The mid-range OnePlus Z 5G will likely be announced in July

The OnePlus Z should be announced in July

In a cryptic Tweet published earlier this morning, reliable tipster Max J hinted at an official OnePlus Z announcement taking place in July. That coincides with the summer timeline provided by leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer earlier this month.

The mid-range smartphone is now likely less than three months away. The announcement itself, on the other hand, would represent only the second time OnePlus has planned an unveiling in July – since the company was founded in 2013, only the OnePlus 2 has followed a similar timeline.

As per usual, a launch should take place around one week later and, in this case, pricing is expected to start at £400 in the UK. How much the OnePlus Z will cost in the United States remains unconfirmed at this stage, although a $450 price tag could certainly be on the table.

That would position the new smartphone as a pretty direct competitor to both the $399 iPhone SE and the upcoming Google Pixel 4a, which is also expected to retail at $399. Unlike these devices, though, the OnePlus Z is expected to offer 5G network connectivity as standard. 

Expect a triple-camera setup and a punch-hole display

Also teased in the accompanying image today was the display. The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro featured curved-edge screens but the OnePlus Z will keep costs as low as possible by adopting a more traditional flat panel.

The smartphone is also set to forgo the new 120Hz refresh rate technology used on the flagships in favor of a 90Hz implementation like the one included on the OnePlus 7T series and OnePlus 7 Pro last year.

But to maintain a modern look, it looks set to adopt a centered punch hole for the selfie camera and relatively slim bezels. Both of these design elements were previously shown off in CAD-based renders of the smartphone.

Accompanying all of this should be a glass panel on the back that’s home to the redesigned OnePlus branding and a vertical camera module in the top-left corner. Earlier renders revealed the presence of a dual-camera system, but newer leaks suggest OnePlus has now opted for a triple-camera system.

It includes a 48-megapixel primary shooter coupled with unspecified 16-megapixel and 12-megapixel sensors. An LED flash and what is likely a laser autofocus system complete the package.

The OnePlus Z might replace Qualcomm with MediaTek

Tipster Ishan Agarwal warned that some of the key specifications may have changed since the delay, but earlier reports mentioned the presence of the MediaTek Dimensity 1000, which features four high-performance CPU cores clocked at 2.2GHz and four efficiency CPU cores running at 2GHz.

That chipset should be coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage as standard, although a 256GB version could be on the way. 

Completing the specs sheet will be Android 10 and OxygenOS 10 straight out of the box alongside a 4,000mAh battery that offers support for OnePlus’ Warp Charge 30T 30W fast charging technology.