We know that OnePlus is readying not one, but two variants of its upcoming flagship phone, the OnePlus 7. We know that one of them will even support 5G in select markets, and carry with it a "breakthrough" display technology, according to the company's CEO, Pete Lau. And now, we finally know when both devices will be revealed to the world.
OnePlus has announced that it will debut its next flagship smartphones on May 14, through a series of concurrent global launch events in New York, London, Bangalore and Beijing, all occurring at 11 a.m. ET. And in true OnePlus fashion, fans will be able to buy tickets to attend the launch of their choosing.
It's at these events where we'll get our first live glimpse at the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro. While the Chinese phone maker has historically only ever introduced one model at a time — first around the midway point of the year, then followed by a revised, improved "T" version in the fall — OnePlus will break tradition in 2019 by introducing two models in May.
Although the standard OnePlus 7 is expected to continue the company's value proposition of flagship-tier performance for a few hundred less than what most flagship handsets usually cost, it's the Pro flavor that is garnering the most attention. This model is expected to compete with the Galaxy S10 and iPhone XS in the $900 to $1,000 range, and it's believed to differ from its cheaper counterpart by incorporating a more radical bezel-free design and higher-quality display.
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The OnePlus 7 Pro is rumored to feature a motorized pop-out front-facing camera, to circumvent the notch. And while OnePlus hasn't exactly elaborated as to what makes the device's screen so special, reports claim the 7 Pro's OLED panel will achieve a 90Hz refresh rate — noticeably faster than the 60Hz speed found in practically all other handsets, save for gaming-centric devices like the 120Hz Razer Phone 2 and 90Hz ROG Phone from Asus.
A post on Twitter from user @Samsung_News_ on April 22 corroborated much of what we already suspected about both of OnePlus' first offerings for 2019. The OnePlus 7 Pro's display will reportedly measure a gargantuan 6.7 inches, with a resolution of 3120x1440. The leak does reiterate the 90Hz refresh rate, and also claims buyers will be able to configure their units with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. However, the device will start with 6GB and 128GB, respectively.
While the standard, 6.4-inch OnePlus 7 may only incorporate a pair of lenses on the back — a 48-megapixel primary sensor alongside a 5-MP secondary one for depth — the 7 Pro will reportedly add an 8-MP telephoto shooter, likely for optical zoom and more dramatic portraits. Otherwise, both models will certainly utilize Snapdragon 855 chips driven by big batteries, possibly 3,700mAh for the less-expensive variant and 4,000mAh for the pricier Pro. And we hope and expect the phone maker to continue its carrier partnership with T-Mobile in the U.S.
If you'd like to attend a OnePlus 7 launch event near you, you can reserve your ticket starting April 25 at 11 a.m. for an early bird price of $20. After 48 hours, prices will be raised, though OnePlus has not said how much more expensive they'll be. At least the company tends to hand out some worthwhile goodies to its attendees; fans who stopped by for the OnePlus 5T's launch nearly two years ago got one of its popular Travel Backpacks as a parting gift, as well as a coupon to save a bit of scratch on the device itself.
