With the OnePlus 2 officially announced, the Shenzhen-based startup is starting work on its third smartphone, set for launch near Christmas. OnePlus CEO Carl Pei confirmed plans to launch the smartphone around that time in an interview with USA Today.
Pei said it may or may not be higher spec than the OnePlus 2, and did not branch off into any more details. Rumors of the OnePlus Mini, Plus and Ultra have all been published, but we have yet to see any concrete proof of a size change.
Considering the OnePlus 2 features a 5.5-inch display, we might see OnePlus try for a 6-inch phablet. A 4.7-inch smaller device could be in the works as well, to compete with the HTC One M9 and iPhone 6.
In the interview, Pei also spoke about the lack of NFC on OnePlus:
"I think the entire issue of NFC is overblown. Very few people are using NFC, so we cut it. It’s as simple as that. I know that Android Pay is coming but all that is in the future. It (NFC) is going to gain widespread adoption in stores 12-18 months from now. By that time people will have moved on to the next device".
This is an interesting take on features. Where Samsung and HTC are rushing to add things like NFC and waterproofing, OnePlus is considering what customers want right now. It also goes against OnePlus’ experimental crowd, who want to use all of the new features on Android.
Pei also thinks OnePlus will be one of the three main smartphone providers in five years. He claims Samsung and Apple will remain in the industry, alongside OnePlus. This is optimistic, considering neighboring mobile giant Xiaomi’s massive hold on the Chinese market.
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