14 DAY TRIAL // The OnePlus One smartphone is certainly one of the most interesting smartphones on the market today. To be more precise, the device is the first in the world designed specifically for CyanogenMod.
It arrived on the market back in April, boasting a 5.5-inch touchscreen display. But if you’re not into large smartphones such as this one, you should know that the Chinese manufacturer behind OnePlus might be working towards an alternative for those preferring smaller form factors.
OnePlus One Mini on the way?
Nothing is certain yet, but judging by these images leaked online by a Chinese source (via Giz China), a OnePlus One Mini might soon become a reality.
The shots that surfaced online showed a purported, smaller prototype of the OnePlus One. If the source is to be believed, the company is already testing the handset, so if we’re lucky, we might be able to see the device arrive in the wild in the early months of 2015.
The Mini version appears to be taking advantage of a 5-inch display and will draw power from Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 615 SoC.
However, in a recent story we told you that Qualcomm was apparently facing some design issues while its Snapdragon 615 chip was concerned, so that means we still have some time to wait until the device makes it out into the wild.
We got to see the OnePlus One Mini apparently running AnTuTu benchamark app and one can notice both cameras offer only 8MP capacity.
This is a bit odd, considering that the fully-fledged OnePlus One smartphone comes equipped with a 13MP camera with Sony IMX214 Sensor with 6 lenses and f/2.0 aperture, capable of recording videos in 4K. The smartphone is also equipped with a 5MP camera on the front for taking selfies and video calling.
In all possibility, OnePlus might want to market the Mini as a budget-friendly device, although the presence of the Snapdragon 615 chip onboard suggests otherwise.
Is the OnePlus One Mini the real deal?
Another possibility is that the device shown in the images is actually a Chinese knock-off, so until more information becomes available to us, we shouldn't get our hopes up that a miniature version of the OnePlus One is coming our way.
Other specifications remain unknown, so at this point whether a OnePlus One Mini is in the works or not is pretty much opened to interpretation. What do you think? Would you prefer a smaller version of this disruptive Chinese smartphone?
