OnePlus 5 Confirmed To Have Snapdragon 835, Front Fingerprint Sensor

OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau (Liu Zuotu) has confirmed the OnePlus 5 will have a front-facing fingerprint sensor. The detail about the upcoming flagship Android smartphone may have also revealed some details on what the handset might look like.

A fan asked the CEO whether the OnePlus 5 will feature a front-facing fingerprint sensor on the Chinese social media site Weibo, GizmoChina reported. Lau simply replied by saying “yes,” and that hints at the upcoming smartphone’s design.

Bezels & Aspect Ratio

It’s very likely that the OnePlus 5 will have the usual 16:9 aspect ratio for its display, Android Central reported. Samsung’ Galaxy S8 and the LG G6 both feature an 18:9 (or 2:1) aspect ratio because of their taller displays. Since the CEO confirmed the OnePlus 5 will have a front-facing fingerprint sensor, the handset should have a bottom bezel where the sensor would be located.

Lau also may have inadvertently confirmed the OnePlus 5 will have the same option for capacitive or on-screen navigational buttons. The feature has been a staple to the OnePlus brand, and it looks like it isn’t going anywhere.

Recent leaks and rumors have suggested the OnePlus 5 will look very similar to the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T. The most overt difference will be the dual cameras that’s been heavily rumored for the upcoming “flagship killer” of 2017.

Snapdragon 835 Confirmed

The OnePlus CEO also just confirmed the OnePlus 5 will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor, the same chipset that's on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the HTC U11.

"Our mission has always been to share the best technology with the world. This starts with building a great product that performs smoothly. We do this by putting together the best combination of components and making them work together seamlessly," the CEO said on his blog post. "With the OnePlus 5, our commitment to this philosophy continues. We're proud to announce the OnePlus 5 will feature the Snapdragon 835 processor, which sets the foundation for smooth, powerful and efficient performance."

Lau also said the company has been working on speeding up the performance of the OnePlus 5 through software optimization with OxygenOS. The company's engineers added a feature that makes sure the most used apps are always ready to go while apps that are rarely used are "deprioritized and kept from affecting performance."

Goodbye, Headphone Jack?

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei also went to Twitter Tuesday to joke about the 3.5mm headphone jack. The tweet is an obvious reference to the classic “why did the chicken cross the road” joke, and it has left many confused. Some are saying that Pei is hinting that the headphone jack is on the other side of the device. Previous OnePlus flagships had the 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom edge.

Some have suggested that the “other side” punchline may mean “dead.” Alleged leaked photos of the OnePlus 5 have shown that the bottom edge now comes with two speaker grilles and a single USB-C port, so it’s possible that OnePlus might be killing the headphone jack. In response to the media attention, Pei later tweeted that he will need to be more careful with his tweets.

OnePlus Working With DxO

The OnePlus 5 is expected to be the first flagship from the company that will feature dual cameras on the back. The Chinese phone-maker also revealed last week that it was working alongside DxO to improve the camera performance on the OnePlus 5.

DxO is mostly known for creating the photography benchmark, DxOMark, for scoring camera performance on smartphones and professional cameras. It’s expected that the company will be using DxO’s photography expertise to ensure that the OnePlus 5’s cameras match or even surpass its rivals. The highest rated smartphone on the DxOMark is the HTC U11 with a score of 90, followed by the Google Pixel with 89.

OnePlus has been very secretive about its 2017 flagship and expectations are high for the up and coming Chinese brand. The company has released four flagships and one entry level smartphone since 2014.