The OnePlus 5 rumors are increasing in volume, and we’ve got everything you need to know.<\/b>
\nThe OnePlus 5 will arrive in the coming weeks, as the Chinese startup has now confirmed the name of its next flagship smartphone and that it will arrive on June 20.
OnePlus has managed to consistently stand out from the crowd by offering high-end hardware at a mid-range price, but even to say that undersells its achievements.
The company often out-specs rivals with its ‘Never Settle’ mantra and clearly puts time and thought into its phones, yet still manages to sell them for less.
All of that is true of the OnePlus 3T, which has a massive 6GB of RAM, along with a premium build and high-end specs throughout, all for just $439, \u00a3399 (around AU$580) .
It’s a remarkable phone then, but it’s not perfect and we’ve come up with a wish list of things (on page 2) that we want to see for the OnePlus 5.
You’ll find all the latest news and rumors about the OnePlus 5 on this page, along with speculation and analysis to fill in the gaps.
OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 5 will be announced on June 20 .
That’s in line with previous launches, as the OnePlus One launched in April 2014, the OnePlus 2 in July 2015 and the OnePlus 3 in June 2016.
We don’t yet know for sure when it will be available to purchase in the UK, US or Australia, but Amazon India is listing it for June 22, so it’s likely to land elsewhere on that date too.
Either way, OnePlus has teased the phone for \u00a0\u00bb Summer 2017 \u00a0\u00bb so we probably won’t be waiting much longer, especially as the company has stopped selling the OnePlus 3T already.
The eagle-eyed among you will note that we’ve not had a OnePlus 4. We’ve had the OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus X, OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T – and now we’re getting the OnePlus 5.
Why 5? The number 4 is a sign of bad luck in China, which is the main thinking as to why we’re going straight to the OnePlus 5. It would also, technically, be the fifth flagship phone (ignoring the short-lived OnePlus X) with the OnePlus 3T taking the fourth generation spot.
Thing is, apparently neither of those are the reason behind the name. According to OnePlus, it was apparently inspired by the former NBA player Robert Horry who had a number five jersey and is a popular player among OnePlus employees.
The OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T have a 5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 display, just like the OnePlus 2 and the OnePlus One. Given how staunchly the company has stuck to that size and resolution combination it’s tempting to think it will do the same with the OnePlus 4, and that’s certainly possible.
In fact, one tipster has said exactly that, but the image they shared along with that claim is now known to be false, and we reckon OnePlus might push the resolution up to 1440 x 2560.
That possibility has also been rumored, with talk of a 5.3-inch screen of that resolution, while another source points to a 5.5-inch QHD display.
The resolution of the screen on the OnePlus 3T is one of its few faults and one of the only areas you can really point to and say that’s where the company cut corners.
To make an impact this year it’s likely to push the resolution up, especially since now just about every flagship has a QHD or higher resolution screen.
But why do we need to push resolution above 1080p on such a small screen? Two letters: VR. Virtual Reality was big in 2016, even OnePlus has got in on the act launching the OnePlus 3 in VR (and the OnePlus 2 in 2015) , but for the best experiences you need a high resolution display.
A 2K screen would improve the VR experience on the OnePlus 5, as well as giving a boost to movies and gaming.
The rumored drop in size to 5.3 inches is more surprising. OnePlus only makes one or two phones a year and while there’s no such thing as one size fits all the company is going to want to get close.
Big phones are growing in popularity and it’s done well with the 5.5-inch size point, so we’d be surprised if it really gets any smaller, but any bigger pushes it into phablet territory, which is a relatively niche market.
We may see a move from AMOLED back to LCD though, as OnePlus is reportedly struggling to source enough AMOLED panels to keep up with OnePlus 3 demand. Then again, the first OnePlus 5 rumors point to AMOLED still.
OnePlus has jumped the gun in sharing an official image showing the back of the OnePlus 5. From this we can see that it’s almost certainly made of metal, with curved edges and an antenna band running along the top edge. There’s likely also one at the bottom, but that’s not visible in the picture.
You can also see a power button and SIM card slot on right edge, while the top edge has no buttons or ports. All in all it looks to be a plain but polished design.
It also lines up with recent leaks like the one below, which shows off not only the OnePlus 5’s back, but its front and sides too.
Build aside, we’re hoping for further bezel slimming from its predecessor – allowing the OnePlus 5 to sport a more compact frame even though it houses a 5.5-inch display.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 boasts a larger 5.8-inch screen, but it’s narrower and shorter than the OnePlus 3T, which means the OnePlus 5 should be able to slim down a bit.
And there’s reason to think the OnePlus 5 will be smaller than the 3T, as OnePlus has tweeted a teaser image of the 5 under the 3T. You can’t really see it – but that’s the point, as if it was as big as the 3T the edges would be visible.
Look into the shadows. What do you 5ee? pic.twitter.com\/QPQq9feIMe 1 June 2017
We won’t mind if OnePlus makes its next flagship slightly thicker, allowing it to reduce bezel size while making a bit more room for a bigger battery. And space for a microSD slot? We can but dream.
A teaser has also suggested there will be four colors for the OnePlus 5. Pictured below you can see the black, red and gold versions, but number two is a bit bold compared to the others and OnePlus is calling it \u00ab\u00a0Unicorn color\u00a0\u00bb.
What 5hould the color of your next phone be?<\/p>\n