Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are currently the most powerful Android smartphones you can buy. They run the Exynos 8895 or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 depending on the country. But an upcoming smartphone with a mid-range price tag could even beat the Galaxy S8 in performance. OnePlus has already confirmed that its next-gen flagship OnePlus 5 is coming this summer. Leaked GeekBench scores show that it will be even more powerful than the Galaxy S8.
OnePlus 5 beats Galaxy S8, Xperia XZ Premium
Folks at GSMArena have obtained screenshots of OnePlus 5’s GeekBench scores from a “very credible source.” The OnePlus 5 will reportedly use the same Snapdragon 835 processor that runs the Galaxy S8. According to the leaked screenshots, the upcoming OnePlus device scored 1963 points in single-core tests and an impressive 6687 points in multi-core tests.
The device secured the top spot in the GeekBench 4 list. The other flagship Android phones Galaxy S8 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium have slightly lower scores than OnePlus 5. The Galaxy S8 has received a score of 1929 in single-core and 6084 in multi-core tests. The Xperia XZ Premium got 1943 and 5824 points in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.
The screenshots show that OnePlus 5 will run OxygenOS on top of Android 7.1.1 Nougat right out of the box. The only phones it lagged behind in Geekbench tests are the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus and the Exynos 8895 variant of the Galaxy S8 Plus. That’s not a huge surprise considering the Exynos version of the S8 Plus has proved to be faster than its Snapdragon 835 counterpart in past benchmark tests.
Retail units may slightly differ in performance
How did the new OnePlus smartphone manage to beat the Galaxy S8 and Xperia XZ Premium when all of them run the same processor? It could be because the OnePlus 5 would run a different version of Android Nougat, and it could feature more RAM. It’s worth pointing out that the performance of prototypes could differ from the retail units. We will get to see the reliable scores only after the OnePlus 5 hits the stores. But the variations are unlikely to be huge considering other Snapdragon 835-powered devices have similar scores.
Also, the Geekbench scores don’t give a complete picture of a phone’s performance in real world because these tests may not be indicative of an average user’s normal usage patterns.
A big surprise
A few days ago, OnePlus confirmed that its new flagship would arrive this summer. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau recently said that the upcoming device will be a “big surprise,” without revealing any details. The Chinese company also teased the device via a Weibo post, which read, “Hey summer! Give me five.” The Weibo post confirmed that the company is indeed going to skip the “4” moniker.
The number “4” is considered unlucky in the Chinese culture. OnePlus said another reason it opted for the name OnePlus 5 is that most of its employees are big fans of the former NBA player Robert Horry, whose jersey number was “5.” Separately, OnePlus 5 co-founder Carl Pei recently posted a couple of images of the device via his official account as part of an Instagram Story.
Here's a better look, @dbrand are the skins ready? @MKBHD any opinions? pic.twitter.com/psFaOBohV4
— Suhant Mehta (@LifeofSM) May 7, 2017
The images posted by Pei confirmed the existence of a dual-camera system on the device. Though the photos were blurry and the phone was hidden under a thick case, they did show an LED flash sitting next to the dual cameras. The two cameras are placed horizontally, though some past reports have claimed that the cameras would be arranged vertically.
OnePlus 5 features, specs, and price
The OnePlus 5 is widely expected to feature a 5.5-inch Quad HD display. According to India Today, the device would feature an edge-to-edge display similar to the Galaxy S8. The publication added that OnePlus would rearrange the antenna lines to give the phone’s back panel a seamless look. If OnePlus opts for an edge-to-edge display, it may have to integrate the fingerprint sensor into the display or move it to the back panel of the phone.
OnePlus 5 is said to pack 6GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which you can expand further via a microSD card slot. A leaked screenshot posted on Weibo suggests that there could also be an 8GB RAM model with 128GB of built-in storage. The 8GB version runs HydrogenOS (the Chinese version of OxygenOS) on top of Android Nougat. The phone will have Bluetooth 4.2 instead of the latest Bluetooth 5.0.
The OnePlus 5 is going to retain the 3.5mm headphone jack, according to noted tipster Evan Blass. The device is rumored to pack an impressive 4000mAh battery, compared to OnePlus 3T’s 3400mAh battery. The Chinese company is also expected to improve its proprietary Dash Charge technology to charge the phones faster.
The upcoming OnePlus smartphone will be priced at $449 for the 64GB storage option, according to two different leaks. The phone was recently listed on OppoMart at the same price. Geekbuying has also listed the device on its website for $449. The 128GB storage model is expected to cost close to $500.
