Apart from 2014, which is when OnePlus went into the smartphone business, the company has released two phones per year. While this has drawn varied reactions from different corners of the smartphone industry, it appears that the results are impressing the company to a point that it is thinking about expanding its smartphone portfolio beginning next year.
Beginning 2019, reports coming in from Spain suggest that OnePlus will have a third smartphone on the market, besides the expected OnePlus 7 and 7T. Apparently, this third phone will be targeting early enthusiasts of 5G connectivity and will be unveiled at the MWC 2019.
The logic behind expanding its smartphone portfolio is the need to have a 5G device on the market without disrupting the stability of its current business model. By including a 5G modem, the price of the phone will go beyond what we are used to when it comes to OnePlus devices. To avoid any major backlashes with respect to pricing, OnePlus thinks having a third smartphone that specifically addresses the 5G issue is necessary.
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Thus, the expected OnePlus 7 and 7T releases won’t be affected by this 5G device, but how far OnePlus is willing to push this agenda is still unknown. In fact, we cannot confirm that this will indeed be the case, but if it does materialize, we won’t be surprised if this 5G model kicks off a new lineup of premium OnePlus handsets that offer all the bells and whistles usually missing from the budget-centric OnePlus devices, among them wireless charging and IP6X dust and water resistance.
