OnePlus 9E specs leaked, could be the 'OnePlus 9 Lite'

OnePlus is expected to roll out its next generation of smartphones shortly and - unlike previous years - we might get three different models this year.

TheOnePlus 9 and 9 Prowill likely be the new flagships in the range powered by the Snapdragon 888 processor, but what about the third phone? The so-called ‘OnePlus 9 Lite’?

Firstly, there’s a suggestion that this mid-range phone in the series may not be called the OnePlus 9 Lite. Rather, that it’ll go by the name OnePlus 9E.

Regardless of what the name is, the specs leaked by Greek tech site,Techmaniacssuggest this is very much a lower end device than the other two OnePlus 9 series phones.

In fact, the specs claimed in this leak make us think it doesn’t quite fit in with the OnePlus 9 series at all.

Those specs include the Snapdragon 690 processor, 8GB RAM and 128GB storage alongside a 5,000mAh battery. On the back, we’re supposedly expecting to see a primary 64-megapixel camera, while the front is dominated by a 90Hz 6.5-inch display.

Of course, we’ve seen rumours of ‘Lite’ models of OnePlus phones before. For a long time,the OnePlus Nordwas referred to in rumours as the OnePlus 8 Lite or OnePlus 8 Z. So much so, OnePlus made fun of that fact when it was teasing the launch.

The same could be happening here, because having a Snapdragon 600-series processor in the flagship phone range doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Earlier rumours had suggested we’d see a lower powered 800-series processer in the ‘lower’ OnePlus 9 model. That seemed more logical. Not a processor which is less powerful than the one inside the mid-range OnePlus Nord.

For reference, the Snapdragon 690 processor is the one which currently poweresthe Nord N10, the Nord-series' second phone which was pitched as a less powerful, more affordable phone in OnePlus' mid-range family of phones.

In fact, it’s in a lot of phones at the budget end of the market. None of them offer the speed and performance of a flagship OnePlus series.

If OnePlus does surprise us and launches a OnePlus 9 model with a Snapdragon 690 inside it, it would blur the lines between its flagship 9-series and the Nord family, which would - for sure - confuse the messaging around what the 9-series is supposed to be.

Time will tell if this rumour pans out, but for now we’re filing it under ‘not so sure about that’.