OnePlus is merely weeks away from introducing its latest flagship in the international market, and is also eyeing the market arrival of its Ace 5 series smartphones in China. But it seems there is another surprise lined up for enthusiasts.
According to Digital Chat Station, a fairly reliable leakster covering Chinese smartphone brands, OnePlus is prepping a “small” phone that will come equipped with a 6.53-inch display. For comparison, the OnePlus 13 offers a 6.82-inch display.
Now, this won’t be the first time OnePlus has launched a comparatively compact phone. Back in 2019, the OnePlus X hit the shelves rocking a glass and metal sandwich look, a 5-inch screen, a top-end Qualcomm processor, and an alluring $250 asking price.
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At the moment, the likes of Google and Apple have stuck with “pocketable” size phones, even though they still offer a screen bigger than six inches. The trend, however, is catching steam. Earlier this year, Vivo also launched the X200 Pro mini, fitting top-tier hardware in a smaller chassis.
OnePlus seems to be the latest entrant in the race. The latest leak, which first surfaced on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, also predicts Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon for the upcoming OnePlus phone.
The display resolution figures stand at 1.5K equivalent, while one of the main rear cameras will reportedly rely on a 50-megapixel Sony sensor. Notably, it will embrace a freshly-designed horizontal camera island at the back.
The fingerprint sensor lives under the display, but it seems the phone will miss out on a periscope-style folded lens zoom system. The rumored design and specs sheet suggests that it is an entirely different phone, and not one of the China-only Ace series devices.
So far, OnePlus hasn’t officially commented on any such device being in development. But it seems that sister company Oppo, which shares its research and development efforts with OnePlus, is also prepping a “mini” smartphone for the Chinese market, as per the same leakster.
Notably, the ties between the two brands run deeper. Take for example the Oppo Find N3, which is fundamentally the same phone as OnePlus Open. So far, it is unclear which one of the two players will take the lead in a new segment, but given the recent history, OnePlus could very well be the first to the market with a “mini” flagship of its own.
