OnePlus Z release date coming in July — here’s the proof

The OnePlus Z (aka OnePlus Nord) will arrive in July. OnePlus confirmed the launch window for its upcoming budget handset through a puzzle it posted on Instagram. 

The company’s new OnePlusLiteZThing, which seems to poke fun at all the rumors surrounding what the phone might be called, posted a picture of Morse code to its feed, which once decoded revealed the word “July”. This pretty much confirms the OnePlus Z will arrive in July. 

The Instagram teaser follows the announcement by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau that a cheaper OnePlus phone is indeed on its way. 

“We are bringing the premium, flagship experience that you’ve come to expect from OnePlus to a new, more affordable smartphone product line,” Lau said in the OnePlus forum. “We know that there are many people who want a really solid smartphone that meets their everyday needs, and for a more accessible price.”

A July launch would mean the OnePlus Z arrives merely a couple of months after the OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8. Both of these phones are excellent to very good Android handsets, only they no longer come in at the bargain prices previous OnePlus handsets used to. The OnePlus 8 Pro is very much a fully-fledged flagship phone and comes with an appropriate price tag. 

However, the OnePlus Z is expected to borrow a good few features from its more expensive stablemates, such as a triple rear-camera array, 5G connectivity and a high refresh-rate display. It will make a few cutbacks, such as using a mid-range Snapdragon 765G rather than high-end Snapdragon 865 chipset, and it might have an LCD rather than OLED display to keep costs down. 

Speaking of which, the OnePlus Z is expected to range between $499 and $649. That will make it more expensive than the $399 iPhone SE 2020 and the upcoming Pixel 4a, which could cost as little as $349. But the OnePlus Z is expected to offer a larger display and more features than those cheaper handsets. 

Be sure to check out our OnePlus Z hub for all of the latest rumors and leaks leading up to the launch.