OnePlus is no longer the underdog in the smartphone industry, but the fact that it only deals in one smartphone lineup makes it a lot similar to Apple, which only sells iPhones.
Last year’s OnePlus 3T and its predecessor OnePlus 3 are still two of the best phones that 2016 saw. In fact, the huge success that the newer 3T brought to the company has led to the launch of a new version dubbed OnePlus 3T Colette Edition.
Although already launched, the new Colette Edition will go on sale on Tuesday, March 21. However, not everyone will able to get their hands on this phone as it will be super-limited, with only 250 units being produced. While the original OnePlus 3T comes with gold and gunmetal color variants, the latest reports coming in claim that the new matte black color variant of the Colette Edition could just be the beginning, with the upcoming OnePlus 5 the next phone to ship with the same color variant.
Those who purchase the OnePlus 3T Colette Edition will get a matte black phone with a Colette logo engraved on the back, but the upcoming OnePlus 5 will drop the fashion company’s logo. In fact, there have been rumors that the phone could go after the near bezel-less Xiaomi Mi MIX’s ceramic back alongside a curved edge-to-edge screen. But chances are that the 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED specs we’ve been seeing on previous models will be retained in order to keep the price as low as possible.
Whether OnePlus 5 will finally lead the way in ditching the aluminum material that has brought the company huge success in favor of an all-glass design is still anyone’s guess. But is unlikely that this will happen as the company wouldn’t want to compromise on its renowned pricing strategy. Under the hood, there will be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 running the show and this will be paired with at least 6GB RAM. The base storage will be at 64GB and we expect to see a 128GB model as well. Still, don’t be surprised if OnePlus 5 also came with a larger 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant, but at this point in time, it’s just a mere guess.
Given the huge step made by the OnePlus 3T cameras, rumors are adamant that the upcoming OnePlus 5 will ship with a 23MP shooter on the back alongside a 16MP sensor for selfies. To keep the flagship killer alive would be a bigger 4000mAh battery, which should deliver a longer battery life than the 3400mAh used on the 3T. As usual, there will be support for fast charging via a USB-C port. Software-wise, Android 7.1 Nougat should run the show out of the box, especially since OnePlus 3 and 3T are already receiving the newer Android 7.1.1 Nougat OTA.