OnePlus 3 release date, news and rumors

Update: Yet another leak has suggested the OnePlus 3 will come with a metal design - look down below for all the latest photos of the soon to be announced phone.

The OnePlus 2 is a great phone, with a beautiful screen and a brilliantly low price, but there are plenty of things that could have been done better - or just done, full stop.

OnePlus underwent a lot of criticism for losing NFC and it's hoped that will be sorted on the OnePlus Three. Rumors and leaks for the OnePlus 3 are now coming in thick and fast while OnePlus has now confirmed the phone will be announced on June 14.

Here's all the juicy details we know so far about one of the most exciting phones of 2016 - and if you want to hear us analyzing the rumors below in a bit more detail, check out our new video on the subject!

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next affordable flagship from OnePlus
• When is it out? June 14, released a few weeks later
• What will it cost? Likely around £239/US$329

OnePlus 3 release date

OnePlus has revealed that its next flagship will be announced at 12:30pm EDT (9:30am PDT, 5:30pm BST) on June 14.

The company also revealed that it will go on sale a few hours after launch and that you won't need an invite to buy it or any future OnePlus handset, which is great news, as actually being able to get your hands on a OnePlus phone has long been one of its biggest problems. However, as it's a small company supply may be quite limited.

This won't be any normal launch event though, as the OnePlus 3 will be announced by a virtual reality press conference. OnePlus is giving away 30,000 free VR headsets ready for the launch and those are set to be shipped on June 6.

OnePlus has also confirmed that those who watch the press conference will be able to order the phone two and a half hours before anyone else, with it set to appear in VR from 12:30pm EDT (9:30am PDT, 5:30pm BST) and on the website from 3pm EDT (12pm PDT, 8pm BST).

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OnePlus 3 design

The design on the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 was largely similar, but OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has confirmed that the OnePlus 3 will sport a new design.

The best leaked image of the OnePlus Three is a high-quality render of the phone, which looks more like the HTC 10 than anything OnePlus has previously made, with a slim, slightly curved metal body in a silver color and antenna bands at the top and bottom.

The same render was supplied to Engadget China directly from a OnePlus PR rep, but it's a weird situation as some had speculated it may be a fake even though it comes from an official source.

That said, another source on Twitter has shown off a similar design for the OnePlus 3, but this time in the flesh. It looks exactly the same as the render above showing off the premium metal look, an oblong home button and antennas running around the top and bottom of the phone.

On top of that, there's also some leaked marketing materials that show off the design and it matches the renders and leaks above. This looks pretty certain to be the OnePlus 3.

Some other leaked shots come direct from TENAA (China's regulatory agency) so it's pretty close to official and shows a metal handset that's apparently 152.6 x 74.6 x 7.3mm and 160g, which would make it similar in size to the OnePlus 2, but slimmer and lighter.

If those images aren't correct though there are also a bunch of other leaked shots, which all show a plain back likely made of metal and an antenna band running along the top. The lack of logo and less polished appearance suggests this might have been an earlier prototype, but it's broadly similar to the renders above.

The same source also leaked shots purportedly showing the front of the OnePlus 3 and these also line up with the render, showing a (likely 5.5-inch AMOLED) screen, slim bezels and a home button that probably houses a fingerprint scanner.

OnePlus 3 specs

China's regulatory agency has released specs for the OnePlus 3 and as that's an official government body it's likely that it's got the right information. In which case you can look forward to a 2.15GHz quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 screen, a 16MP rear camera, an 8MP front-facing one, 64GB of storage, Android Marshmallow and a 3000mAh battery.

Since the initial listing it's updated the details to include a 6GB RAM version - with 64GB of storage -alongside a 4GB one with 32GB onboard. Plus the latest GFX benchmarking leaks claim to boast exactly the same spec list making it look even more certain.

If this turns out to be true, that will mean an end to the 16GB OnePlus model. Another source who claimed this would be the case said the 32GB version will cost a similar amount to what the 16GB OnePlus 2 did though, so you shouldn't expect a big jump in price.

Another benchmarking source suggested there will be NFC support on the OnePlus 3. That's a big deal for OnePlus customers who missed the technology on the OnePlus 2.

Upon the launch of the OnePlus 2, OnePlus confirmed to techradar it decided to ditch the feature as it "saw most of [its] users weren't using NFC" on the OnePlus One. But things have changed since 2014 -when NFC wasn't as useful - and a lot of people will now be using the technology for mobile payments.

On battery, one source claims the OnePlus 3 will come with a 3500mAh cell rather than the 3300mAh one used on the OnePlus 2. But more recently we've heard it might just have a 3000mAh juice pack. Given that China's regulatory agency also shows a 3000mAh juice pack that's what we're banking on.

An import listing also shows the phone will include Oppo's VOOC fast-charging technology for the very first time. That means the OnePlus 3 may be able to charge from empty to full battery in just 15 minutes.

OnePlus 3 price

The big selling point for OnePlus is the price. The OnePlus 2 cost £239 or US$329 (about AU$460) so we'd expect a similar price point for the OnePlus 3.

The most recent pricing rumors come from unnamed sources in China speaking to MobiPicker, who claim there'll be four distinct pricing options.

Apparently the OnePlus 3 will start at CNY 2299 (around US$349/£242/AU$482) for a model with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. For 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage you're looking at CNY 2499 (roughly US$379/£263/AU$524).

But there's also said to be a version with 6GB of RAM, which will apparently cost CNY 2699 (around US$409/£284/AU$566) with 32GB of storage or CNY 2799 (roughly US$425/£294/AU$587) with 64GB of storage.

That's all believable as it's somewhat in line with the pricing of the OnePlus 2, but it's not the only pricing rumor. All we know with any certainty right now is that the OnePlus 3 will probably undercut big name flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and HTC 10.

OnePlus 3 competition

OnePlus launched the OnePlus 2 as the "2016 flagship killer" even though it came mid-way through 2015. It held its own against some of the best phones you can buy, but the spec now looks a little dated compared to the brand new flagship handsets.

There's stiff competition for OnePlus with the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5, HTC 10 and the iPhone 6S. In September, we also expect to see the iPhone 7 launch.

But then there's both the OnePlus X and the OnePlus 2 as well. Even though both of these phones are older, they'll be cheaper than the OnePlus 3 when it launches and will likely be in stock as well.