What To Expect From OnePlus' April 28 Launch Event
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
With the international launch of the OnePlus 10 Pro under its belt, OnePlus seems to be focusing its attention on the rest of its 2022 lineup. The first indication of this came earlier today when OnePlus India's official Twitter handle sent out a tweet teasing a major launch event scheduled for April 28, 2022. The tweet specifically mentions that the company intends to launch "an array of devices" at the event. The image accompanying the tweet includes the silhouettes of three new devices; two smartphones and a new pair of TWS earbuds. The same image has also appeared on a dedicated landing page on Amazon India.
While OnePlus is yet to confirm this, indications are that the two smartphones shown in the silhouette are the OnePlus 10R and OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite. The third product is likely to be the first Nord-branded TWS — simply called the OnePlus Nord TWS. We have been hearing about the OnePlus 10R and the Nord CE 2 Lite for a while now and have talked about them in separate articles. But for those who haven't heard of these upcoming devices yet, here's a quick refresher.
OnePlus 10R: What we know so far
OnePlus introduced this new R series of affordable flagship devices in 2021 with the first-generation product called the OnePlus 9R. It was basically a scaled-down variant of the higher-priced OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro smartphones. The OnePlus 9R did pretty well in the select markets it went on sale, and it seems that OnePlus wants to replicate the same with this year's successor — the OnePlus 10R. As previously reported, there is a good chance that the OnePlus10R would actually turn out to be a rebranded version of the Realme GT Neo 3, which was only recently announced in China.
Expectations are that the OnePlus 10R will use the fairly new MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC and that it will feature the same E4, 120 Hz AMOLED panel we saw on the Realme GT Neo 3. We also expect the OnePlus 10R to be offered with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. As for the camera setup, indications are that the device will use a 50MP primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor. There is also talk about the phone featuring support for 120W fast charging. What remains to be seen is whether OnePlus has plans to come up with two variants of the device like with the case of the Realme GT Neo 3, which comes in two separate variants – one featuring a smaller (4,500 mAh) battery that supports 120W fast charging, and the other with a larger (5,000 mAh) battery, but with relatively slower (80W) fast charging.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite
As amply evident from the name, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite is expected to be a toned-down version of the recently-launched Nord CE 2 while adding a couple of updates. We also reported the likelihood that this phone will effectively be a rebranded Realme 9 Pro. Expected hardware specs of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 with 6GB and 8GB RAM options, a 6.58-inch, 120Hz IPS LCD panel, and a 64MP primary camera. The two other cameras are likely to be 2MP sensors for depth sensing and macro shots. For selfies, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite is likely to feature a 16MP front-facing camera. Previous leaks have indicated that the device will use a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging. Indications are that the Nord CE 2 Lite will also lack OnePlus' trademark alert slider.
As for the Nord branded OnePlus TWS earbuds, very little is known about this device except for a 3D render created by @OnLeaks. Initial indications are these will feature 41 mAh internal batteries with additional 480 mAh batteries inside the supplied carrying case. With the launch of these devices a little over two weeks away, we expect additional details to emerge in the days to follow.