It's no secret that OnePlus is planning to launch a second smartphone for 2015, but exactly what that device is, the China-based phone manufacturer has not yet revealed.
Rumors of a OnePlus Mini and a OnePlus X have made the rounds in the last several days, but now it looks like OnePlus is gearing up for the launch of the OnePlus Mini, as suggested by a major new leak listing out all the specs and features of the rumored smartphone.
As its name suggests, the OnePlus Mini with a 5-inch display is a smaller version of the 5.5-inch OnePlus 2, but being smaller doesn't necessarily mean it's far less impressive. In fact, owners of the current "flagship killer" may be annoyed to know that the OnePlus Mini might have more advanced features not included in their own smartphones, and a smaller price tag to boot.
According to a report by G for Games, which cites an anonymous tipster who claims to have access to the OnePlus Mini prototype, OnePlus' next smartphone will have an NFC chip paired with a fingerprint scanner on the phone's back panel to enable support for Android Pay. The OnePlus 2 doesn't have its own NFC chip, and the presence of one in the OnePlus Mini will not likely sit well with OnePlus 2 owners.
The OnePlus Mini will reportedly run on MediaTek's 64-bit Helio X10 chipset, not on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 as earlier reported. To make up for the poor graphics of the Helio X10, the OnePlus Mini will be able to run 3D games at a lower resolution of 720p and go back to 1080p resolution for regular images through MediaTek MiraVision. This will also help the device save on power and decrease heat output.
The Helio X10 will be paired with 2 GB of LPDDR3 RAM at 933 MHz and 32 GB of eMMC 5.0 storage with a microSD slot for expansion. The display has a Full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and is protected by either Corning Gorilla Glass 3 or 4 with oleophobic and hydrophobic coating. The body will have a swappable plastic shell with different color options to choose from.
Meanwhile, the camera will not be a dual camera as earlier reported. The source says it will be the same 13-megapixel Sony IMX258 camera with an f/2.0 aperture and dual-tone LED flash found in Xiaomi's Mi4c. It will also be capable of 4K video recording at 30 fps, which isn't bad for a midrange smartphone. Complementing the main camera is a 5-megapixel, wide-angle front-facing shooter with video recording in Full HD.
As for the battery, the OnePlus Mini will reportedly have a 3,000 or 3,100 mAh non-removable li-po battery with Quick Charge 2.0, although charging will still be limited to USB 2.0 speeds. Like its bigger brother, the OnePlus Mini will have a USB Type-C port, Bluetooth 4.1, an FM Radio, a 1.2W front-facing speaker and an IR Blaster.
OnePlus will also reportedly release the kernel source code of the OnePlus Mini to allow users to develop custom ROMs for the upcoming handset.
The OnePlus Mini is set for release sometime in November or December, according to the source, and it will be available for the very affordable price of $250.
