Is OnePlus planning a third line of smartphones for 2020? The latest look at leaked CAD-renderings of next year’s portfolio has revealed suggests that a ‘Lite’ version is on its way.
Rendered images of the presumptively named OnePlus 8 Lite have been published via 91mobiles and noted tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer.
Assuming Taniyama-Shimura, there are some obvious points to highlight in a handset that you would expect to be cheaper than the Vanilla and the Pro.. The first is the screen. Unlike the ‘Pro’ handsets from the OnePlus, the 8 Lite on show here has a flat screen. That’s cheaper than the curved edges of the Pro. The other feature that could be sacrificed and can’t be seen in this render is to step away from the faster refreshing screens - the current ‘7T’’ handsets all run at 90 Hz. Drop the refresh rate back and you can drop the price.
This model also moves away from the centreline camera housings to place the camera in the top left corner,; with a dual-lens assembly and a number of sensors, likely to include a Time of Flight sensor for improved AR functionality, on show.
Finally, there’s no sign of a fingerprint sensor in the design. Given biometric security is a requirement of Google’s Android certification, I have to conclude that OnePlus will bring the under-screen fingerprint sensor to this handset.
Co-founder and director of the Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus Carl Pei unveils their latest ... [+]
Does adding a ‘Lite’ handset to the range make sense? It does to me. Two years OnePlus had a single line of phones, the ‘vanilla’ number. Last year saw a model that was higher than the vanilla in the form of the OnePlus 7 Pro in May (and the OnePlus 7T Pro refresh in October). The introduction of a model that comes in under the vanilla model, the so called OnePlus 8 Lite, gives OnePlus three levels of handset; one clearly in the mid-range, one in the premium space, and one in the flagship space.
That triplet echoes the mantra of Apple’s Steve Jobs. Not only would be focus on three areas that would come together in a single device (when it was launched the iPhone was a new iPod, a new phone, and a new internet communications device), he would also launch each device with three different configurations; Carmine Gallo for Forbes:
"In 2010 Jobs introduced the first iPad with a slide showing the new tablet as a “third device” between a smartphone and a laptop. The iPad, he told the audience, would also come in “three models”: 16, 32, and 64 GB of flash storage.
"In 2011, Jobs introduced the iPad 2 as “thinner, lighter, and faster” than the original. The three adjectives so accurately described the new device, thousands of blog and newspaper headlines included those three words.”
Co-founder and director of the Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus, Carl Pei gestures as he speaks on ... [+]
Last year with the launch of the OnePlus 6 family and the partnership with T-Mobile in the US, I noted that the Shenzhen based company was stepping up from a small company with an established fan base to an international company that had to reach more market areas. Moving to a ‘good, better, best’ portfolio is another step along that path.
Now read how a OnePlus launch echoes the magical powers of an iPhone launch…
