OnePlus 8 Lite: 6 things we want to see from the upcoming phone

The OnePlus 8 Lite name appeared out of nowhere earlier this month, after serial tipster OnLeaks revealed supposed renders of the smartphone (above).

The mid-range market has changed in a big way since the OnePlus X — OnePlus’ previous budget device — landed back in 2015. Budget phones have gained camera sensors, better software, and retained much-loved features like the headphone jack. With that in mind, here’s what we want to see from the upcoming OnePlus 8 Lite.

A useful secondary rear camera

The supposed OnePlus 8 Lite renders show a phone with a dual rear-camera setup, which wouldn’t be unprecedented for a OnePlus smartphone or a budget device in general.

We hope OnePlus gives us a useful secondary camera if it is indeed settling on two rear shooters. We previously saw the company offer a 48MP+5MP depth sensor combo on the OnePlus 7, but that’s hardly the most exciting pairing now, is it? Here’s to either an ultra-wide or telephoto secondary camera instead, with the latter commonly doubling as a depth sensor anyway.

Sticking with the camera, Google set a precedent with the Pixel 3a by offering a camera experience on par with the Pixel 3 flagship. So we’d like to see the OnePlus 8 Lite gain the flagship family’s camera features and image quality.

Upper mid-range power at the very least

The OnePlus X may have been a mid-range phone back in 2015, but it actually used the previous generation Snapdragon 801 flagship chipset in lieu of the newer Snapdragon 808 or 810 at the time.

If the OnePlus 8 Lite is taking its cues from the OnePlus X, then that doesn’t rule out a Snapdragon 855 processor aboard. We’d be just as happy with a newer Snapdragon 700-series processor, such as the Snapdragon 730G or Snapdragon 765G. As long as OnePlus steers clear of the older Snapdragon 710 SoC and the less capable Snapdragon 600-series processors, it’ll be on the right track.

Priced to fight the budget Pixels

Price is arguably the most important factor when it comes to mid-range phones, and the $400 Google Pixel 3a series struck a good chord in the US.

Read: This is the Google Pixel 4a — Punch-hole display, headphone jack, single camera

Google’s budget phone is a little steep in other parts of the world though, so a similar or cheaper price for the rumored phone is near the top of our OnePlus 8 Lite wishlist.

A headphone port

The leaked renders don’t seem to show a 3.5mm port on the OnePlus 8 Lite, but we’d be very disappointed if the budget phone lacks the connection. After all, we’ve seen the headphone port return on some budget phones, even though the manufacturers ditched it on their flagships.

Hopefully the device has wide support for USB-C to 3.5mm adapters if OnePlus insists on dropping the headphone port. After all, there’s one thing worse than no 3.5mm port, and that’s compatibility issues with dongles — just ask Google.

Fast charging

OnePlus phones were among the first to make fast charging a selling point, with the latest phones now sporting 30W Warp Charge technology. This means the OnePlus 7T‘s 3,800mAh battery can be fully charged in just over an hour, and hits 75% capacity in 30 minutes.

OnePlus is clearly known for its fast charging then, so hopefully this OnePlus 8 Lite wishlist item becomes a reality. Heck, we’d take 20W charging too, as it’s still faster than many phones out there (e.g. Pixel 4 series and Galaxy S10e).

We’re not expecting to see wireless charging on the upcoming device though, as this feature isn’t available on any other OnePlus phone. And if it’s not available on the more expensive devices, then it almost certainly won’t debut on a cheaper device.

A commitment to updates

OnePlus has generally been very good when it comes to system updates, with 2017’s OnePlus 5/5T slated to receive Android 10 as well. So here’s to the apparent OnePlus 8 Lite enjoys a similarly lengthy commitment to updates.

In fact, Google initiatives like Project Treble and Project Mainline are making it easier than ever to deliver updates, opening the door for a longer commitment period.

What would you like to see from a future mid-range OnePlus phone?