What you need to know
- OnePlus has announced that its upcoming phones will all be 5G-enabled.
- The company is expected to unveil the OnePlus 8 series sometime next month
- Sadly, the addition of 5G connectivity could mean that the company's next flagship will be significantly more expensive than the OnePlus 7T Pro.
Popular Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus is expected to take the wraps off its next flagship phones sometime next month. The OnePlus 8 series phones will come with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 865 chipset, 120Hz displays, and upgraded cameras. OnePlus today confirmed that it will be unveiling a "full 5G lineup" for its upcoming launch, which means both the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro phones will offer 5G connectivity.
OnePlus founder and CEO, Pete Lau said in a statement:
This is a milestone both for OnePlus and our users. We're proud to be among the first smartphone manufacturers to have full 5G line up for our next launch. OnePlus has achieved many firsts with 5G, and this time's no exception. We believe that following the dawn of the 5G era, the smartphone experience will go through a dramatic development. 5G's low latency and enhanced cloud services will undoubtedly help us achieve a truly interconnected experience, while also providing exciting developments in areas like gaming, which are vitally important for OnePlus' tech-savvy users.
Speaking to CNET, Lau also confirmed that the new technology will lead to an increase in prices compared to 4G products. This means you can expect the OnePlus 8 Pro to be considerably more expensive than the current OnePlus 7T Pro. The OnePlus 8, on the other hand, could still be "relatively affordable." Rumors also suggest a mid-range mode called the OnePlus 8 Lite could be introduced alongside the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, although the company is yet to confirm its existence.
Unfortunately, Lau did not reveal if there will be 4G versions of the OnePlus 8 series phones or if they will only be available in 5G versions. However, we think it is more likely that the company will launch 5G versions of the phone in select markets, while in other regions only the 4G versions of the phones will be sold.
Samsung's latest Galaxy S20 series phones, for instance, come in both 5G and 4G versions. While 5G versions of the Galaxy S20 phones are sold in markets such as the U.S. and Korea, 4G versions are offered in other regions.
