While fans checked out the recently concluded Mobile World Congress for the latest flagship iterations, it seems that another top-tier smartphone is on its way and will release soon. Speculations suggest that the next "flagship killer" from OnePlus will arrive in June.
In an exclusive by CNET, it is revealed that OnePlus's co-founder Carl Pei hinted that the next rumored flagship will arrive in the middle of 2016. Although Pei did not reveal specific details about the phone itself, it is also hinted that the OnePlus 3 may be the mainstream flagship. Pei said that "the US will be very important for us this year," and to market the OnePlus 3, they will use "traditional marketing."
When the original OnePlus was launched in 2014, and the OnePlus 2 last year, the company used an invitation-only approach to selling their flagship smartphones. This made the previous OnePlus iterations sought after. However, the company is slowly switching to a mainstream approach, with the latest flagship, the OnePlus X, being marketed both at by-invite events and in the open market.
Although it was indirectly stated, this means that the OnePlus 3 will have a global release rather than the limited locations of the previous versions. Pei hinted at this development by saying that the OnePlus 3 will be released as an unlocked product which can be availed of through a number of mobile carriers and will be sold directly by the company. Another indication of the OnePlus 3 being a global release is that the next launch will also add credit card transactions for payments, in addition to the current PayPal-only mode of purchase.
OnePlus made waves in 2014 when it launched the OnePlus One, tagging it as a "flagship killer." Both the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 are known to offer top-tier specs that rival other flagships but at a lower price.
