The OnePlus 7 Pro launch is in a week and quite expectedly, the company is revealing bits and pieces of information about the upcoming flagship. However, despite taking responsibility of making certain information official, the company still couldn’t put a stop to leaks. Over the weekend, the entire spec-sheet and even the alleged pricing of the phone was leaked out on Twitter. We take a close look at the leaked specs and figure out just what's new and exciting in the OnePlus 7 Pro —
Even before the specs of the phone was leaked out, OnePlus revealed the display of the OnePlus 7 Pro snagged an A+ rating from DisplayMate which is usually reserved for the flagships like the Galaxy Note and the iPhones. It certainly got our interests piqued. Now, the leaked specs reveal the OnePlus 7 Pro will sport a 6.67-inch panel, what the company calls “Fluid AMOLED” display. The ‘Fluid’ here refers to a higher 90Hz refresh rate, which effectively means OnePlus will be the first major smartphone brand embrace a high refresh-rate display screen after the Razer Phone came out with a 120Hz LCD panel. Furthermore, this could be the first time OnePlus will offer a panel with 2K resolution. Rumours state the phone can even cycle between multiple resolutions to save battery. 2K displays are actually common in premium flagships. In fact, the LG G7+ ThinQ managed to offer a 2K LCD display at the same price as the OnePlus 6 last year. What’s even more interesting is that the 6.67-inch display of the OnePlus 7 Pro is HDR10+ certified, as confirmed by the company. HDR10+ is a relatively newer standard that debuted with the Samsung Galaxy S10 phones earlier this year.
The Horizon Line design that had become a OnePlus signature might be in for a change. Earlier design renders of the OnePlus 7 Pro had revealed the flagship will come with a curved screen this time. We could make out that the AMOLED display curves to wrap around the edges, like the Galaxy S10 offering even more screen real-estate. This will be complemented with a full-glass design with Gorilla Glass protection likely present on both sides. Furthermore, a new colour variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro was recently leaked. Called Nebula Blue, it might offer subtle gradient shades of blue that, based on the leaked renders, looks quite rad! There’s also another almond-coloured variant that leaked earlier today as well as a more conservative mirror grey colour.
The earlier OnePlus 6 and the OnePlus 6T received a lot of flak for not doing much to improve the camera from previous generations. OnePlus stuck to a secondary camera that did little, but that’s in for a big change in the OnePlus 7 Pro. Multiple design renders had revealed the OnePlus 7 Pro will sport a triple-camera module on the back. Now, the leaked specs tell us exactly what those cameras will do —
Based on the leaked specs, the 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor will be the primary camera fitted with an f/1.6 aperture lens and OIS. Then there will be an 8MP telephoto sensor with f/2.2 aperture and OIS. The telephoto sensor will apparently offer 3X optical zoom. Finally, there will be a third 16MP ultra-wide angle camera with PDAF.
The camera setup alone can be regarded as a big upgrade over the OnePlus 6T, but triple-cameras are nothing new anymore. The Huawei P20 Pro (read our review here) is credited with that feat, but it’s probably Samsung’s blitzkrieg of A-series phones with multi-camera setups on the back, that prompted OnePlus to come out with its own triple-camera phone.
Pop-up cameras are now fairly common even in mid-range phones. We have Oppo and Vivo to thank for that. The design itself can be credited to finally make displays stretch all the way to the edges. The OnePlus 7 Pro, according to the leaked specs, will also sport a similar pop-up camera module housing a 16MP selfie shooter, positioned slightly offset from the centre. That’s what is allowing OnePlus to offer a giant 6.67-inch screen without increasing the dimensions of the phone by much. However, we have reservations against the design choice. For one, a pop-up module is a movable part in the design which could attract dust and over time, might stop working. There’s also the fear of the pop-up module rising up when the phone is in the pocket which could damage the camera. It’s only after a long-term use that we can be sure this is the right approach to making displays bezel-less.
One thing that was confirmed even before the bevvy of leaks started flooding in was the fact that the OnePlus 7 Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 855. That’s now more or less expected from the company as every other flagship phone from OnePlus has been paired with Qualcomm’s flagship 8-series processors. What will make users go wow this time is a 12GB RAM variant that the OnePlus 7 Pro will apparently be offered with. Leaked Geekbench scores peg the OnePlus 7 Pro right on top with 3551 in single-core performance and 11012 in multi-core performance. Based on the leaked specs, the OnePlus 7 Pro will be offered in 6GB, 8GB and a whopping 12GB RAM variant. The OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition came in a 10GB RAM variant, but that seems to have fallen short of OnePlus’ expectation and hence, a 12GB RAM variant. What will you do with a 12GB RAM phone is beyond us presently. However, what’s even more interesting is the fact that the OnePlus 7 Pro will be the first to offer UFS 3.0 storage which was supposed to debut with the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Well, Samsung’s foldable phone is not coming out anytime soon after it got into production issues making OnePlus the first to offer the latest generation of high-speed flash storage. Furthermore, the OnePlus 7 Pro will sport a 4,000mAh battery which will be charged by the Warp 30 charger that debuted with the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition.
OnePlus took to Twitter to say that "Waterproof ratings for phones cost you money. We just bought a bucket". This isn't the first time OnePlus has highlighted that water resistance certification costs money and that leads to an increase in the price of the smartphone. This time, however, the company has taken to Twitter to show that the upcoming OnePlus 7 Pro is water resistant but isn't IP certified. The Tweeted video shows the smartphone being submerged in water but there is a disclaimer in the video which says that water damage isn't covered by warranty. So we advise you not to take this phone in the shower with you. However, having water resistance at some level is better than not having it at all. At least it can survive those accidental brushes with water.
When it comes to the price of the smartphone, information circulating the internet suggests that the 6GB+128GB variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro could cost Rs 49,999, the 8GB+256GB could cost Rs 52,999 whereas the top of the line 12GB+256GB could cost about Rs 57,999. This makes the OnePlus 7 Pro a premium device competing with what the best in the world of smartphones have to offer. Granted, it costs half of a new iPhone, but the top of the line variant is close to the Samsung Galaxy S10e price range. It remains to be seen how the upcoming Pixel 3a and 3a XL are priced keeping in mind that the new pixels are expected to house some of the prowess of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.