OnePlus 7 Series: All That We Know

OnePlus has made a name for itself in the smartphone market by selling high end smartphones at half the price of its competitors earning it the title of “Flagship Killer” since day one. It last champion to date, the OnePlus 6 and 6T have had tremendous success, as 1 million units have been sold in less than a month, placing the brand as a direct competitor to big names like Samsung, Apple and Huawei. It is therefore expected (and pretty obvious) for the brand consider as one of the top smartphone makers in the world to follow the same formula for it last born, the OnePlus 7 Series.
However this year, there will be slight changes. The brand has had the habitude of launching second iterations of it last born months after the latter which are better revised versions. But this year, it is not just one but two OnePlus 7 we are expecting on the 14 of May: the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro. Bigger, better, faster and smoother? Here are all that we know.
Design:
The OnePlus 7 is expected to be a beefed-up version of the previous OnePlus 6T. Hence, we are expecting a very similar design with a water drop notch housing the front camera. However according to some leaked render from OnLeak and Olixar’s case, the 7 Pro will be similar to the Vivo NEX S, with a pop-up selfie camera, giving place to a true no bezel design. Personally I am not a big fan of this design choice. A pop-up camera has nothing esthetically pleasing so….

Other design changes include three vertically arranged camera on the back of the 7 Pro against two for the 7. Just like the 6T, both phones will feature an in-display fingerprint scanner according to the renders. No jack port, and a curved screen on the sides of the 7 Pro. It also likely to expect glass on the back of both versions.
Screen:
We don’t yet know the technology that will be used on the OnePlus 7. However it has been confirmed the 7 Pro will be equipped with a QHD+ display at 90Hz refreshment rate and HDR10+ support, which according to Netflix on their partnership with OnePlus, “will set new standards in mobile viewing of content, giving Netflix fans an immersive viewing experience”.

DisplayMate (leader in display testing and video diagnostics) already had the opportunity to test the screen and granted it the perfect score of A+ just like the spearheads from Samsung and Apple.
Camera:
This probably is the area were OnePlus bets the most according to its recent marketing efforts. On it Twitter page, the brand posted promotional pictures shot on the OnePlus 7 Pro. According to the caption, they are demonstrating the efficiency of its three sensors: an ultra-wide angle lens, a wide angle lens and an optical x3 zoom.
Get closer to the action!
Shot on OnePlus 7 Pro.#OnePlus7Series
Launching May 14. https://t.co/Q0eAKsxnw4 pic.twitter.com/53KWiM6olE
However they did not just leave it there, but went as far as partnering with Haper’s Bazaar and GQ, to shoot their cover stories on the OnePlus 7 Pro. According to Haper’s the cover were not edited in any way, those are RAW shots taken on the 7 Pro. Last but not least, the brand even teamed up with Netflix to shoot the promotional pictures of the Netflix original “Sacred Games”, and the behind the scenes video of its second season on the OnePlus 7 Pro. All these meant to suggest the OnePlus 7 Pro has nothing to envy to DSLRs.

So under the hood, expect three rear facing cameras on the 7 Pro of 46MP + 20MP + 5MP. It will also feature an x3 optical zoom, but that still doesn’t equal the 50x periscope camera of the Huawei P30 Pro. The front facing camera will be of 16MP.  No information on the OnePlus 7’s camera however.

Storage:
The OnePlus 7 will come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage space. As for the 7 Pro, it is rumored to come with two versions of 8GB and 12GB of RAM, which remains insane for a smartphone. Both will pack 256GB of internal storage space.

All versions will integrate UFS 3.0 memory storage, which promises a big leap in bandwidth, leading to a serious performance boost. This will likely make it the first device in the market with ultra-fast storage
Technical Characteristics:
Flagship killer obliged, both the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 855. A 4000mAh battery will accompany the 7 and a rumored 4100mAh on the 7 Pro. No wireless charging for both devices. According to OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, the reason being wireless charging is not as efficient or demanded enough by customers. Both will eventually support OnePlus’ Dash charging 44W, which recharges the OnePlus 6T from 0% to 60% in just 35 minutes. It is too bad the OnePlus 7 does not feature this technology especially its back is made up of glass which is required for wireless charging support. A waste.
Also, Android 9 Pie with the latest version of Oxygen OS will run on the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro. Both devices will support USB 3.1 and a dual speaker set-up. Water resistance is at the rendezvous, but with no certification. In an Instagram post, OnePlus assured that certifications cost money and are not necessary to users. However the French tech media FrAndroid warns that certification allows you to at least prove a default comes from the phone and not from a wrong usage on the side of the consumer in a number of cases. Plus the warranty does not cover damages due to water, so avoid dropping it in water recklessly.
Waterproof ratings for phones cost you money. We just bought a bucket. #OnePlus7Series
Une publication partagée par OnePlus (@oneplus) le 3 Mai 2019 à 10 :00 PDT
The last rumored feature on the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro is 5G connectivity. Pete Lau confirmed to The Verge the Pro variant will support 5G. What is unsure is whether there will be an iteration of the Pro supporting 5G, or not.
Price:
OnePlus has always practiced very low prices on its flagships compared to its competitors. However over the years, there has been a steady rise in the price of it devices. We moved from a price of $299 (175,600XAF) on the OnePlus One, to a price of $549 on the 6T (322,300XAF). So it is expected for the starting price of the OnePlus 7 to be over $600 and even more. According to leaked European pricing details, the OnePlus 7 starts at $717 (430,000XAF). Unfortunately, it seems the OnePlus 7 will mark OnePlus’ graduation from the “affordable” segment ☹.
The OnePlus 7 Series is said to be available in Almond, Nebula, Blue and Mirror Gray. Please, bear in mind all these are just rumored, and we will have to wait until the launch to confirm all these. But there are great chances for majority of these rumors to turn out true.

The OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro will be launched in New York, London and Bangalore Tuesday May 14, and in China on May 16. The conferences will be titled “Go beyond Speed”. A live broadcast will be available on OnePlus’ YouTube page.
What do you think about the new OnePlus? As for me I am pretty excited as always with OnePlus phones, but also deceived it will no more be “affordable”. 😪