Leaked: The Pepsi P1 Smartphone, A Pepsi-Branded Phone

Steve Jobs once challenged former Pepsi President John Sculley, “Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?” Jobs was pitching the idea for Sculley to head Apple Computer, Inc., at the time when Sculley was the head of PepsiCo. And yet, it still leaves a tech consumer dumbfounded when a Pepsi-branded phone is poised to enter the smartphone market, at least, in China.

Pepsi actually enjoys a 32% market share in China, and is #2 as the most preferred carbonated drink. While Coca-Cola as a company enjoys a market share of 52%, but Coca-Cola the soft drink is only third among the top drinks in China, while Sprite, also owned by Coca-Cola, comes in at #1. Thus, as a cola brand, Pepsi is king over Coca-Cola, at least, in China. It therefore makes a bit more sense, brand-wise, to release a Pepsi-branded item. It may just work with the smartphone fans, too. Maybe, just maybe.

UberGizmo reported a rumor from Weibo that Pepsi is gearing to launch their own smartphone in China. The tech blog is very clear that there is no word yet from PepsiCo about whether this smartphone is really going to come from their company, but the specs, the “model name,” and even the photos were posted, anyway. UberGizmo notes that PepsiCo may have commissioned a Chinese OEM to work on the hardware, emphasizing that even if the rumors prove to be true, the soft drink company may not have the machinery to produce the mobile devices.

In case this rumor proves to “leak into” reality, here are the specs for the “Pepsi P1” Smartphone:

Processor/Chipset: MediaTek MT6592, an octa-core chipset which may come in either 1.7GHz or 2.0GHz ARM Cortex A7 variants

RAM: 2GB

GPU: ARM Mali GPU

OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop

Internal Storage: 16GB

Display: 5.5 inches, with a maximum output of 1920 x 1080 pixels in resolution

Cameras: Primary: 13MP; Secondary: 5MP

Battery: 3000mAh

UberGizmo states that the device will be announced in Beijing on October 20th, and it may go for around $205. It’s only around 7 days away, so the wait isn’t too long for “the truth to set the Pepsi P1 free.” Well, it won’t set the device free, but it will certainly confirm or debunk its existence.

***

UberGizmo’s first post on the leak: https://www.ubergizmo.com/2015/10/pepsi-smartphone-launch-rumored/

UberGizmo’s more detailed post on the leak: https://www.ubergizmo.com/2015/10/pepsi-p1-smartphone-specifications-leaked/

The original post from the Chinese website Sina.com.cn: https://tech.sina.com.cn/t/2015-10-11/doc-ifxirmqc5014183.shtml

Stats for which soft drink dominates the Chinese market: https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/magazine/content/09_28/b4139070371312.htm

Photo Credits: https://tech.sina.com.cn/t/2015-10-11/doc-ifxirmqc5014183.shtml