A new leak from reliable tipster Max Jambor says that we’ll see a third OnePlus device launched alongside the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro this March. The new device will carry the OnePlus 9E moniker, and while nothing concrete is known about the handset so far, we can assume it will be a more budget-friendly option.
We’ve seen this in the past with Samsung offering “E” models of its flagship devices. For all intents and purposes, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE now fits into this category of an “affordable flagship phone.”
It appears OnePlus may be following in Samsung’s footsteps looking to offer up a phone at every price point. What once was a company defined by simplicity, OnePlus has now branched out into offering midrange phones with its recent Nord lineup starting at $238 for the N100 and high-end flagships that can cost upwards of $800.
OnePlus started out as the original affordable flagship device maker, offering up a phone with top-end specs for a price that wouldn’t break the bank. Over the years, we’ve seen the company grow and expand its portfolio of devices. At the same time, the price of the devices steadily increased as well.
The OnePlus 8 Pro and 8T now cost as much as the flagship smartphones the original OnePlus One was created to undercut. Could the OnePlus 9E be the phone that brings the company back to its roots offering high-end specs without the premium price? It looks like we’ll have to wait till March when it launches to find out, or at least a couple more months for additional info to leak out.
We’ve already seen renders leak out of the OnePlus 9 Pro far ahead of the March event. It’s only a matter of time before more information about the OnePlus 9E comes forth.