OnePlus teases a budget phone that outpaces a flagship

Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

It’s been a few weeks since the OnePlus 13 was officially introduced back in China. It, however, seems that the smartphone maker isn’t quite done yet. An upcoming OnePlus smartphone with the model number CPH2645 and “pineapple” as the motherboard identifier recently visited a benchmarking platform.

MySmartPrice was the first to spot the Geekbench visit, and later, Digital Trends came across a total of five benchmark runs carrying the same device signature, all listed on the same date. The benchmark logs, assuming they are accurate, confirm some juicy information about OnePlus’ next budget phone.

Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve come across the “pineapple” identifier. In an official comparative benchmark run shared by a OnePlus executive earlier this month, the same codename was mentioned in the CPU field for two devices viz. the upcoming OnePlus Ace 5 and an unidentified phone carrying the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon.

This is the same silicon that also powers the brand’s current flagship, the OnePlus 12. Moreover, the Geekbench listings also mention Adreno 750, which is the same graphics engine that ships aboard the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC.

Screenshot Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

Now, OnePlus has used the Ace branding for its phones launched in China and often sells them as a variant of the mainline series elsewhere. For example, the OnePlus Ace 3 was essentially the same phone as the OnePlus 12R that was launched in overseas markets.

The company has already confirmed the December launch of two phones in China, the OnePlus Ace 5 and its Pro version. Moroever, OnePlus executive Louis Lee has confirmed in an official post that its upcoming Snapdragon 8 gen 3-based phone will deliver the same kind of firepower as rival phones that are equipped with the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon.

Screenshot Weibo

Lee also shared in another post from November that the OnePlus Ace 5 series will be introduced “next month,” which puts the official launch at some point in December. When exactly the Ace 5 debuts as the OnePlus 13R in the international markets isn’t clear yet.

To recall, the OnePlus 13 is yet to make it outside the Chinese shores, but rumors suggest that a December launch is on the horizon. Given the launch history of the “R” models, it might take a few months before the OnePlus 13R hits the shelves, despite appearing to be the more enticing phone in the portfolio.