OnePlus 2 aims for the top with an affordable premium phone (hands-on)
The sequel to its runaway OnePlus One hit improves on design and hardware to give top-end flagships a run for their money.
Color me impressed. While I wasn't too big of a fan of the original OnePlus One's design, the sequel phone, the OnePlus 2, strikes all the right chords. The metal-framed phone keeps some of the same design aesthetics of the original, but adds a more polished feel. Together with the powerful hardware and the phone's low price compared to rival flagships, the OnePlus 2 sings a powerful song of temptation for buyers who have yet to make up their minds.
It's slightly more expensive than the OnePlus One, which makes sense because the OnePlus 2 has more expensive parts. Still, at $330 (about £212 and AU$452) for the 16GB version and $390 (roughly £250 and AU$533) for the 64GB model, this handset is a heck of a lot cheaper than flagship phones that cost about 40 percent more.
Similar to the OnePlus One, the chance to buy the OnePlus 2 comes invitation-only. To get on the invite list, you'll need to visit pop-up stores in the following cities on July 31 to sign up: Bangalore, Berlin, Delhi, Jakarta, London, Milan, New York, Paris and San Francisco. Otherwise you'll have to wait for someone to share an invitation with you through social media or join in contests in the OnePlus forums.
The company will be selling the 64GB version first while the 16GB model will come "later," also through the invitation system.
Design
The OnePlus 2 is mostly the same size as the original phone, but slightly smaller, while still keeping some features, such as the 5.5-inch full-HD display, around. Instead of a plastic rim, the OnePlus 2 comes with a metal-frame for a premium feel, and has five different rear covers. I spent some time with the sandstone black version and really liked the sandpaper feel. It provides a good grip, so you'll never have to worry about it slipping. If smoother covers are your thing, you'll also be able buy new backplates for about $27 (roughly £19 and AU$40) in rosewood, bamboo, black apricot and kevlar.
One of the OnePlus One's key design elements was the raised screen, and the 2 retains this. While I didn't quite like it on the original, it seems to fit better on the 2 -- I suspect this is due to the higher-quality metal frame and the fact that there's not a lot of wasted space on the top and bottom bezels this time around. Instead, the raised screen actually gives the phone a flair not present on other units.
Just below the display is a fingerprint sensor and you can use it to wake the phone. Interestingly, it isn't a button, but more of a shallow depression that you place your finger over instead of pressing down.
Instead of having the SIM card slot along the side like current phones, the OnePlus 2 hides it neatly behind the rear cover. Unfortunately both SIM slots are nano-SIM only, so if your current phone doesn't have one, you'll either have to get a new SIM or trim it down.
The volume keys have also been moved to the right side next to the power button to make way for a new Alert Slider on the left. The slider has three settings -- receive all notifications, receive only priority alerts, or mute notifications entirely. It seems to be quite a handy and quick way to manage your smartphone usage, and I suspect I'll use this feature quite a lot when I start on the full review.
Located at the bottom is a USB Type-C port, one of the first few you'll find in smartphones (though I daresay we'll likely see more phones with this feature later this year). On the rear, the 13-megapixel camera has been shifted downward and OnePlus has added laser-assist focus. For the front shooter, OnePlus has chosen to use a 5-megapixel sensor.
Although the back cover comes off, there's no microSD card slot on this phone and you can't remove the battery.
Hardware and software
OnePlus touts the phone as a flagship killer and on paper, the phone has the chops to do it. The 2 comes packing a 1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM on the 64GB storage version and 3GB of RAM on the 16GB model. While you may have qualms about the 810 processor, OnePlus says its OxygenOS has been optimized to work with it and I'll be honest, I think it's kinda of a non-issue, especially with my experience with Xiaomi's Mi Note Pro.
Moving on, the 13-megapixel rear camera now comes with built-in optical image stabilization, an f/2.0 aperture and laser-assist focus -- that's the area you see below the lens. The sensor's pixels are also larger, OnePlus boasts, for better low-light shots. The 2 also packs an embedded 3,300mAh battery.
To ensure LTE compatibility, OnePlus will be selling three different versions of the phone. There's one that works with US 4G data networks, a global version that works in UK, Australia and Asia, and one model just for China. If you're thinking of getting the phone, be sure to make sure the phone is compatible with your region, or you'll end up without 4G. As a GSM device, it will send and receive calls and texts on all GSM carrier networks.
Operating system
Last year's OnePlus One launched with CyanogenMod, a custom Android build that isn't issued by Google. This year's OnePlus 2 comes with the company's own OxygenOS right out of the box. OxygenOS is a custom skin that's very close to stock Android, and is based on Android Lollipop 5.1 (so you'll know you have the latest version of Android).
Like many other companies' Android skins, OxygenOS comes with a few custom features such as double-tap to wake it up, customizable icons and a new feature called Shelf that lets you quickly access your most-used apps. Shelf is currently in beta testing and entirely optional. Users can chose to enable it during the setup phase. You can also enable different themes, such as dark mode, and a few other gestures.
Outlook
The OnePlus 2 is hitting markets at a time right between better-known flagships: Samsung's, HTC's, LG's and Xiaomi's flagships have have already been announced, and Apple still has some time to go before its next iPhone launch. This gives the cheap OnePlus 2 an advantage in reaching out to potential upgraders and new users.
Furthermore, unlike Xiaomi, which is only selling its Mi Note in certain countries, OnePlus is pushing for a global release. While both are similarly priced (the 2 is slightly cheaper), the OnePlus has the advantage in reach. According to information released at the launch event, the phone will be available 11 August in the US, India and Europe before coming to South East Asia in Q4. However, with the implementation of the invite system, getting your hands on the phone may still prove to be the hardest hurdle to cross.
