Richard Goodwin 08/05/2017 - 12:58pm

The OnePlus 5 just got officially OFFICIAL – and it’s coming sooner than you think

OnePlus is one of the biggest brands in the Android space right now. Like Apple and Samsung, news about the company’s comings and goings garners a lot of attention. Especially when you’re talking about its new flagship for 2017 – the OnePlus 5.

That’s right: the next OnePlus phone will not be called the OnePlus 4; instead it will be called the OnePlus 5, as predicted. Why is this? Simple: the number 4 represents bad luck in China. And phone brands don’t need any of that; just ask Samsung.

Or that’s what I thought, but then I read that this isn’t actually the case. No, according to TR, OnePlus named the handset after its favourite basketball player, a chap named Robert Horry who played in the number five jersey.

The OnePlus 5 will get official very soon as well, as the company told The Verge that the handset would go on sale this summer – and it is very nearly summer.

This means you can expect an official launch inside the next few weeks, followed by a release date in June/July time, no doubt.

The OnePlus 5 is expected to feature a larger, 4000mAh battery, a dual-lens camera, a 5.5in QHD display and plenty of other updates. You can read ALL about the OnePlus 5 in our dedicated hub, where all the latest rumours are collected. 

I can also see OnePlus releasing two versions of the OnePlus 5 as well; one with a larger, QHD panel, perhaps, and another with a smaller, 1080p setup. This isn’t confirmed, of course. But doing so would give the company a means of upping the price of its most desirable handset – something it will be very keen on doing.

Samsung, Apple and Google all release two versions of their respective flagships, so it kind of makes sense for OnePlus to follow suit. We know it’s not adverse to releasing a couple of phones in the same 12 month period, so adding in two models at launch should not be too difficult a task.

The latest reports indicate the OnePlus 5 might be more expensive than the OnePlus 3T; by how much remains to be seen but we have seen the figure of £400 being passed around as a potential baseline.

This is a reasonable price too, given the specs and design, and how much cheaper it still is when compared to Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Apple’s iPhone 7 range.

Again, releasing two handsets will give OnePlus more control over the pricing of the handset, as those after a cheaper phone can go with the standard model, while those after something with a bit more bite can opt for the more pricy version.

This model makes a lot of sense, which is the reason behind why it is so popular with Samsung, Apple and Google.

Expect to be hearing a lot more about this handset between now and its official launch.

Time to get excited!