OnePlus News Daily Dose #14: MWC tidbits, 5G apps of tomorrow, OnePlus 3 / 3T Pie upgrade and more!

Mobile World Congress is going on and OnePlus is rapidly gaining attractions from masses due to their fort like container around the the prototype 5G phone.

OnePlus has deliberately put a cover around the device to protect it from the eagle-eyed enthusiasts. That effort is not really helpful, as a closer look hints about a super tall 21:9 screen – just like the new Xperias from Sony.

David Y., OnePlus Community Manager, commented the following regarding the speculation:

The bottom part inside the box should have a fast charge cable connected, which may take up some space. I didn’t have a chance to see how the stand or box works, so it’s just my guess.

(Source)

Leakster Roland Quandt has stepped in and expressed similar doubts:

Apart from it, today is a really hectic day for OnePlus at MWC. In case you need to remember, there is this big discussion panel scheduled, which involves Qualcomm, EE and OnePlus.

Before that, there were a number of meetings and conferences. Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus, has talked about 5G and OnePlus user communities.

Our community is the most enthusiastic about tech, and our brand was built on sharing the best technology with the world.

To recap, we have a long history with 5G. We are uniquely positioned for leadership in this space.

With 5G, as a new technology, a lot of fast changes are bound to happen. We’ll be continuing our 5G leadership and follow it closely as it develops. Thank you.

Carl teamed up with Enrico Salvatori, Qualcomm’s SVP & President of EMEA and Marc Allera, CEO of BT Consumer & EE at Qualcomm’s press briefing, named “5G is here”.

After individual briefings, the event was concluded with a Q&A session.

The Q&A was focused on how 5G can change how the industry will change and the importance of finding the next killer app, how smartphones will be able to move much of the processing to the cloud.

(Source)

https://twitter.com/getpeid/status/1100068914376200193

Meanwhile, CNET interviewed OnePlus CEO Pete Lau yesterday about folding smartphones. Samsung, Huawei, even OPPO – which is a distant sibling of OnePlus, have showcased foldable smartphones this year at MWC.

According to Lau, the primary factor is increasing cost.

With this technology, costs are high. But the value to the end user doesn’t seem to correlate.

He did not completely overrule the possibility of a future folding phone which are “very much a different product” and “very interesting,” but “what we keep coming back to is the costs are definitely high.”

Today’s main attraction: the 5G discussion panel has been started already:

https://twitter.com/getpeid/status/1100389920550600704

Carl has just announced 5G Apps of Tomorrow initiative, parterming with EE in UK.

https://twitter.com/getpeid/status/1100396637002915841

What is 5G Apps of Tomorrow?
5G will reshape how we previously imagined the future, offering limitless opportunities for innovation. Our community has always been at the forefront of change – encouraging us to strive for the best and never settle for anything other than improvement.

We want our community to be the driving force behind 5G innovation. So, we’re offering 5 creators the chance to lead the way in showing the world what 5G is really capable of. All you need to do is submit your idea, and we’ll help turn the best ones into reality.

Pete has also posted a thread regarding the above program in OnePlus official forums, which has been taken down while writing this article.

BTW, have you noticed the phone shown in the tweet? EE actually shared the same picture of a prototype months ago:

Leakster Roland has added more twists on this game of speculations:

Wait a minute! Will there be a ‘Lite’ variant of OnePlus 5G?

On the other hand, OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T users are getting relentless for Android 9 Pie upgrade. Asking-for-ETA threads are overflowing the forums.

A Chinese user posted a speculative thread about the upcoming Pie upgrade for these phones.

The image is merely a concept, but it does reignite the storm of rumors and speculations. Please take a look here to read about the incident in details.

Let’s finish it up for today, shall we?

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