It's long been speculated that OnePlus is working on a more affordable smartphone for this year, going back to the company's pricing roots. Late last month, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed that the company is indeed planning its return to the budget price segment, and now it seems like we have a date for that return.
According to Android Central, citing its own source inside OnePlus, the smartphone known as the OnePlus Z is launching on July 10, at least in India - though a global release shouldn't be too far off. A report earlier today suggested that OnePlus will be launching a new lineup of TVs in India on July 2, so it certainly seems possible that the OnePlus Z will also be announced at the event, with a full launch soon after.
Additionally, the specs for the device may have been fully unveiled, according to a user on Indian forums DesiDime, first reported by XDA-Developers. The user in question claims to have been shown a survey from PayBack, a rewards program in India that often runs surveys like this with its users. The survey asks whether the user would be willing to buy a OnePlus smartphone, and then lists the specs of this would-be device.
Assuming the survey is hinting at the OnePlus Z, the phone would come with a Snapdragon 765 5G chipset, as well as 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The survey points to a 6.55-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a fingerprint sensor underneath. The rear camera setup features three sensors - a main 64MP shooter, a 16MP camera presumed to be a wide-angle lens, and a 2MP sensor - and there's also a 16MP selfie camera. Finally, the phone is said to have a 4,300mAh battery with 30W charging.
The survey also suggests a ₹24,990 price for the smartphone, which is roughly equal to $330.87 at the current exchange rate as of the time of writing. Assuming the official price outside of India is in line with that number, it would be a major step down from the $699 starting price of the OnePlus 8.
