OnePlus 5 looks like an iPhone 7 Plus, so what?

OnePlus 5 is one of the most anticipated flagships of 2017, and the official unveiling is set for June 20 globally and the India launch is happening on June 22. Much ahead of the grand release, the company gave a glimpse of what the phone actually looks like, and well, it did not sit well with many folks.

People on Twitter, Reddit and other open forums have called out the company for designing its flagship similar to that of Apple's iPhone 7 Plus. While some users mocked the OnePlus 5's design, some were outright disappointed.

OnePlus, which chiefly relied on word of mouth promotion for its phones in the past and it is now advertising on billboards, carefully listens to what consumers are saying. The backlash for OnePlus 5's design did not go unnoticed, and the company's co-founder stepped in with defence.

Carl Pei responded to the ongoing commotion regarding the OnePlus 5's design by comparing it to what happened with OnePlus 3.

"Does anyone still remember the commotion regarding the OnePlus 3 design before it came out? It stopped as soon as people got the device," Pei tweeted, adding that "History will repeat itself once people see a real live OnePlus 5."

To recall, OnePlus 3 was initially criticised for lacking innovation in design as people compared it to a mix between HTC 10 and Samsung Galax y S6. Once the phone was launched, it made quite a stand on its own and it was well-received by consumers and critics alike.

Pei says the history will repeat itself, but will it really? Remember the HTC One A9, which was a plain mockup of iPhone 6 and people haven't really stopped comparing.

Even though the design of OnePlus 5 looks like iPhone 7 Plus, there will be several elements such as the hardware specifications to make the OnePlus smartphone stand out on its own. Luckily we don't have to wait long to find out if Pei's prediction is right. Stay tuned for updates.