OnePlus 7 won't bring you wireless charging
The company is working to make the wireless charging experience faster.
- SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
This is not the OnePlus 7, but the 5G prototype on display at MWC 2019.
Update, Sept. 26: CNET's OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7T reviews are now live. Read more about the new phones from OnePlus. Original story follows.
The upcoming OnePlus 7 will likely rock the latest processor and upgraded cameras. One thing it won't have, though, is wireless charging.
OnePlus phones are known for packing many of the latest features found in premium smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S10 -- and at a much lower price. But one feature that continues to elude OnePlus is the ability for users to place a phone down on a wireless charging pad for a quick boost. CEO Pete Lau still doesn't think it's worth adding to his products.
"OnePlus charging is one of the best," Lau said through an interpreter in an interview on Monday at MWC 2019. "Wireless charging is far inferior."
Even so, wireless charging has grown in popularity ever since Apple introduced it in the iPhone X , iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in 2017. Samsung stepped it up by adding the ability to wirelessly charge its Galaxy Buds with its Galaxy S10.
OnePlus is at MWC to show off a prototype of its 5G smartphone, which will come to two carriers in Europe in the second quarter. Lau declined to comment on the OnePlus 7, as well as the rumors that it may shed the notch and add a pop-out camera. He was carrying a prototype of the phone with him, but declined to show it to us.
His comments on wireless charging indicate that one of the key features still on consumer wish lists for an ideal OnePlus phone remains missing.
Lau expressed his skepticism about wireless charging as a consumer benefit, noting that it takes a long time to charge a device with a wireless pad. With the physical quick charge plug, OnePlus says, you can get your battery 50 percent charged in 20 minutes and fully charged in less than an hour.
OnePlus is working on accelerating the delivery of wireless power, but still hasn't figured out how to do it without too much heat. Lau said he doesn't have a date for when that may show up in his company's devices.
Qualcomm said it's bringing its quick-charge technology to wireless charging, which may improve the experience. Lau declined to comment about using it.