OnePlus' Next Flagship Will Be Powered by Snapdragon 855; OnePlus to Launch UK's First 5G Phone

At the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit 2018, OnePlus confirmed that its next flagship phone will be "one of the first" to be powered by the latest and greatest Snapdragon 855 SoC. At the event, CEO Pete Lau also announced that OnePlus will be the first to release a commercial 5G smartphone with carrier network EE in UK in 2019. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC was launched just a day ago, and it comes with an improved AI Engine and a 5G modem.

The next OnePlus flagship, set to launch next year, is now confirmed to be powered by the new Snapdragon 855 processor. The company notes that it will be one of the first to launch a flagship device with the new processor. To recall, the Sony Xperia XZ4, slated to launch soon, is also tipped to be powered by the Snapdragon 855 processor.

Even the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 series will be powered by the new processor in markets like the US, and it only remains to be seen which smartphone launches first.

"OnePlus only makes flagship smartphones, and we believe that the Snapdragon 855 is the best and only choice. We are thrilled by its powerful performance and 5G capabilities. OnePlus will continue to bring its users the best technology and the best user experience possible," Pete Lau said at the summit.

Talking about its 5G device a little more, Lau confirmed that it will be the first to release a commercial 5G smartphone with carrier network EE in UK in 2019.

Earlier, the company had hinted that this 5G phone won't be a successor to the OnePlus 6T, but it could be a completely different phone with different branding. With that in mind, it isn't clear if the device Lau is talking about is indeed the OnePlus 7 or some other device.