In December 2017, a list of smartphones that will arrive with the Snapdragon 845 Soc, had emerged online. As per the list, OnePlus 6 will also feature the processor and it will be launched in June this year. Now, in an interview with CNET, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has confirmed that the company's next generation flagship would be powered by Snapdragon 845 processor and it will be debuting late in the Q2 2018. Talking about the Snapdragon 845 for OnePlus's upcoming flagship, Lau said, "Of course, there's no other choice". While he didn't confirm on the name of the flagship, looking at the past naming pattern for the company's smartphones, it should be launched as OnePlus 6.
When asked about the OnePlus 6T, Lau said that he is not 100 percent sure whether the company will release a second smartphone this year. Carl Pei, the co-founder of the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, had said in earlier interview that the company is yet to decide if it wants to launch the OnePlus 6T. However, the smartphone will get launched if there is a new feature in the market which is not present in the OnePlus 6.
Pete Lau further hinted that OnePlus may launch its smartphones via local carriers in the US. With this purpose, the company would soon begin the talks with one or more US carriers. "If the right opportunity and right timing come along, we'll be very happy to experiment," he was quoted as saying. However, it remains to be seen if the OnePlus 6 will get released through US carriers.
As estimated by market analysts, about 85 percent to 90 percent consumers in the US tend to buy smartphone through their carrier. Naturally, OnePlus will be able to strengthen its foothold in the US market by selling its smartphones through carriers.
When OnePlus first entered the US market, it started an invitation system to sell smartphones. In that way, the company managed to avoid loss by only manufacturing units as per the number of invitations that buyers obtained. Later, the company scrapped the invitation system as OnePlus smartphones got very popular.
