OnePlus is a well-known smartphone brand, known for its killer devices that challenge high-priced phones in the market. Following the success of OnePlus 2, rumours of company's next flagship, OnePlus 3, have started to gain attention. In our review of OnePlus 2, we found the handset does not pose a striking need for an upgrade from OnePlus One, while suggesting buyers wait for the next flagship. Since the rumours of OnePlus 3 have already started, here are some top changes we would love to see in the 2016 flagship.
Design
While OnePlus has brought a fresh design strategy to smartphones, courtesy of extensive use of sandstone, OnePlus 2 hasn't fallen too far from its predecessor. Since major companies like Samsung and Apple are going out of their way in designing their flagships, OnePlus really needs to up the ante. We may not expect the company to adopt the curved display tech, considering the costs involved in manufacturing such displays is huge, a fresh design without any resemblance the current models is a huge welcome.
OnePlus impressed us with OnePlus X's design, but the handset was targeted towards the upper mid-range smartphones and not flagship models. We wish to see a bold move from OnePlus in terms of getting something new out of the box for OnePlus 3.
The rumours of OnePlus 3 began with the first leaked image of the handset showing front and rear designs. The biggest change in the upcoming handset seems to be the front-facing speakers and the front panel without capacitative buttons or the fingerprint scanner. Clearly, it's too early to conclude that it is the final design of the OnePlus 3, but we are hoping to see more changes as the official launch nears.
Display
OnePlus smartphones have adopted Full-HD resolution across all devices, but rivals have moved up to 2K and 4K resolution in smartphones. It would be nice to see OnePlus follow suit with its next model as early rumours suggest a 1080p screen is in the offing.
Expandable memory
OnePlus doesn't offer microSD card slots in its phones for users to add more storage to the device. OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 smartphones came in 16GB and 64GB variants but expandable memory can always come in handy for those who have lot to store on their phones, which is a challenge if you just have 16GB onboard memory.
Battery
OnePlus 2 is equipped with an impressive 3,300mAh battery, which in our test lasted well more than a day. It is quite impressive really, but the challenging part is charging the device to full and having to wait for hours. Since most phones these days have built-in fast-charging tech, we wish to see it in OnePlus 3 as well.
A long-lasting battery equipped with fast-charging tech is a great combination for success.
Invites-only sales, be gone!
Last but not the least, OnePlus should really give up its invite-only sales model. We understand the company works on a very short leash and lacks necessary resources to abundantly manufacture and stock its phones. But now that it has established a favourable brand name, OnePlus should really brings its best game on.
And of course, letting go of invites-only sales model, the company might even find more buyers who usually give up in the long queues for invites.
