There won’t be a OnePlus 10, but OnePlus' cheapest 5G phone ever will launch this year

More phones, more products, more 5G

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TheOnePlus 10 Prohas now been officially launched for the rest of the world, with the handset landing in North America, Europe and India by the end of March after its initial China-only release in January.

But for those hoping for a more affordable variant in theOnePlus 10, we’ve got some bad news. It’s not happening.

The revelation was made during an exclusiveMWC 2022media briefing, where OnePlus founder Pete Lau confirmed we’ll only see the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G.

This is the first time OnePlus has made a single flagship release of its main line (not including the half-yearly ‘T’ series iterations) since theOnePlus 6in 2018. The 7, 8 and 9 series all came in Pro and non-Pro variants.

OnePlus isn’t looking to slim down its range of devices however, in fact it’s looking to do the complete opposite.

The cheapest OnePlus 5G phone to date

Chris Shu, VP Head of Product Strategy for OnePlus revealed the firm wanted to “diversify” its product offering, and in 2022 it “will continue to release more products across a wider range of prices.” And one of those products will be its most affordable5G phoneever.

Shu confirmed the affordable 5G handset will launch in Europe and India later this year, but no details were given on its specs, expected price point or whether the company was considering launching it in other regions around the world.

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Currently, the brand’s cheapest 5G phone on sale is theOnePlus Nord CE 5G, which costs £299 / 299€ / Rs 22,999 (around $330). OnePlus has announced the successor to this phone, theNord CE 2 5G, which will be available from March.

However, as the Nord CE 2 is the same price as its predecessor, we believe OnePlus is referring to an even more affordable 5G phone for later this year in this latest announcement.

It’s not just an expansion of its smartphone range that’s planned for this year either, with Lau adding the firm “will also release new IoT (Internet of Things) products in existing categories and expand to new IoT categories in 2022.”

The Internet of OnePlus

Aside from phones, OnePlus already sells wireless earbuds and a smartwatch, so there’s still plenty of scope for new product categories.

While the executives we spoke to didn’t reveal what these new categories would be, we can look to parent company Oppo for some inspiration, as it already has a more diverse portfolio of products. Lau even admitted that OnePlus will leverage Oppo’s R&D resources and industry-leading technologies in future devices.

Along with a wider range of smartphones, smartwatches and wireless earbuds, Oppo also sells theOppo Bandfitness tracker, theOnePlus Padtablet and a number of internet routers.

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He’s interviewed CEOs from some of the world’s biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar’s resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.

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