As often happens at the beginning of the year, telephony is the protagonist. At the moment, the focus is on the Samsung Galaxy S20 range, as it will be the first to arrive in chronological order (the event is set for February 11).
However, in the past few days, Pete Lau, CEO of OnePlus, has cleverly exploited the hype generated by the huge competition event to launch an official teaser of one of the most important news coming from the Chinese company. In addition to this, the Web is full of rumors and leaks: let's take stock of the situation together on OnePlus 8.
OnePlus 8: the alleged data sheet
The most important news related to the next range of OnePlus smartphones is certainly the announcement made by Pete Lau which we mentioned at the beginning. In fact, the CEO of the Chinese company has unveiled Fluid Display technology, able to "animate" a panel with QHD + resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz sampling frequency, support to the HDR10 standard and accurate chromatic calibration. In addition, OnePlus is keen to point out that this screen can be adjusted in 4096 brightness levels, essentially quadruple of most Android smartphones, and that it has a MEMC chip for motion compensation (which should ensure fluidity similar to 120Hz even when playing videos recorded at 30 fps).
In practical terms, these specifications could translate into an unprecedented display in terms of overall visual quality and at the top of its range as regards the update frequency. In this case the conditional is a must, since the technology will have to be tried by hand. However, Pete Lau has already shared a demonstration video on Twitter which bodes well, at least as regards the refresh rate. This display will likely be mounted on the OnePlus 8 Pro variant.
Turning to rumor and leak, in all models of the smartphone, Lite, base and Pro, the panel should have a hole for the camera. According to some international sources, the more expensive variant could have two front cameras (32MP + ToF), while OnePlus 8 and the Lite model would have a single 32MP and 16MP sensor respectively. However, some renders show a single front camera in all cases, so there is still more than a few doubts about this aspect.
The screen is rumored to be a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED with QHD + resolution (3180 x 1440 pixels) and 120 Hz refresh rate as regards the Pro variant, while for the other two models it could go down to 6.4 / 6.5 inches with Full HD + resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels) and refresh rate of 90 Hz. As for the rear, there is persistent talk of the presence of a triple rear camera in all three cases.
OnePlus 8 Pro should have 60MP (Sony IMX686) + 16MP + 13MP sensors, while the basic variant may have three 60MP + 16MP + 12MP cameras. The Lite variant, which according to some may have appeared in a video in which Pete Lau shows several OnePlus smartphone dummy, should be less evolved from this point of view, by mounting 48MP + 16MP + 12MP sensors.
OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will probably be driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 octa-core processor (maximum frequency of 2.84 GHz, support for 5G), while the Lite variant should have a MediaTek Dimensity 1000 SoC (maximum frequency of 2 , 6 GHz, support for 5G). The RAM could start from 8GB and the basic and Pro variant should also have 12GB models. The internal memory cuts will probably be 128GB / 256GB for all models.
OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8 Lite should also share other features, from the presence of the IP53 certification to the USB Type-C port, passing through NFC and for wireless charging. As for autonomy, on the basic and Lite variant we should find a 4000 mAh battery with 30W charging support, while OnePlus 8 Pro should have a 4500 mAh battery and support 50W Super Warp Charge technology.
The OnePlus 8 smartphone range is expected to be announced in May or June 2020. According to some international sources, the starting price of the Lite variant would be 2999 yuan (about 393 euros at the current exchange rate), while the basic model would start from 3299 yuan ( about 433 euros). OnePlus 8 Pro could instead have a cost of 4499 yuan (about 590 euros) for the 8 / 128GB variant and 5499 yuan (about 722 euros) for the 12 / 256GB variant.