Everything we know about the mid-range OnePlus Z (Update - June 22) - Android

91mobiles/Onleaks

Update, June 22, 2020 (3:40AM ET): We’ve updated the OnePlus Z rumor hub with supposed charging details. Scroll down to the “specs and features” section for the new information.

Original article, April 17, 2020 (09:25 AM ET): The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are now official, marking the firm’s first phones of 2020. But we’ve also been hearing about a mid-range OnePlus phone for months now, tentatively known as the OnePlus Z.

The company’s last mid-range phone was the OnePlus X back in 2015, so this is clearly a big deal for the budget-conscious fans of the brand. It’s an even bigger deal when we look at the OnePlus 8 series’ pricing.

So is the OnePlus Z shaping up to be a worthy successor to the OnePlus X? Here’s everything we know (or think we know) about it so far.

Name and release date

When leaks first showed us a mid-range OnePlus phone, we didn’t have a name to go with the renders. Instead, people took to calling it the OnePlus 8 Lite.

Editor's Pick

OnePlus 8 buyer’s guide: Everything you need to know

OnePlus has been steadily climbing the ranks of the best smartphone makers. The OnePlus 8 series is the company’s latest release and, without doubt, it’s the best one yet. In this OnePlus 8 buyer's guide, we …

XDA Developer‘s Max Weinbach broke the news of a proper name at the end of March when he claimed that the upcoming phone is actually called the OnePlus Z. This claim was corroborated by fellow leaker Ishan Agarwal.

The source referred to it as “OnePlus Z” and said the hardware matched the previous OnePlus 8 Lite render. https://t.co/zB5PN9nQjW

— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) March 28, 2020

We expected to see the OnePlus Z launch alongside the OnePlus 8 series on April 14, but that didn’t happen. OnePlus then teased a product announcement at its Chinese launch on April 16, but the phone didn’t appear here either.

According to my sources, that model was initially planned to be unveiled along with the #OnePlus8 series during yesterday’s event but has been postponed (at least to upcoming summer) due to #CoronaVirus situation…

— Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) April 16, 2020

Serial leaker Steve ‘OnLeaks’ Hemmerstoffer then claimed that the OnePlus Z had been delayed to a summer launch window at the very least. Hemmerstoffer said this was due to the coronavirus pandemic, citing his own sources.

However, a recent leak of info suggests we could see the OnePlus Z launch in India on July 10. This lines up with recent comments from OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, who claimed an unnamed budget device from the brand would launch in India first. As such, expect the OnePlus Z to not be available globally, at least at first.

OnePlus Z design

91mobiles/Onleaks

The upcoming OnePlus phone first leaked in December 2019 courtesy of OnLeaks on Twitter in partnership with 91Mobiles. These renders (seen above and below) show a phone with a centered punch-hole display, a possible glass back, and what could be an alert slider like other OnePlus phones.

Unfortunately, these renders don’t seem to show a headphone port, which is a big disappointment. We’ve seen flagships ditch the port in recent years, but mid-range devices have largely kept it.

91mobiles/Onleaks

There are a couple of differences between these renders and the OnePlus 8 series designs though. For one, the punch-hole cutout is in the center here rather than off to the left. It also looks like we have a dual-camera setup rather than a triple or quad camera as seen on the OnePlus 8 series. And this camera housing is off to the side rather than center-mounted like its flagship stablemates.

We also saw an image emerge earlier this year (seen below), with some claiming that this is a OnePlus Z in the wild. The picture shows three rear cameras instead of two as seen in the OnLeaks renders.