Xiaomi rumoured to launch 16GB RAM smartphone

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Jun 8, 2020

Last year in September, OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus TV Q1 and OnePlus TV Q1 Pro in India. The Q1 is priced at Rs. 69,900 whereas the Pro model carries a price tag of Rs. 99,900. Today, OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau took to Twitter to confirm that the company will be launching a new OnePlus TV on July 2 in India. The new TV is expected to arrive at affordable pricing.

The next smart TV from OnePlus for India will have a “smarter price.” With the new TV, the company aims to bring premium smart TV experience more accessible to the Indian community. Hence, it is likely that the upcoming OnePlus TV could be cheaper than the OnePlus TV Q1.

It's official. We're making our premium smart TV experience more accessible to our Indian community. #SmarterTV pic.twitter.com/gc7WUcVIxJ

— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) June 8, 2020

Editor’s Pick: OnePlus TV OTA4 for Q1/Q1 Pro adds support for third-party AirPlay service apps

According to Economic Times, OnePlus is changing is a strategy to rival Xiaomi, Realme, TCL, and VU in the affordable smart TV segment. The report further reveals that there could be an entry-level OnePlus TV with a pricing of around Rs. 15,00 (~$200). The company is also planning to introduce a mid-range series that will be priced around Rs. 20,000 (~$264) and Rs. 40,000 (~$529).

OnePlus India VP and Chief Strategy Officer Navnit Nakra said to ET, “Entry and mid segments are growing rapidly and have captured our focus. If we want to diversify to a wide audience in India, then it is the best way to start.”

Recently, a new 55-inch OnePlus TV with 55UA0A00 model number and an RC-003A remote control were spotted at the Bluetooth SIG certification platform. Rumors have it that it is equipped with a MediaTek SoC.

Redmi AX5 Wi-Fi 6 Router all set to get launched in China tomorrow

By

Jeet

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Jun 8, 2020

Xiaomi has so far launched two Wi-Fi 6 routers in China under its Mi brand. Now, the company’s sub-brand Redmi is also set to launch its first Wi-Fi 6 router in the company’s home market China.

Redmi has today confirmed that the company will be launching the Redmi AX5 Wi-Fi 6 router in China at 10:00 AM local time tomorrow. So far, apart from the name, nothing is known about this device.

As mentioned above, Xiaomi has so far launched two Wi-Fi 6 routers in China — Mi Router AX1800 and Mi AIoT Router AX3600. While the former is priced at 299 yuan (approximately $46), the latter is priced at 5,99 yuan which is about $82.

Given that the products launched by the Redmi brand are priced lower in comparison to the products from Xiaomi. So, we expect the upcoming Redmi AX5 Wi-Fi 6 router to be priced accordingly in China.

While the device is getting launched in China tomorrow, we don’t expect to see it available in other regions anytime soon. Even the two routers from Xiaomi still haven’t been launched or made available for purchase outside China.

The Redmi brand has launched the Redmi AC2100 router in China in December last year, marking the company’s foray into the routers category. The upcoming Redmi AX5 Wi-Fi Router will be the second offering from the brand in China.

Xiaomi Mi Band 5 color variants revealed in new poster

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Jun 8, 2020

Xiaomi has been consistently teasing on the features of the Mi Band 5 fitness tracker that is scheduled to go official in China on June 11. The Chinese firm today released a new poster to reveal Mi Band 5’s strap color variants.

The poster showcases the large OLED display of the Mi Band 5. The device can be seen in strap options like yellow, red, blue, and black.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi’s upcoming Mi Notebook 14 expected specs leaked

The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 will be arriving with support for NFC connectivity. It will allow Mi Band 5 owners to make contactless payments. It is speculated that even the international variant of the fitness band will have NFC support.

The Mi Band 5 is rumored to be equipped with an enhanced SpO2 sensor. It is expected to offer users with stress and breathing management features. It is likely to arrive with Do Not Disturb mode that will allow users to silence it for a set time period.

It could be housing a 1.2-inch display with slim bezels around it. The size is larger than the 0.95-inch available on the predecessor Mi Band 4 from 2019. The device may offer users with a custom-made watchface featuring Avengers theme. The size of its battery is not known yet. The fitness band is likely to come with a plug-in charger. Hence, users will be able to charge the device without detaching it from the strap. Some of its other features include remote camera control and 11 different activity tracking modes.

The China variant of the device will have the Xiao AI voice assistant. In international markets, the Mi Band 5 is expected to come with Amazon Alexa voice assistant and for contactless payments, it could be coming with Google Pay support. Rumors are rife that the Mi Band 5 will be costing 175 Yuan (~$26) in the home market.

HTC Desire 20 Pro approved by Bluetooth SIG and Wi-Fi Alliance

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Jun 8, 2020

HTC is expected to soon unveil the HTC Desire 20 Pro mid-range phone. The handset that has a model number of HTC 2Q9J100. Taiwan could be one of the first countries to receive the handset as it has bagged the country’s National Communications Commission (NCC) certification. The key specifications of the smartphone were recently spotted at Google Play Console. Rumors have it that the Desire 20 Pro may launch either this month or next month. Ahead of the launch, the Desire 20 Pro has received certifications from Bluetooth SIG and Wi-Fi Alliance platforms.

The support for Bluetooth 5.0 for HTC 2Q9J100 can be found on its Bluetooth SIG listing. On the other side, the Wi-Fi certification platform reveals that the HTC phone has support for Android 10 OS and dual-band Wi-Fi.

Editor’s Pick: Shuttered Oppo factory is affecting sales of OnePlus and Realme in India

The Desire 20 Pro had appeared on Geekbench in April. It revealed that the Snapdragon 665 powers the device along with 6 GB of RAM. The same processor and RAM appeared in the Google Play Console listing of the smartphone. It also revealed other specs like support for full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels.

The HTC Desire 20 Pro schematics that were first revealed by notable tipster Evan Blass in April revealed that it will be arriving as the company’s first smartphone punch-hole screen. The exact size of the screen is not known yet. The backside of the device is decked with a quad-camera setup and a fingerprint reader.

HTC may also unveil the Desire 20 vanilla model alongside the aforementioned Pro editions. Rumors are rife that the Taiwanese firm is also gearing up to launch its 5G-ready phone in Taiwan in the coming month.

Vivo Y50 sale starts in India on June 10

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Jun 8, 2020

At the beginning of this month, 91mobiles had reported that Vivo will be launching Vivo Y30v and Vivo Y50 mid-range phones in India this month. A microsite for the Vivo Y50 is available on Flipkart. It states that the sales of the smartphone will be carried out on June 10.

The microsite reveals that the Vivo Y50 has a Full HD+ resolution supporting a 6.53-inch iView display that has a punch-hole positioned at its upper left corner. It has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage.

The Snapdragon 665 mobile platform powers the device along with a massive 5,000mAh battery. The back panel of the smartphone has a quad-camera setup and a fingerprint reader. It appears that the smartphone will be available in white and black color options in India. There is no word on the pricing of the phone. Also, Vivo is yet to tease the arrival of Vivo Y30 phone in India.

Editor’s Pick: Same IMEI number found in over 13,500 Vivo smartphones in India

While the Vivo Y50 went official in China in April for 1,698 Yuan (~$239; ~Rs. 18,000), the Y30 was introduced in Malaysia last month for RM 899 (~$210; ~Rs. 15,900).

The entire specs of the Vivo Y50 are known through its launch in China. It has a 13-megapixel + 8-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (macro) + 2-megapixel (depth) quad-camera setup and a frontal shooter of 16-megapixel. It carries support for 15W charging through USB-C.

The Vivo Y30 has a 6.47-inch IPS LCD punch-hole display with HD+ resolution support. It features Helio P35 SoC, 4 GB of RAM and 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging. It has an 8-megapixel front camera and a 13-megapixel + 8-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (macro) + 2-megapixel (depth) quad-camera system on its rear. The Android 10 OS with FunTouch OS 10 comes preinstalled on Vivo Y30 and Y50.

LG launches a 27-inch QHD “Ergo” Monitor with 75Hz refresh rate for $450

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 8, 2020

At CES 2020, LG unveiled a number of products, including the 38-inch UltraWide Curved UltraWide QHD+ monitor and 32-inch Ergo monitor. The company has now launched a 27-inch version of the Ergo monitor. The product is already available on the LG US official website and it costs $450. The product will hit other retail stores from June 1.

LG Ergo monitor features a 27-inch IPS QHD display screen with QHD resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. Just like the 32-inch version, the monitor features a space-saving stand with a C-Clamp attachment that clasps to your desk. The stand can extend outward or be positioned close to the wall, moved up to eye-level or lowered to the desk. It can even swivel to face the opposite direction for convenient sharing of information with an office colleague. It can also be positioned at the perfect height, distance and angle for far more comfortable and more sustainable user experience.

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You are not shelling $450 just for an adjustable stand but the monitor comes with some high-end features. The screen provides a 178-degree viewing angle ad has a bumped-up 75 hertz (Hz) refresh rate, higher than the 60Hz refresh rate on the 32-inch version. The display also supports a 5 millisecond (ms) gray-to-gray (GtG) response time. In addition, you get AMD Radeon FreeSync, HDR10 and 99% of the sRGB color-space. It features a USB-C port that supports 60W Power Delivery, 2 HDMI ports, a DisplayPort and dual downstream USBs.

Motorola One Fusion+ and One Fusion specifications, pricing leaked

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Jun 8, 2020

Reliable tipster Evan Blas revealed in April that Motorola will be soon launching One Fusion and One Fusion+ smartphones. A report from the previous month not only revealed the key specs of the One Fusion+ phone, but also claimed that it will be debuting in June. A fresh report on Tabletowo.pl Polish site has revealed the specifications of the One Fusion+ and One Fusion phones along with the pricing.

Motorola One Fusion+ specifications and price

The One Fusion+ has a 6.53-inch IPS LCD screen with notch-less design like the Motorola One Hyper phone that debuted in December 2019. The screen supports a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. It has a pop-up selfie camera.

The Snapdragon 730 is present under the hood of the One Fusion+. It is expected to arrive in 4 GB and 6 GB RAM options and storage choices like 64 GB and 128 GB. The quadruple-camera setup on its back will have a 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 lens as the primary sensor.

Motorola-One-Fusion-Plus-xda-developers — Motorola One Fusion+ render by XDA Developers

The One Fusion+ has a 5,000mAh battery and it is loaded with Android 10 OS. It is equipped with a 3.5mm audio jack, a microSD card, a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, and a USB-C port. The publication claims that the handset will be priced at PLN 1,399 (~$356) in Poland.

Editor’s Pick: Motorola unveils the Moto G Fast & Moto E (2020) in the US

Motorola One Fusion specifications and price

The Motorola One Fusion has a 6.52-inch display that supports HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The Snapdragon 710 chipset drives the smartphone. It will come in 3 GB and 6 GB RAM editions and storage options like 64 GB and 128 GB.

It has a front camera of 8-megapixel. The rear-mounted camera setup includes a 48-megapixel Samsung GM1 as a primary lens, an 8-megapixel lens, a 5-megapixel sensor and a 2-megapixel shooter. It also features a 5,000mAh battery and will offer Android 10 out-of-the-box experience. Black and blue are its two color variants.

There is no word on whether the Motorola One Fusion will be available for purchase in Poland. The report carries no word on its pricing.

Affordable Nokia 5G phone with Dimensity 800 series chip in development

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Jun 8, 2020

HMD Global has announced just one 5G smartphone and that is the Nokia 8.3 5G. The Snapdragon 765G-powered phone is yet to go on sale but when it does, it will cost as much as €599 which is pretty expensive for a mid-range device. If you don’t mind waiting, you will be able to get a cheaper 5G Nokia phone in the future.

An exclusive report by Nokia Power User has revealed that HMD Global is developing an affordable Nokia 5G phone that will be powered by one of MediaTek’s Dimensity 800 series processors. The particular chipset was not mentioned, so it may be the Dimensity 800 or the Dimensity 820.

MediaTek Dimensity 800 — HMD Global working on a Dimensity 800 series-powered phone

The specific device was also not mentioned but it most likely will not be the Nokia 7.3 as the Nokia-focused blog said a source informed them it may come with a Snapdragon processor. The Nokia 7.3 is also revealed to have both a 5G and a 4G prototype at the moment.

The possible time frame for the release of this Dimensity 800 series affordable 5G Nokia phone is stated to be in early 2021 according to the source. This is more than six months away and a pretty long time at that.

If HMD Global is serious about catching up to its competitors, it will have to launch this affordable 5G phone device this year; even before the fourth quarter.

Realme dual batteries gets certified by TÜV Rheinland; may be for the Realme X3 Pro

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Jun 8, 2020

The Japanese arm of TÜV Rheinland has certified a dual-battery system for Realme. The battery setup is expected to be for an upcoming Realme phone.

There are speculations that the battery system, which has a typical capacity of 2250mAh (each) is for the Realme X3 Pro. This makes sense since the Realme X2 Pro also uses a dual battery system (2x 2000mAh).

We expect the upcoming device will have support for Realme’s 65W SuperDart fast charging technology when it launches.

There are rumors the Realme X3 Pro will launch alongside the Realme X3 Superzoom in India soon. The Snapdragon 865 processor should be the chipset under the hood along with UFS 3.1 storage. The rest of the specs of the phone are currently unknown but should surface in the weeks leading up to its release.

DJI drones worth $16k looted from DJI’s New York store

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 7, 2020

Protests and riots broke out across the US in the past weeks as a result of George Floyd’s killing at the hand of police. Criminals have taken advantage of the situation and arr on a looting spree. Recently, it was reported than an Apple store was looted and iPhones were stolen. A DJI store located in Manhattan, New York was also looted the previous week. The looters are said to have stolen six drones worth $16,000. While Apple will deploy the iPhone’s security feature to track down the stolen units, DJI drones are yet to be recovered.

A video which shows some protesters robbing the DJI store on Broadway in Manhattan was shared by Crime Stoppers NY. The incident took place at around 11:25 p.m. The video shows five people forcing their way through the front door of the DJI store, eventually breaking the glass and entering the store. They then proceeded to grab the merchandise.

From the video, it appears as though the drones that were stolen include an Inspire 1, Inspire 2 and the remote, as well as a Phantom 4 drone. It also appears as though a pair of DJI Racing edition FPV goggles and a Ronin-S or Ronin-SC camera gimbal were taken. The group that perpetuated the crime are still reportedly at large as at the time of this writing.

Xiaomi’s upcoming Mi Notebook 14 expected specs leaked

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 7, 2020

Xiaomi’s Redmi smartphone has gained tremendous success in India. So also the brand’s wearable devices such as earbuds and wrist bands. The Chinese company is now set to enter the notebook PC market and will take the wraps off its first Mi Notebook models in India on June 11.

Some of the specs of the Mi Notebook 14 has appeared online. The notebook will come in four different models, all powered by 10th-gen Intel Core CPUs. The Mi Notebook 14 will be powered by the 10th gen Intel Core i5 processor. However, the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition will have a 10th gen Intel Core i7 processor. In the aspect of the GPU, the Horizon Edition will pack an NVIDIA GeForce MX350 graphics while the regular edition will have its graphics fired up by an Intel integrated graphics or NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics.

As the name suggests, the laptop will feature a 14-inch display with FHD resolution. The Horizon Edition is, however, rumoured to feature an edge to edge 14-inch FHD display with a 91% screen-to-body ratio. The standard edition will have 256GB of storage but other models are said to feature 512GB SSD. All models will have 8GB of RAM onboard and it is unlikely that the memory can be expanded. Xiaomi claims that Mi Notebook 14 will deliver up to 10 hours of battery life.

As for the prices, the Mi Notebook 14 is expected to start at 50,000 INR (~$660) for the base model.

OPPO Reno4 4G gets certified in Thailand

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Jun 7, 2020

The OPPO Reno4 series launched in China last week and both phones in the series, the Reno4 5G and Reno4 Pro 5G, are 5G devices. However, it appears that OPPO will be taking the same route it did with the Reno3 series by launching 4G variants in select markets outside China.

It has been revealed that Thailand’s NBTC has certified an OPPO phone with model number CPH2113 and the marketing name “OPPO Reno4”. However, this variant doesn’t have 5G support.

The same device has also been certified by the EEC and Indonesia’s TKDN which means the Reno4 4G should launch in these markets too.

The specifications of the Reno4 4G are unknown but we expect the features and maybe even the design will differ from that of the model sold in China. The device may also not arrive anytime soon seeing as the Reno3 4G was announced just three months ago.

What specs do you expect the Reno4 4G will have? Let us know in the comment box.

Screen Protector for Mi CC10 listed online; has a hole-punch

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Jun 7, 2020

The Mi CC9 series is almost due for a successor. Back in March, a list of upcoming Xiaomi phones leaked and it revealed the manufacturer plans to release two successors called the Mi CC10 and the Mi CC10 Pro. Now, a listing for the screen protector for the former has appeared online.

The glass screen protector shows that the Mi CC10 will have a hole at the top left corner of its display. The hole in the glass is quite big but the one on the device should be much smaller.

The listing also says the screen protector is curved which means the phone should have a curved display.

A render of the phone attached to the listing shows the Mi CC10 with four rear cameras arranged in a circular housing. There is an LED flash below the setup but there isn’t a fingerprint scanner. The sensor is also not on the side, so it is safe to say the Mi CC10 will have an in-display fingerprint scanner and thus, an AMOLED display just like its predecessor.

While it is not unusual for sellers to list accessories of unreleased devices for sale, we advise you to take this with a grain of salt until more info about the device surfaces.

A few days ago, a leak revealed some of the phone’s key specs such as the yet-to-be-announced Snapdragon 775G processor, a 108MP primary rear camera, and 12x optical zoom.

The Mi CC9 was announced in July 2019. If Xiaomi is sticking to the same date this year, we still have a few more weeks of waiting before the phone arrives. We expect more details will surface in the coming weeks.

(Source, Via)

Poll of The Week: Which of these is the most important smartband feature for you?

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Jun 7, 2020

Smartbands have become so popular and inexpensive. With a budget of $20, you can get a good one that offers basic features such as step counting, calorie counting, and notification alerts. However, there are other features that can be the deciding factor for anyone that wants to pick up a smartband.

These features are sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, Blood Pressure Monitoring, and Sp02 measurement.

For this week’s poll, we want to know which of the features below is the most important to you when picking up a smartband. Do let us know in the comment box below the reason for your answer.

[yop_poll id=”40″]

Realme X3 SuperZoom may arrive in India with a different processor

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Jun 6, 2020

The Realme X3 SuperZoom launched in Europe last month. The phone stands out from its competitors with its features which include a Snapdragon 855+ chipset, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and 60x SuperZoom mode; all of the above and more for just €499.

Realme is expected to announce the phone in India soon alongside two other phones called the Realme X3 and the Realme X3 Pro. However, a tweet from Francis Wang, the CMO of Realme India, hints at the Realme X3 SuperZoom arriving with a different chipset in the country.

In a quoted response to a tweet that said the Realme X3 SuperZoom could launch in India soon, the company executive had asked “How soon?“ and “Which processor to use?”. We want to believe that this hints at Realme announcing the phone with a different chipset from the one in the version sold in Europe.

How soon😏
Which Processor to use? https://t.co/5cDE1Z1o7l

— Francis Wang (@FrancisRealme) June 4, 2020

The responses under the tweet include the Snapdragon 765 and Snapdragon 765G as well as the Snapdragon 855+ in the European version. Time will tell which of the aforementioned processors will come bundled with the phone in India.

Realme is yet to announce a launch date for the Realme X3 series in India but there is a possibility it will arrive in the country this month.

What do you think about the Realme X3 SuperZoom getting a different chipset for the Indian market? Do let us know what you think in the comment box below.

Shuttered Oppo factory is affecting sales of OnePlus and Realme in India

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 6, 2020

Oppo had to shutter its smartphone factory in India like any other company abiding the county’s lockdown rules. But in early May, it resumed the production as the nation’s government gave permission to open the facility. Unfortunately, within a few days, positive cases of COVID-19 emerged among the workers and the company had to shut the doors once again. Now, this is causing a huge problem for its sister brands OnePlus and Realme.

Oppo is the contract manufacturer for OnePlus and Realme smartphones in India. All the devices sold by these two brands in the country are assembled in the now-closed Oppo factory. This is how these brands manage to price their devices aggressively in the region.

OnePlus 8 series, the brand’s latest smartphone duo just went on sale for a couple of times in India. It is worth noting that these sales were for OnePlus 8 and only limited units were up for grab. The more premium OnePlus 8 Pro is yet to be made available for the first time.

Given the current situation, demand for sub-₹15,000 surged high and unfortunately, Realme, which is one of the top players in this range does not have units for sale as the production has halted.

According to Arvinder Khurana, national president, All India Mobile Retailers Association, the situation is comparable to other smartphone brands as well, especially in ₹12,000-15,000 price segment.

He also said that since margin in this price range is merely 3-4% and due to lower demand in other segments, 20% of retailers may have to shut their businesses if there’s no support from the government.

OnePlus reduces frequency of OxygenOS Beta releases

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 6, 2020

OxygenOS for OnePlus smartphones comes in three flavours – Closed Beta, Open Beta, and Stable. The company has been following it for 4 years. But now it has announced some changes in their release schedule.

OnePlus is set to recruit testers for OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro OxygenOS Closed Beta builds very soon. Ahead of it, the company has announced that it has decided to reduce the number of releases for all the three flavours of OxygenOS.

Up until now, OnePlus used to release 4 Closed Beta builds and 2 Open Beta builds for all the supported devices. Whereas, stable builds are released every 1-2 months.

But from now onwards, the company will only release 2 Closed Beta builds and 1 Open Beta build per month for the eligible devices. However, it did not make any change in the stable release schedule since it is supposed to provide monthly security patches to all the users.

OnePlus’ explanation for this decision is that it will try to provide better bug-free builds in all three release channels. It believes it can achieve it by spending more time in optimizing them rather rushing to release more builds.

The main cause of this move is that more of its users are using Open Beta builds than ever before. So by reducing the frequency of beta releases, the company aims to address reported bugs and feedback to offer a better experience.

OnePlus Z specifications, color variants leaked; May debut in July 2nd week

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Jun 6, 2020

OnePlus is rumored to be working on the launch of OnePlus Z upper mid-range smartphone. Recently, the alleged handset was spotted on the Geekbench benchmarking platform. The Geekbench listing as well as other rumors have claimed that the OnePlus Z will be driven by Snapdragon 765G. A leaked specs sheet has surfaced on Twitter. Apart from revealing the key specs, the leak also states that the OnePlus Z may go official in the second week of July.

Before reading further, readers are recommended to digest the leak with a grain of salt as there is no concrete evidence to prove its authenticity. While it states that the OnePlus Z will go official in the second week of July, the unveil date may get postponed.

Editor’s Pick: Survey shows Apple and OnePlus have the highest customer loyalty in India

OnePlus Z specifications (Unconfirmed)

The OnePlus Z is expected to come with a 6.5-inch S-AMOLED display with a single punch-hole for a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The rear side of the phone will have a triple camera setup comprising of a 48-megapixel Sony lens, a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and a 13-megapixel telephoto sensor. The camera setup will be assisted by a laser autofocus unit.

The Snapdragon 765G will fuel the OnePlus Z smartphone. The OxygenOS 10 based Android 10 OS will come preinstalled on the device. It will be packed with a 4,000mAh battery that will come with support for 30W wired charging through USB-C.

The OnePlus Z is expected to arrive in the market in 8 GB and 12 GB RAM options and storage choices like 128 GB and 256 GB. There is no word on the pricing of these variants. It will be available in colors like black, blue, white, and a limited-edition color.