OnePlus, despite its humble beginnings, is one of the most prominent brands in the Android space. What’s even more impressive is that the company has achieved global recognition in the space of three years, which is immensely impressive when you consider the costly barriers to entry and competitive nature of the mobile space at large.

Things kicked off with the OnePlus One and OnePlus’ infamous invite system. The company established itself using limited funds and by focussing on community building and covert, targeted marketing on popular social networks. OnePlus apparently spent less than $30,000 doing this and the net result was immensely impressive — in a matter of months EVERYBODY knew about them.

Since then, OnePlus has grown and grown, refining its business, developing its own software and, mercifully, moved away from its invite-system. The OnePlus 3 was the first flagship handset from the company to be available to ALL, not just those lucky enough to blag an invite, which is sign that OnePlus, not just as a brand, but as a corporate entity, is evolving beyond its embryonic start-up phase.

As is the case with Apple, Samsung and Google, once a current flagship is official, all eyes turn to what’s next. In this context, we’re talking about the OnePlus 4 which will now almost certainly be in testing. But what will this handset bring to the fray? How will it develop on the momentum established by the OnePlus 3? And, most importantly, how will it innovate?

Let’s take a look at what’s known thus far about five key components of 2017’s OnePlus 4 and examine where the company could implement some changes in the coming year.

Five Points on The Prospect of The OnePlus 4: Display

I don’t have a problem with 1080p displays at all. Hell, my daily driver at present is an iPhone SE (don’t judge me). But in the Android space, display technology has got very impressive in the past 12 months and leading the charge is Samsung with its amazing AMOLED technology which just keeps on getting better and better.

I’d like to see OnePlus up its game in this respect because A) the OnePlus 3’s panel wasn’t exactly great; the colour reproduction is very squiffy, and B) it’s high time OnePlus joined the ranks of EVERYBODY else and outfitted its handset with a QHD panel. Hell, even BlackBerry has done it with the PRIV. And while QHD isn’t ESSENTIAL on a phone, I believe the OnePlus 4 will almost certainly feature a QHD AMOLED panel.

And the logic as to why is simple: as OnePlus gets bigger and more well known, Android fans, that are keen on specs, are going to start asking questions — questions like, why doesn’t it have as good a display at the Galaxy S7? OnePlus needs to be able to answer these questions if it is to grow and prosper because regardless of your preferences the Android space is still very much governed by The Specs Race.

Five Points on The Prospect of The OnePlus 4: Overall Design

2017 is going to be an interesting year because two of the biggest players in the space — Apple and Samsung — are apparently coming to town with two vastly different handsets; Apple with the iPhone Pro, which will apparently feature a curved OLED panel, and Samsung with the Galaxy X — a completely flexible handset that will pack in a 4K flexible OLED display.

Make no mistake: if this happens, things will be very different. Other OEMs will be forced to think on their feet and adapt quickly. What we’re potentially looking at here, especially with the Galaxy X, is similar to what happened way back in 2007 with the first all-touch smartphones — an entirely new form-factor and look for topflight smartphones.

For this reason, I’d like to see OnePlus shake up its design language and do something a little special. I’m not saying rewrite the playbook on how phones should look, but something, well, a little more exciting than a slight physical rehash of what came before.

Five Points on The Prospect of The OnePlus 4: Expandable Storage

The OnePlus 3 is available with 64GB of storage, which is plenty. But I for one would love to see the company include expandable storage inside the OnePlus 3 — even more so now that 256GB SD cards are available. Having the ability to expand your storage in such a way is an awesome feature and one that, once used, colours your view of how a phone should function forever more.

Five Points on The Prospect of The OnePlus 4: More Models?

I admit, doing ALL of these things would hike the price up. But here’s a solution: why not make more than one handset? Apple does. Ditto Samsung. In this context, OnePlus certainly has room for expansion; it could make a more expensive option that’s decked out with all the latest and greatest features, charge more, and then, if it tanks, not bother doing it again in 2018.

Five Points on The Prospect of The OnePlus 4: Something Unique

Which brings me to my last point: doing something unique. Up to today, OnePlus’ MO has been simple: make great phones at a great price. This is a good model and one it should 100% stick to.

BUT that’s not to say it should be scared of trying something new like releasing a higher-specced handset. Just look at the success Samsung has had with its Note range. Everybody laughed when that handset first landed because it was a risky move.

I’d love to see OnePlus do something similar in 2017 alongside the OnePlus 4.

How would you like to see OnePlus develop things in 2017/18?