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