Soon after the launch of the OnePlus Nord, the company confirmed that there will be another affordable smartphone coming later this year which will be available in the U.S. There was a lot of speculation around that device, but we might finally have some concrete information on what to expect from it.
Until now, the only hints we had about the device was that it could be even more affordable than the Nord and will be destined for the western markets, but information received by Android Central gives us a much better glimpse at the new phone.
As with all pre-release information about upcoming phones, take this with a pinch of salt, but it's got us hopeful for the new phone.
The key point here is the phone has the internal codename 'Clover'. This isn't the name the handset will be released under - we've been calling it the OnePlus Nord Lite but that hasn't been confirmed either. The final retail name of the phone remains a mystery for now.
- These are the best OnePlus phones
- Check out our OnePlus Nord review
- The OnePlus 8T is coming soon too
Nord-y or nice
According to the leak, the upcoming OnePlus phone will be an entry-level device priced at around $200 (around £150, AU$280) in the US, making it the most affordable offering from the company ever.
The specifications stated in the leak are similar to what you’d expect at this price, starting with the Snapdragon 460 chipset. Compared to that chipset's predecessor, it is claimed to bring a 70% improvement in CPU performance and a 60% gain in GPU performance.
Originally unveiled in January, it is yet to make an appearance in a smartphone. That will supposedly be paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, though there are likely to be other configurations as well for different prices. Perhaps we could also see expandable storage.
The other specifications we've heard here are what you'd expect for a super-cheap phone. It's said to pack a 6.52-inch HD+ (1560 x 720) LCD panel. There's no word on the refresh rate, but considering that OnePlus did commit to all its upcoming phones having at least a 90Hz panel, we can be hopeful.
There will apparently be a triple-camera array on the back with a 13MP primary shooter and two 2MP sensors, according to the leak, which are likely to be for depth sensing and macro photography.
Things get a little more interesting with the battery as the OnePlus Clover might come with a big 6,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging if the leak is to be believed. It’s unclear if power delivery will take place over micro USB or USB Type-C.
No launch date was specified, but it shouldn’t be far, considering the level of details of this leak. While it is being referred to as the OnePlus Nord Lite, the final name could be something more elegant.
The source also states that the phone will be based on the Realme C15 - Realme and OnePlus are sibling companies, owned by the same parent company, so that makes sense.
