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OnePlus will release one of the first 5G smartphones
Shortly after Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon told us to expect at least two 5G flagship smartphones next year, you kind of know what to expect when OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei joined him on stage. Nope, they weren't here to talk about the new launch date for the OnePlus 6T, but Pei has just confirmed that his company will indeed be releasing a 5G device next year, and that according to his knowledge, OnePlus will be one of the first, if not the first, to do so. The exec also mentioned that his team had already conducted a 5G test at Qualcomm's headquarters in San Diego back in August.
OnePlus 3's official render could be a decoy
This morning, a render of the much anticipated OnePlus 3 flagship phone (pictured left) has been making the rounds on the internet. We can confirm that this "leak" is legit as we also got it directly from OnePlus' China PR rep, who didn't say anything other than that this is a "OnePlus 3 render." But the company has clearly been seeding the same image to other Chinese media outlets as well, which is why we're smelling a decoy here -- a tactic often deployed by OnePlus' sister company, Vivo, to stir up hype before a product launch. Leaving the HTC-like design aside, we have a hard time believing that OnePlus would remove laser autofocus and dual-tone flash from its next flagship device; but hey, at least NFC is back, as hinted by the T-shaped antenna band.
For OnePlus, China is no longer its biggest market
OnePlus, a 900-employee-strong company that's sold 1.5 million smartphones since its debut 15 months ago, is doing surprisingly well outside its home country, China. As we sat in OnePlus' funky recreational room, CEO Pete Lau revealed that about 60 to 70 percent of the sales come from overseas, which is a significant change from the 50/50 ratio back in November. One could argue that this is partly to do with the dip in China's smartphone market growth, but Lau isn't concerned, as he and co-founder Carl Pei set their eyes on the Western world and, more recently, India.
