You might not have to wait until the middle of next year for a new OnePlus handset, as the company is rumored to already be preparing for a new smartphone launch. But rather than the OnePlus 4,, we could see the OnePlus 3S or OnePlus 3 Plus instead.
According to a ‘trusted’ supply chain source speaking to GizmoChina, OnePlus is planning to change the internals of the OnePlus 3, but not the design.
It's said to be replacing the Snapdragon 820 with the newer, faster Snapdragon 821, and switching the AMOLED screen for an LCD one.
The changes sound fairly minor, and that along with it potentially being less than a year between models is why this device is unlikely to be called the OnePlus 4.
Can't make them fast enough
So why even bother? Well, OnePlus is reportedly struggling to keep up with demand for the phone, and an AMOLED supply shortage is said to be a big part of the reason – hence why the company is supposedly going to switch to LCD.
Apparently OnePlus will completely stop production of the OnePlus 3 to make room for this new model, but exactly when the OnePlus 3S will launch isn’t known.
This is all just a rumor for now, but if OnePlus really is struggling to meet demand for the phone then this change makes sense, though it doesn’t sound like a big enough jump that current OnePlus 3 (or even OnePlus 2) owners should feel the need to upgrade, and we’d expect we’ll still see a true successor sometime next year.
We contacted OnePlus and a spokesperson told us: "‘OnePlus can’t confirm anything that doesn’t come directly from OnePlus' official channels".
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