OnePlus CEO says the company is looking to talk to U.S. carriers; next model to be released Q2 2018

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said today that the next new OnePlus handset, possibly named the OnePlus 6, will be released late in the second quarter of this year and will be powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset. OnePlus set sales records late last year with the launch of the OnePlus 5T, which is now the company's fastest and best-selling phone. Those records previously belonged to the OnePlus 5, which was launched late last June.

In addition, Lau said that OnePlus would start talking with U.S. carriers this year about selling its devices through one or more stateside wireless operators. The company initially required that those buying its phones have an invitation from OnePlus to make the purchase. This allowed the company, new at the time, to save money by matching the number of phones built to the number it sold. Eventually, the company dropped the invitation system as its handsets became more popular and OnePlus got bigger.


Analysts estimate that 85% to 90% of U.S. consumers purchase their phones through their carrier, which means that OnePlus is currently missing out on this huge segment of the market. Making a deal with one or more U.S. carriers will give OnePlus access to millions of potential new customers.

source: CNET