The 2016’s ‘flagship killer’ is officially announced. After months of carefully orchestrating titbits of information flow, the OnePlus announced their second Smartphone, the OnePlus 2 at a hyped virtual reality launch event today. I woke up eagerly in the morning Indian time to catch up the event in case I lose some interesting interaction but realized the VR telecast was actually a recorded event, nevertheless it was interestingly put, crisp and sleekly done.
OnePlus 2 Specs
Let’s rundown the specs first. Though, most specs has already known to the world much before the release.| Display | 5.5-inch LCD, Full HD |
| Processor | 1.8GHz Snapdragon 810 |
| RAM | 3 or 4 GB (depending on storage option) |
| Storage | 16 or 64GB storage |
| Networks | US GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/8 FDD-LTE: Bands: 1/2/4/5/7/8/12/17EU/India GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/5/8 FDD-LTE: Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/20 |
| Software | OxygenOS based on Android 5.1 |
| MicroSD | No |
| Dual-SIM | Yes |
| Wireless Charging | No |
| Fingerprint Scan | Yes |
| Camera | 13MP rear 5MP front |
| Battery | 3,300mAh |
| Dimensions | 151.8 x 74.9 x 9.85 mm, 175g |
Notable hardware features:
The notable inclusion is the USB Type-C port. It’s the future and we will soon see the rest of the OEM’s follow suit. The OnePlus 2 can boast of being the first Smartphone to ship with it and future-proof. On the front, the OnePlus 2 features a very-Samsung type home button/fingerprint sensor. It is claimed to unlock the screen in one second. This is a touch-based sensor (no swiping needed) and you can associate multiple fingerprints to it. You can also swap between capacitive buttons and on-screen nav bar. Alert slider: When you are on a meeting or want to change the profile, no need to get into the phone setting and toggle. The OnePlus 2 comes with an physical slider on the left side of the phone, that lets you switch from full notifications, to priority mode, to silent mode. The back panel is easy to remove now and there are choice of panels to play around, though by default it ships with the trademark Sandstone black. The StyleSwap covers available are:
- Sandstone Black
- Kevlar
- Black Apricot
- Bamboo
- Rosewood
Breathe the Oxygen
The OnePlus 2 runs Oxygen OS, a custom ROM based on Android 5.1. Though Cyanogen OS was the soul of the OnePlus One and gave a cult like following. After the fall out with the Cyanogen, OnePlus quickly came out with their own UI. Among the key additions to stock Android included in Oxygen OS are:- Shelf: A new feature that can be accessed by swiping left from the homescreen. It gives you access to the most used apps and favorite contacts. It reminds me of the G4’s UI. OnePlus claim its still in beta version.
- off-screen gestures which opens certain apps by drawing gestures. Sounds similar to those seen in the likes of Lenovo’s Vibe UI.
- An easy shuffle between dark mode and light mode.
- Audio Tuner, which lets you select sound presets based on your activity
- easy notification access
- custom icon pack support
- app permissions
Price and availability
The OnePlus 2 64GB will be available with an invite from August 11 in the India, US and EU. The 16GB version will be available “later” and as I mentioned earlier, it makes a wise decision to buy the bigger capacity since the price difference is nominal. So here is the price.- The OnePlus 2 64GB will cost $389
- The OnePlus 2 16GB will cost $329