Some hand-drawn OnePlus 5 just surfaced, depicting dual cameras arranged in a vertical fashion. For those who can still remember, the first OnePlus phone was leaked in a similar manner.
Dual cameras have been mentioned before in the spate of OnePlus 5 rumors, but it's the first time we're actually seeing it portrayed in a sketch, which is an odd change of scenery from traditional leaked renders.
OnePlus 5 Leaked Sketches
There are actually two sketches leaked via Weibo. The first one shows the camera setup, while the second shows off the back panel, the ports, the speaker grill, and the tapered sides of the phone. Let's look at the first sketch.
Rumors say that the dual cameras are going to be 12-megapixel sensors with a dual-LED flash. As you can see from the sketch, the upper back panel is made with a different material than the rest of the back, a design akin to the Google Pixel. This upper panel will be made of ceramic, and beyond its aesthetic purposes, it will allow the phone to pass signals.
Finally, the notification slider might be making a return. This allows users to silence their phones by sliding a physical button on the device itself.
As for the next sketch, we get different views of the device, including the sides, bottom, and front. It seems the partly ceramic panel on the upper part continues and tapers toward the side of the phone, touching the frame. In the sketch, the OnePlus 5's back is curved, much like its predecessors.
OnePlus 5: Yes, There's A Headphone Jack
On the bottom is a USB Type-C port, a microphone, and the speaker grill. Thankfully, there's also a 3.5 mm headphone jack included, so no need to purchase separate Bluetooth headphones if you decide to buy the OnePlus 5. Of course, this is only true if the sketch proves accurate in the end. OnePlus could very well get rid of it, although fans will surely not be pleased if it decides to.
Dual Cameras On The Front?
But the most intriguing element about the second sketch are the dual cameras on the front. It's hard to say whether the second sensor is indeed a camera or a biometrics feature OnePlus hasn't spilled yet. If, however, it turns out to be a camera after all, then OnePlus is surely upping its selfie game with the OnePlus 5.
OnePlus vs Apple vs Samsung
OnePlus recently announced that the OnePlus 5 is launching this summer. It's great timing, since by then, hype for the LG G6 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 will have already hankered down. They'll still be raved about, to be sure — but the OnePlus 5 will compete with no other smartphone in the spotlight at that period. But then comes the iPhone 8 in fall, which we all know will be covered significantly by the press. Still, there will be plenty of time for OnePlus to parade its phone around as much as possible.
So with the OnePlus 5's strategic release window, and its rumored dual cameras both on the back and the on the front, should the Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8 worry? Well, let's see:
The Galaxy S8 doesn't have dual cameras, but it still features a great camera — in fact, possibly one of the best, up there with the Google Pixel's. Of course, two cameras are better than one, but it can be argued that the dual camera setup is not as needed and as necessary as, say, a fingerprint scanner is, or even an NFC reader.
A dual camera setup is nice bonus at best, but people can probably live without it. So it stands to reasons that the Galaxy S8 has nothing to worry about. In fact, it should worry about other things, such as the OnePlus 5's inevitably lower price point.
On the other hand, there have been rumors that the iPhone 8 will sport dual cameras, which is quite likely, considering the fact that the iPhone 7 Plus already features that setup. In the end, if both the OnePlus 5 and the iPhone 8 come packing dual cameras, it's going to be a battle of which has better sensors, low-light performance, and video recording.
Still, OnePlus 5 might have a leg up in here, especially if the front-facing dual cameras turn out be true. Granted, we don't know what it's for yet, but the OnePlus 5 stands to outpunch the iPhone 8 with four cameras in total.
Let the smartphone wars begin.
Thoughts? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
