OnePlus has basically confirmed it has a new smartphone coming, although we’re still not clear on all the details.
For the unaware, the Snapdragon 821 is Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile chip, and has only ever appeared in smartphones. As such, it seems highly likely that the device coming on 15 November is going to be a smartphone. The good news is that the Snapdragon 821 is 10% faster than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 820, and has already featured in a bunch of high-end phones, including the new Google Pixel and Pixel XL.
Rumours of a new OnePlus smartphone have been circulating for weeks, with a handset called the OnePlus 3T reportedly in the works. It appears that the phone will be an upgraded version of the OnePlus 3 rather than a full sequel, giving customers more powerful hardware just before the Christmas splurging season.
The important thing to note about the Snapdragon 821 is that it supports Google’s Daydream VR platform, unlike the Snapdragon 820. Qualcomm already confirmed that OnePlus was planning to incorporate the new chip into a device on Twitter yesterday:
It’s expected that the handset will run on Google’s new Android 7.0 Nougat, ship in a 128GB stage option, and feature a larger 3,300mAh battery.
The original OnePlus 3 launched back in June, running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chip, as well as 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, quick-charging, and NFC functionality for contactless payments. We gave the OnePlus 3 a 4.5/5 score in our review, praising its high-quality build, excellent heat-handling, impressive value, and solid cameraP
