China-based OnePlus is rumored to be launching the small variant of its OnePlus 2 smartphone dubbed the OnePlus Mini 2 in 2016.
Now the impending smartphone from OnePlus - the smaller variant of the OnePlus 2 - has surfaced online again. This will be the first mini smartphone from OnePlus.
On Wednesday, Dec. 30, the OnePlus 2 Mini smartphone was certified by the regulatory body TENAA, which is the Chinese equivalent of FCC. The smartphone is listed with the model number "E1000" and said to sport a 4.99-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels.
This is not the first time the OnePlus 2 Mini has surfaced online. Earlier in December, a GFXBench listing showed off a mysterious OnePlus smartphone. It was presumed that the handset in question could potentially be the OnePlus 2 Mini as the listed device had a 4.6-inch screen with a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 479ppi.
The device was also rumored to house an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 4 GB of RAM. The smartphone was rumored to have 64 GB of storage. The listing pointed to a 12-megapixel rear-facing and 5-megapixel front-facing camera which could record UHD 4K videos. According to the GFXBench listing, the mysterious OnePlus smartphone would come with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
However, the TENAA certification that has popped up online now hints at a bigger 4.99-inch Full HD display. While the OnePlus 2 Mini, based on the certification, is poised to house the octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor clocked at 2.0 Ghz, the current listing points to 3 GB of RAM for the handset and not 4 GB.
Moreover, the OnePlus 2 Mini in TENAA's listing will come with 16 GB of on-board storage and not 64 GB. However, fans of OnePlus need not be disappointed as the handset will have an expandable memory option, up to 128 GB, thanks to the microSD card slot.
The current leak also hints at a 13-megapixel primary camera instead of 12-megapixel and an 8-megapixel selfie camera instead of a 5-megapixel one. This leak also suggests that the OnePlus 2 Mini will come pre-loaded with the latest version of the OxygenOS.
The OnePlus 2 Mini is set to be svelte and will only be 6.9mm thick. The handset will weigh 138 grams and offer support for 3G, 4G LTE, 2G, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Whether the OnePlus 2 Mini will offer support for NFC is not known. Judging by previous leaks and rumors, OnePlus will likely give the feature a miss for its OnePlus 2 Mini.
The battery size for the OnePlus 2 Mini is also not known but a strong possibility exists that the smartphone will tout a smaller battery than the 3,300 mAh on the 5.5-inch OnePlus 2. Considering the 5-inch OnePlus X packs in a 2,525 mAh battery, the OnePlus 2 Mini's battery size should be in the same league.
Another query which would be on OnePlus fans' minds would be if the OnePlus 2 Mini will come with a USB Type-C connector and a fingerprint scanner like the bigger sibling OnePlus 2. Chances are that it could be, as the leaks hint, a top-end feature for the smaller smartphone.
Like the OnePlus 2, the OnePlus 2 Mini will likely sport a metal frame instead of a ceramic one like the OnePlus X.
The pricing of the OnePlus 2 Mini is anticipated to be between $250 and $350. Whether the smartphone will have an invite-only purchasing system or retail directly remains to be seen.
The release date of the OnePlus 2 Mini is not known but we hope it hits the shelves in Q1 2016.
