OnePlus and Samsung seemed to have conflicted each another over the past week. Both companies, through their social media handles and at the Snapdragon 855 keynote have confirmed that the Snapdragon 855 would be packed into their upcoming flagships.
For those who don’t know, the Snapdragon 855 keynote lasted for three days. And during the first day of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 keynote, Samsung America’s Justin Denison claimed that they would be among the first manufacturers to bring 5G to the mainstream next year. He said
“With Qualcomm and our carrier partners, we’re going to bring one of the first 5G smartphones in the first half of 2019. It is powered with the Snapdragon 855 chipset” said Samsung America’s Justin Denison
However, on the second day of the keynote, OnePlus’s Pete Lau took the stage and announced contradicting information revealing that they would indeed be the first manufacturer to include a Snapdragon 855 under the hood with their next flagship, the OnePlus 7.
As noted by Engadget, OnePlus has since apologized for the statement made on stage and has confirmed that the mistake was made by a non-native English speaker. What they were trying to imply instead was the fact that OnePlus was the first brand to get their hands on the new SoC rather than being the first brand to release a device with the Snapdragon 855 SoC.
For those who have been following the Snapdragon 855 launch, the Snapdragon 855 SoC won’t have 5G capabilities on the SoC itself but would rely on a dedicated modem dubbed as the X50 to add 5G capabilities to Snapdragon 855-powered devices.
Given that OnePlus relies on their “flagship-killer” mentality simply for its price, it would be detrimental to see OnePlus hiking the prices of the next OnePlus flagship to the $800 range. In an interview with Engadget, OnePlus’s Pete Lau said that they’re trying to keep the 5G premium under $200-300 while remaining vague on the price range to expect for the next OnePlus 7. Taking OnePlus’s recent price hikes into account, if true, we could very well be seeing the OnePlus 7 retail for around $729 to $829. That’s a huge price hike, that too for a company like OnePlus where consumers keep themselves just as loyal as the brand is towards its commitment for high-end specs for mid-range prices.
Rumors have circulated the internet suggesting that Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S10 and its family of devices would have a variant where 5G would be the center point of attention. Given that OnePlus fans are going to be absolutely heartbroken about the price hike, if true, there’s a good chance that OnePlus could very well launch two variants of the OnePlus 7 too. One that focuses on the basics and the power of the Snapdragon 855 and another variant that comes with 5G support out of the box for those who really care about it.
For those who doubt it, 5G is pretty much coming to the OnePlus 7, after all, UK cellular carrier EE has confirmed the news about bringing 5G to Europe first with OnePlus.
Do note, this article piece here is pure speculation. While OnePlus hasn’t confirmed nor made any statements so far regarding their plans for the next OnePlus device except for a few hints here and there, it would be plausible to see OnePlus launch the next OnePlus flagship in two variants as mentioned above. After all, 5G is still in its infancy stages which would make the whole 5G ordeal more of an ornament than a necessary “must have” feature.
If you’re interested to read about the seven new features the OnePlus 7 could bring to the table, check that out here.
