OnePlus might finally introduce a mid-range phone next year

OnePlus has increasingly grown every year with better and more flagship models. But with that growth, prices of their phones have increased too. The company hasn’t released a mid-range phone since launching the OnePlus X in 2015.

However, this might change next year. A bunch of renders published by 91mobiles in partnership with OnLeaks suggest the company will release a OnePlus 8 ‘lite’ in 2020.

The renders indicate the phone will have a punch-hole display – 6.4-inch or 6.5-inch – on the front, and a dual-camera setup with a Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor on the back.

The report remarks the phone will have a USB-C port for charging, in-display fingerprint sensor to unlock the device, and no headphone jack.

It’s important to note that the company’s ‘cheapest’ phone, the OnePlus 7, this year cost more than $450. Its rival, Xiaomi, released a very competitive K20 Pro with a price tag of under $400. So it won’t be surprising if OnePlus releases a sub-$400 phone the next year.

It would be interesting to see if OnePlus will launch three models – the OnePlus 8 ‘lite’, the OnePlus 8, and the OnePlus 8 Pro – next year. With Realme rising in ranks, mid-range phone space is going to be really contentious.

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