We saw a brand new OnePlus handset at MWC 2019 last week, but that was the company’s first 5G phone dressed in annoying camouflage meant to prevent any details from leaking. It’s still unclear whether the OnePlus 5G phone will be a variation of the OnePlus 7 handset expected to drop in the first half of the year, but the 5G model will launch next quarter, the Chinese vendor said. OnePlus also revealed one thing about the OnePlus 7 during the show, that the phone won’t support wireless charging, which is hardly a surprise. But since then we’ve learned new things about the handset, as press renders showing the phone, as well as a real-life photo have just leaked.
Posted over on PriceBaba, the following images originate from well-known leaker @onleaks. They suggest the OnePlus 7 will deliver a massive design change: the teardrop notch will be gone for good, and the phone will have an even better all-screen display. Certain compromises have to be made, and we’re looking at a bigger bezel on the bottom, as well as a cutout for the top speaker in the top bezel.
More importantly, the selfie camera is now hidden inside the handset, as OnePlus has gone for the slide-out selfie camera variety. Other Chinese smartphone makers including Vivo and Oppo launched slider phones last year as they looked to differentiate their devices from all the other iPhone X clones. There are two types of sliders made in China, including models like this alleged OnePlus 7 handset, where only the camera module slides up and down, or the Oppo Find X, whose entire back half slides upwards to reveal the front cameras.
Slider designs aren’t my favorite, but what OnePlus is doing here is to go for the better option of the two. Having just the selfie camera move up and down rather than half of a phone is much better for the phone’s integrity, not to mention such a device is a lot easier to protect against drops with the help of cases.
The renders also show a triple-lens camera on the back, with the camera module containing additional sensors, and a single port (USB-C) on the bottom. The fingerprint sensor is placed under the screen given that there’s no such sensor on the back of the handset.
A user on Weibo, meanwhile, posted the following image that seems to confirm the press renders. The image also suggests the phone will still support Face Unlock like previous OnePlus handsets. The downside here is that the camera will keep have to slide up and down for every unlock.
With all that in mind, I’ll remind you these are just leaks for the time being, and we’ll have to wait a while longer until OnePlus unveils the OnePlus 7.
