OnePlus Lite with mid-range Qualcomm chipset rumored to launch next month

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• OnePlus Lite with mid-range Qualcomm chipset rumored to launch next month

OnePlus smartphones are seeing great success, especially in price-sensitive markets like India. The company recently realigned its priorities and decided to offer an affordable avatar of its now premium flagship smartphone. While the OnePlus North saw its global unveiling last month, the phone has generated mixed reactions. However, it seems that the Chinese smartphone maker has now decided to add more competition to the mid-budget segment where companies like Xiaomi, Realme, and Samsung are fighting a fierce battle. A leak has suggested that OnePlus is preparing a new smartphone with a Snapdragon 662/665 chipset and it will launch at the end of September. While not one of the most reliable sources or known for its regular leaks, the release cycle coincides with the regular T variants of OnePlus' flagship phones.

OPPO Early September – Launching Snapdragon 662 phone priced under 20k in IndiaOnePlus End September – Launching Snapdragon 662/665 phone priced around 16-18k in India peak. twitter.com/s26n3S27o223 August 2020 The most interesting part of this leak is that Chun suggests that this phone could cost around Rs. 16-18,000 in India and the SoC used here does not support 5G connectivity, this phone may be for the Indian market only. Analyzing the tweet further, we can see the obvious omission of 'Nord' branding which suggests this phone might be different from the Nord Lite rumor we've covered here and here. The fact that a similar Oppo phone (with Snapdragon 662) is mentioned in the same tweet should come as no surprise, as most OnePlus devices are rebranded as Oppo phones with some design changes and Oxygen OS for obvious reasons. According to the tweet, this Oppo phone will also be billed under Rs 20.000.

Have you changed position again?

While we said that the leak may not be accurate, however, if OnePlus were planning to release such a device, it would come as a shock to most fans. Its co-founders have repeatedly stated that there will be no cheap OnePlus-branded smartphone, however, we did get to see the North, so stranger things can happen. If for a moment we think such a device is in the works, it could launch under the Nord brand with a clear line between “premium” and “affordable” OnePlus phones. Talking about the suggested SoCs here, it should be noted that the Snapdragon 665 was released in April of last year while the Snapdragon 662 was introduced in January of this year. The Snapdragon 665 has been seen in many devices in the sub-15000 segment. We have devices like Moto G8Plus, Redmi Note 8, Mi A3, some Realme devices, etc. and most of these phones are around a year old, which suggests the SoC is past its prime. We have yet to see a Snapdragon 662 powered phone in India. Fancy a cheap OnePlus phone? Let us know.