OnePlus is working on a “more affordable smartphone product line,” CEO Pete Lau confirmed today in a forum post. Although Lau doesn’t specifically name the new rank, his post links to a new Instagram page titled “OnePlusLiteZThing,” which is an apparent reference to the rumored names for the device. Lau said OnePlus plans to bring the devices to Europe and India first, but that the company was looking to bring its affordable phones to North America in the “near future.”
Later Tuesday, the company posted a Morse code message on Instagram that confirmed it will announce the new products in July. It seems that other clues will follow.
An affordable OnePlus device has been rumored for months to come under a variety of different names, including OnePlus 8 Lite or OnePlus Z. (The company’s last serious attempt at a lower-cost Android phone was 2015’s OnePlus X.) More recently, XDA Developers He reported that what he called OnePlus Z could launch in India for Rs 24,990 (around $ 330). The phone is believed to include a 6.55-inch, 90Hz OLED display and is powered by a Snapdragon 765 processor with 5G support.
For six years, OnePlus has focused primarily on making a beautifully designed series of smartphones. Now it’s time for us to add something else to that. https://t.co/sMiHFRv3Rc
– Pete Lau (@PeteLau) June 23, 2020
The announcement of a new product line comes just months after OnePlus launched its latest flagship smartphone line, OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro, starting at $ 699 and $ 899, respectively.
Lau did not give an exact deadline for when OnePlus will announce the new line of smartphones, but Android Central previously reported that it would be released on July 10 in India.
Update June 23 3:23 PM ET: The article has been updated to mention a new OnePlus Instagram post.
