OnePlus 8 series will go official sometime later this year. But in a piece of surprising news, an unknown OnePlus smartphone has received Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification. Usually, smartphones receive BIS certification just two-three weeks ahead of the launch, so it's unusual to see a OnePlus smartphone getting certified at this time of the year. The smartphone model number is IN2011 and it's said to be the OnePlus 8. A few days ago, we reported that the OnePlus 8 Pro with model number IN2023 was spotted on benchmarking site Geekbench. So it seems like the upcoming OnePlus 8 already received its BIS certification in India. It is also expected that the OnePlus 8 Pro will be certified by BIS in the coming weeks.
OnePlus 8 Already Gets Certified in India
OnePlus usually goes for the traditional Q2-end release for its first smartphone launch every year. But it changed the timeline last year with the OnePlus 7 series as the phones were launched in the month of May itself. This year we may see the Chinese company launching phones at the start of Q2 itself or even at the end of Q1 itself to boost the sales, and compete with the likes of upcoming Samsung Galaxy S20 series.
In addition, OnePlus is rumoured to launch three smartphones this year- OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro and the OnePlus 8 Lite. Because the OnePlus 8 already got its BIS certification, it will be a matter of time we see the other two phones getting certified as well.
If OnePlus goes for an early launch, it will likely cement its place as the top player in the Indian premium smartphone market. Last year, OnePlus tried its luck at the Indian premium smartphone segment with the phones like OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 7T Pro and the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition. The OnePlus 7 Pro was well received by the audience, but the OnePlus 7T Pro failed to impress as the affordable OnePlus 7T offered similar specs as the latter at a lower price. So it will be interesting to see how OnePlus prices the OnePlus 8 series this year.
OnePlus 8 Series: What We Know So Far
As mentioned above, the OnePlus 8 series will have three smartphones- OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro and the OnePlus 8 Lite. All three phones are expected to come with 5G support; The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro may reach the Indian market, whereas the OnePlus 8 Lite could be limited to markets where 5G is available. With the OnePlus 8 Lite, the Chinese company could be looking at taking on affordable 5G phones like the Xiaomi Redmi K30 5G, Realme X50 and Oppo Reno 3 Pro 5G. The phone is said to ship with MediaTek Dimensity 1000L 5G chipset similar to the standard Oppo Reno 3.
The OnePlus 8 and the 8 Pro will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset and they will reach the Indian market. The OnePlus 8 is a direct successor to the OnePlus 7T, whereas the 8 Pro replaces the 7T Pro. As for the features, the OnePlus 8 Pro will come with a 120Hz screen and the OnePlus 8 will mostly retain the 90Hz Full HD+ screen. OnePlus might use the 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor on both the phones alongside upgrading the other sensors as well. The phones may ship with 50W fast charging support for the first time.
