Kris Carlon / Android Authority
TL;DR
- At an ongoing conference, MediaTek confirmed that its chipset will power a “premium segment” phone in the US this year.
- While the exact phone remains unknown, a possible OnePlus flip-style foldable seems like a strong contender.
However, the company’s flagship offerings have been largely absent from the US market. This may be about to change, with MediaTek hinting at a “premium segment” Android smartphone launch in the US later this year, equipped with a MediaTek chipset. (h/T: 9to5Google)
While the specific device and chipset remain a mystery, we can engage in some informed speculation. Industry giants like Google and Samsung seem unlikely candidates, given their deep investment in their in-house chips. Motorola’s upcoming Moto Razr refresh could theoretically be a candidate for a high-end MediaTek chip, but Motorola’s track record suggests a Snapdragon 7-series or 8s-series option is a more probable choice.
This leads us to OnePlus, where the picture becomes more interesting. Its sister company, OPPO’s Find N3 Flip foldable, uses the previous-generation Dimensity 9200. It stands to reason that OPPO’s subsequent foldable model would upgrade to the Dimensity 9300. Given that the OnePlus Open was essentially a rebadged Find N3, OnePlus could follow suit with a US-market flip foldable based on the OPPO Find N4 Flip.
OnePlus is one of the few companies to utilize a flagship-grade MediaTek chip, namely the Dimensity 9000, in its OnePlus Pad. That chip’s performance was one of the main reasons why the OnePlus Pad earned its spot among the best Android tablets.
A OnePlus flip phone could be a big deal for the foldable phone segment. The OPPO Find N3 Flip is already one of the strongest flip phones in the market, and if OnePlus brings a similar device to the US, it could really push foldable phones to the next level. Right now, it’s all just speculation. We’ll probably hear more about this later in the year — and I, for one, can’t wait.
