OnePlus to Launch New 5G Phone in Fourth Quarter of 2019, CEO Pete Lau Confirms

OnePlus has confirmed it will launch a new 5G phone in the fourth quarter of 2019. This new device will be made available globally, including the US market. The first 5G phone from the company – the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G – was launched in May and was made available in the UK on EE's network. However the upcoming phone looks to eye the North American market as well this time around, and the company has even signed a deal with American operator Sprint very recently. With the company expected to launch the OnePlus 7T Pro later this year, it may well be the 5G variant of that phone that's being spoken about.

CEO Pete Lau has confirmed to the Financial Times that the company is slated to release a second 5G phone in the fourth quarter of 2019. This phone will be launched globally this time around. The company even announced its distribution deal with American operator Sprint for an unnamed 5G phone last week, hinting at an imminent launch. “If you want to be a premium phone in 2020, you have to be equipped with 5G technology,” he told the publication.

There's no other information about this upcoming One Plus 5G phone, and leaks have been scant so far. However, now that the phone has been made official by the company's top executive, more details should be released soon. As we mentioned, the OnePlus 7T Pro is rumoured to launch in October as the company's biannual refresh. It is anticipated to sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC, and, a 5G variant of this phone maybe what's in the works.

The first 5G phone from OnePlus – the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G – is identical to its 4G counterpart, though there are several changes internally. For instance, OnePlus has expanded the cooling area by 50 percent and designed custom 5G antennas. The company also reduced the NFC antenna size by 50 percent.

According to a recent test conducted by RootMetrics, the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G achieved a download speed of nearly 700Mbps giving it a clear lead over the other smartphones. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5Gcould only manage 550Mbps while LG V50 5G and the Oppo Reno 5G managed around 600Mbps.