2020 is about to end and the smartphone makers are providing steps for the next year’s wave of flagships. Before the end of 2020, Xiaomi is ready to reveal the Mi 11 series. When it will come at the market, that is another story. On 14th January, Samsung will reveal its Galaxy S21 series. OnePlus is also ready to reveal its smartphones in the first quarter of 2021.
According to a few reports, OnePlus is getting ready to launch three models this year. The same thing was heard in 2019 and OnePlus was actually planning a single release for OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus Nord. But the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the release of the third model. For 2021, OnePlus will try to reveal three new devices – OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 Lite. Reports stated that the device will arrive as OnePlus 9E but a new report says that it is OnePlus 9 Lite. Also, the device will have a different chipset.
A report of Android Central states that an insider informed them about the plans of OnePlus launching three OnePlus 9 phones in 2021. The inclusion of a third model is a new strategy for the company. The third model will be launched as OnePlus 9 Lite. The Lite handset will have Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. The device may sell well on the basis of its price but people in flagship segment will try to purchase devices with new chipsets.
Everything will depend on the price of OnePlus 9 Lite. Its unknown how much the Snapdragon 888 devices will cost but it is being expected that Snapdragon 865 variant will be costlier than OnePlus Nord. So, at the end, it might not be much attractive. Also, the device might be harmful to the OnePlus 8T that has the same chipset. Now, we have to wait and see which corners of OnePlus will be cut in the new handset.
The move of OnePlus for launching a flagship phone with a chipset from the previous year is completely new. The same strategy is being used by Realme, another company inside of BBK Electronics conglomerate. The latter revealed the Realme X3 SuperZoom in the month of May with Snapdragon 855+ which was the last year’s flagship offering. This is not a bad strategy on the basis of the price. And also, flagships are getting more expensive with every month. And we cannot expect this to change with Snapdragon 888 which might be more expensive than its predecessors.