OnePlus Z just teased by OnePlus CEO

A budget take on the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro is expected to come in the form of the OnePlus Z. And it could be imminent, according to a new tweet by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau. 

The founder and boss of OnePlus tweeted a blue-on-black OnePlus logo and posed the question “who’s ready for something new for OnePlus?” Given the flurry of recent rumors around the OnePlus Z, we suspect he could be referring to that upcoming smartphone.

Lau has previously posted such tweets ahead of previous OnePlus phone launches, so this tease does add some weight to the possibility of the OnePlus Z launching soon.

Who’s ready for something new from @oneplus? ? #NewBeginnings pic.twitter.com/EOCiJZVrTUJune 22, 2020

Alternatively, Lau could be teasing a whole new line of OnePlus products, given the #NewBeginnings hashtag. This could include a new OnePlus TV that would make it over to the US, UK and Europe. Or perhaps we’ll see a new suite of accessories to go with the brace of OnePlus 8 phones that launched earlier this year.

However, the OnePlus Z (or OnePlus Nord, as some rumors suggest) still seems fairly likely. We’ve seen many recent leaks pertaining to a budget OnePlus handset, and now seems like the ideal time for OnePlus to release a cheaper phone. 

Over the past few generations of OnePlus phones, the company has been slowly ramping up the price if its handsets. With a starting price of $899, the OnePlus 8 Pro is proper flagship phone with a high-end price tag. But the company was once known for drastically undercutting the best phones from the likes of Samsung, Google and Apple. Even the OnePlus 8 starts at a rather expensive $699. 

So there’s definitely scope for OnePlus to add a cheaper handset to its phone lineup in an effort to challenge the iPhone SE 2020 and upcoming Pixel 4a. 

With a rumored price of $499, the OnePlus Z is expected to be a little more costly than the aforementioned affordable handsets. But it’s also expected to offer a decent range of specs, from a 6.4-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate to multiple rear cameras. That could include a triple camera setup that mixes a 48MP main camera with a 16MP ultra wide-angle shooter and 2MP macro lens. 

We do expect the OnePlus Z to make a few compromises to keep its price down. Notably, the phone may opt to use a Snapdragon 765G chip rather than a flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC found in the higher-end Android phones and the OnePlus 8 handsets. 

Time will tell if Lau’s tweet is indeed a reference to the OnePlus Z. But either way, we’re expecting to see a cheaper OnePlus phone make its debut this year.