Over the last few days, there were rumors of OnePlus working on the OnePlus X2, its successor to the OnePlus X — a budget mid-range Android smartphone. Rumors pointed to the OnePlus X2 coming with a 5.5-inch display, a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB RAM, and a 16MP front camera with face unlock. Initially released in October 2015, the OnePlus X was criticised for its dated internals and sub-par performance. It was killed within six months of its release by the company. After that, OnePlus promised to focus on releasing one flagship killer due to its limited resources. However, with the huge success of the OnePlus 3/3T and OnePlus 5/5T in consecutive years, its now no longer as resource constrained as before. Plus, the budget mid-range smartphone market is the one that is growing the fastest of all. Thus, it did make sense for OnePlus to consider launching a OnePlus X2 this year. However, OnePlus’ CEO Carl Pei has nipped these rumors in the bud by confirming on Twitter that the company is not working on a OnePlus X2. He even went ahead and cited them as fake news. https://twitter.com/getpeid/status/960790393913671680 So, if you were hoping for OnePlus to launch a $300-$350 smartphone this year with relatively powerful internals, well your hopes have been dashed. Given how competitive that segment is, it does make sense for OnePlus to avoid it. Instead, the company should focus on getting its next flagship phone, presumably called the OnePlus 6, to more distribution channels by partnering through carriers. OnePlus has already hinted that it is looking to partner with the U.S. carriers to sell its next flagship smartphone through their retail stores.
