The next OnePlus phone is skipping a model number and arriving this summer

pulse

May 5, 2017 3:59 PM

OnePlus has built a reputation for making some of the best values in smartphones, and on Friday it confirmed the first details of its next device, the OnePlus 5.

Last year's OnePlus 3 phone.

For the past few years, Chinese tech company OnePlus has built a reputation among phone geeks for selling great phones for not so much money.

Last year’s OnePlus 3 held its own against the other “flagship” phones of the year, for instance, yet only cost $400. The company released a slightly beefed-up successor, the OnePlus 3T, later in the year; while it raised the price to $450, it still performed similarly to pricier high-end phones from Google, Samsung, and Apple.

That OnePlus planned to release a new phone later this year is no shock, but the company on Friday confirmed that its next device is coming later this summer. For what it’s worth, it launched the OnePlus 3 last June.

More notably, OnePlus confirmed to The Verge that the new device would be called the OnePlus 5, skipping the “OnePlus 4” designation entirely. The Verge says the skip is due to the number 4 being considered unlucky in OnePlus’ native China. (It’s pronounced similarly to the Chinese word for “death.”) If you exclude the mid-range OnePlus X, the new device will also be the fifth phone in OnePlus’ core series of phones.

The company also seems to be fans of former NBA player Robert Horry, who wore the number 5. The more you know!

Whatever the case, concrete details of the phone are still slight. It seems safe to expect top-level specs for a price below $500, but recent rumors suggest there’ll be dual rear cameras (like the iPhone 7 Plus and various other recent phones) and a higher-res display.

It may be too soon to expect a no-bezel design like that of the Galaxy S8 — and OnePlus still doesn’t have a huge sales presence in the US either way — but if history is any indication, the phone should one to keep an eye on.

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