Touted as a flagship killer, the OnePlus 5 is naturally being pitted against the industry leaders - the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the upcoming Google Pixel 2 in the Android sphere and Apple iPhone 8 that is expected to come out later this 2017. The OP5 is said to slay the competition with gorgeous design, premium specs and relatively cheaper pricing.

And sure enough, the OnePlus 2017 refresh is tipped to cost no more than $500, if the report from the BGR is to be believed. In comparison the GS8 starts at $720, the Google Pixel sells at around $600 and the iPhone 8 is forecasted by analyst to require no less than $1000 for the privilege to take it home. These pricy handsets will surely be tempting but buyers would be wise to look around for other options before shelling out their hard-earned cash.

The OnePlus 5 is certainly not dirt cheap but the devices screams our best bang for the buck even when considered inside and out. Already, the first four models won the hearts of many for form factors that easily as both sexy and robust with the use of premium metal and glass as build materials.

Also, speculations are rife the OnePlus jump this year will take the same route as that of the GS8, meaning the OnePlus 5 will boast of the nearly bezel-free front display for the Galaxy S8 that Samsung dubbed as Infinity Display. The same is expected of the iPhone 8 as analysts have long been harping that the iOS flagship will jump out of the box with an all-screen display, which will be further made slick by an all-glass build. The device will be covered by glass on the front and rear panels.

Not to be outdone, the OP5 will be equally inviting externally. When it comes out, the handset will supposedly be glorious with the curved OLED front display dominating nearly the entire 5.5-inch panel that renders in QHD resolution, thanks to the Adreno 540 Gpu. And deep inside, the components will be of the premium class.

It has been long-rumored that the OnePlus 5 main engine will be Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 SoC, the same thing that fires up the GS8, and will be tapped into 8GB of RAM support for a virtually desktop-level mobile computing experience. Basic storage will start at 64GB.

As further proof the of the OnePlus 5's flagship breeding, the camera setup to come out of the box will be headlined by a 23-megapixel main shooter that by all indications will be of dual camera setting. The front-located cam is laced with the 16-megapixel lens that promises high-quality selfie shots.

Providing the power juice for the OnePlus 5 is a massive (by smartphone standard) 4000mAh battery, somehow giving users the assurance that fun time with the device will last nearly all-day long. And it will be Android 7.1 Nougat that will run the show.

However, one troubling detail was pointed to by Android Authority regarding the OnePlus 5. Citing an unnamed source, the report claimed the flagship killer will cost a high $650 a pop that for many could prove a deal-breaker. This piece of information though is far from confirmed.

As for the launch time, a recent tease indicated it will be a summer debut for the OnePlus 5, hinting that the device release date could happen as early as June 2017.