Earlier speculations stated that OnePlus’s design is usually borrowed from its cousin OPPO R-series. (Photo: OnePlus 5T)

Chinese tech giant OnePlus shook the smartphone industry with the first OnePlus handset a few years ago. The sudden movement of a new and unknown, and now a top brand, into the market, shocked consumers with a handset that promised flagship performance on an affordable price tag. While the trend of giving the smartphone user a no-nonsense smartphone continues to date, OnePlus has a simple statement — Never Settle — which promises to keep making the fastest phones till date. Four years later, while most of it is true, OnePlus is now facing tough competition with major smartphone giants, as far as performance is concerned. With Apple, Google, Samsung and Huawei having their cold war over the best smartphone, OnePlus is one brand which has its fans having high hopes.

To keep the title of ‘Flagship Killer’ and the motto ‘Never Settle’ intact, OnePlus has challenges ahead. Their next, most awaited flagship for 2018 is the OnePlus 6, and fans from all over the world are looking forward to see what they have in store for them. Leaks and rumours had it all ahead and many fans did not like the idea of OnePlus opting for the famous ‘Notch’ display. Many fans were disappointed and stated that OnePlus should not copy Apple for anything under the sky.

Last month, OnePlus Founder and CEO Carl Pei went all out in an exclusive interview to The Verge, only to disclose that they would be adopting the notch, reasoning that it only adds to the display’s real estate and gives the user more usable area than the now-standard tall 18:9 panel, known as full view display. While fans were upset, with this revelation, many think that is probably is the way to the future and nothing much can be done about it. While it does add value to the display, display manufacturers have also adapted to this new standard. The upcoming Android operating system will also sport options for the notch and app developers will also be forced to adopt the same. This could force non-notch displays to probably phase out.

Soon, post the notch revelation by OnePlus, the company also went out to promise that they will be giving their fans the fastest phones to date. With this claim, they went out with promotions for the OnePlus 6, promoting the statement ‘The Speed You Need,’ marking the launch of the new flagship on May 17th in Mumbai, India. The new device will finally be revealed at an event which will be based on an invite-only entry.

As for now, we only know a few things about the OnePlus 6, which has been officially revealed by the company themselves. The OnePlus 6 will be powered by the most powerful Snapdragon 845 and clubbed with up to 8GB of RAM and sport an internal storage of up to 256GB. Additionally, the company slowly also revealed a little more in bits and pieces, in hints and teasers.

Their teasers included information such as a water and dustproof body with an IP6x certification. Another teaser revealed a completely new design and a rear glass panel. This teaser stated that they will not be copying any other brand’s design. Earlier speculations stated that OnePlus’s design is usually borrowed from its cousin OPPO R-series, but it does not look like it will be this time. The glass panel also helps speculate that OnePlus could probably be adding wireless charging to the newbie. As for the display, since the OP5T uses the optical AMOLED panel from Samsung, this time too, the flagship could be seen with one.

Another teaser showed the OnePlus 5T and the OnePlus 6 piled up together, which revealed that alert slider will now take its place on the right side of the device as opposed to the left side seen on the earlier devices. The Avengers: Infinity Wars teaser also revealed the same. Another teaser from OnePlus also revealed that the Alert Slider will be assisting with the focus for the camera. 

Face unlock and fingerprint sensor on the rear would be as usual. However, other rumours and leaks from around the web mentioned that we would be seeing a Dash Charge v2 that can topup the battery faster than the current speed. As for the cameras, it is said that the same 5T cameras would be featured here; however, it would be even more efficient than before. And lastly, as for our speculations, we are expecting to see Android 8.1 out of the box with Oxygen OS (probably renamed to Oxygen OS 8 to mark the current Android version, skipping version 6 and 7. We also expect the headphone jack to keep its place as usual. Lastly, we highly speculate three variants being launched at the same venue — A base model with 6GB of RAM and a top-end model sporting 8GB RAM under the Avengers: Infinity Wars Edition title.

Take some of this information with a pinch of salt, and be ready for the launch that will take place in Mumbai on May 17.

(source)