OnePlus to Unveil Something New on March 18, Logo Revamp Tipped

OnePlus, through its official Weibo page, teased the arrival of something new on March 18 and now CEO Pete Lau has shared that it will be the unveiling of a new brand image. The company posted an image of a curtain covering something, with the date “03.18 12:17” on Weibo. Soon after, Lau revealed it would be a brand design overhaul. In the meanwhile, the logo has been leaked online thanks to trademark listings. It was being suspected that the initial teaser would have something to do with the OnePlus 8-series of smartphones but unfortunately it doesn't.

The Weibo post reads, “New week, New life, New ...,” followed by the numbers indicating a date - March 18 and what seems to be the time – 12:17, which seems oddly specific. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau then posted his statement on the official China community forum followed by the official Indian community forum followed by the official English community forum, which reads, “Our passion is stronger than ever, and we have experienced some amazing success along the way, but sometimes it's good to shake things up a bit. So, before you find out from anyone else, I wanted to let you know first that two days from now, we're refreshing our brand visual identity (VI).” The post went on to state that on March 18, the world will see the company's new brand visual identity.

OnePlus has also not confirmed if it will hold an online event on the day but that seems likely, given the current situation in China and the world because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahead of the March 18 date however, a report by IThome claims to have spotted a new trademark filing by OnePlus in China's National Trademark Office, showing a black and white logo, setting aside the red and white colour scheme. The new logo also has the company's name in all caps – ‘ONEPLUS'. The numeral 1 also has a different design.

Android Police also put out a report with some images from China's National Intellectual Property Administration, showing the new logo for the company, a new logo for the Red Cable Club loyalty program, and the new font.

Additionally, it is being speculated that the company will launch its OnePlus 8-series of phones on April 15. Recently, a photo of the alleged OnePlus 8 Pro in the hands of brand ambassador Robert Downey Jr. surfaced online showing a copper coloured OnePlus phone. The image was quickly taken down as well so there is no confirmation whether it was an actual photo or a doctored version. The OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro were also reportedly spotted on China's telecom regulator TENAA which pointed towards 5G support for both devices. This goes in line with OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau's statement confirming the OnePlus 8-series of phones will all be 5G compatible.

A previous report have also hinted towards a Lite variant called the OnePlus 8 Lite which might have a 90Hz display and will be released later in July.

OnePlus 8 leaks look exciting but when will the phones launch in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.