It the latest reports are to be believed, Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is working to give a face-lift to its next-gen smartphone with a view to make it appear, as well as feel, like a high-end product, compared to its existing offering, the OnePlus One.

Tech Radar reports that a source familiar with the happenings in the Chinese tech firm told Business Insider that the upcoming purported device, which has been dubbed as the OnePlus 2, will possibly come with a metal casing. On the other hand, the OnePlus One has a poly-carbonate back.

While the source said the company is yet to finalize the plans, it is expected that the upcoming smartphone will be costlier compared to the OnePlus One, which has a price tag of $300.

The report says that while the metal casing of the upcoming smartphone from OnePlus is an example of how the company plans to make its upcoming offering look and feel more premium; no additional detail regarding the purported OnePlus 2 is currently available.

The report claims that another source told the website in November 2014 that as far as the hardware of the upcoming device is concerned, there will be some "surprises." Possibly, this source was referring to a new metal design too. In addition, this source claimed that while OnePlus 2 is likely to be more expensive compared to the OnePlus One, the new device is probably be cheaper than many of the contract-free flagship phones available now.

It is worth mentioning here that there are two main reasons why the OnePlus One was unbelievably well-liked in 2014 -- its affordable price, and also because it was not easily available. Interestingly, though the OnePlus One features the hardware similar to those of the Samsung phones, it costs roughly half the latter's price. For instance, the OnePlus starts at $300, an off-contract Galaxy smartphone may cost as much as $600.

While purchasing the OnePlus One was quite difficult till recently, now one can place an order for the device at OnePlus' website every Tuesday. Earlier, a prospective buyer needed an invite from someone who already owned the phone. While this system still continues, OnePlus has now opened up the sales.

In September 2014, OnePlus confirmed that the company is making a new phone during an "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit, but it did not offer any details.