OnePlus – Tech Raman

OnePlus Festive Sale 2025: Big Discounts on OnePlus 13 Series, Nord 5, Buds, and Tablets

Lakshmi — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:12:28 +0000

The festive season is almost here, and OnePlus is kicking things off in style. Starting September 22 at 12 AM, OnePlus fans can enjoy exclusive discounts, instant bank offers, and no-cost EMI options across smartphones, audio devices, and tablets. These offers will be available on oneplus.in, Amazon.in, OnePlus Experience Stores, Reliance Digital, Bajaj Electronics, Croma, Vijay Sales, and more. IoT products can also be found on Flipkart, Myntra, and Blinkit, while tablets will be available on Flipkart as well.

Here’s a breakdown of the most exciting deals 👇

🔥 OnePlus Flagship Smartphones

The OnePlus 13 Series—comprising the OnePlus 13, OnePlus 13R, and OnePlus 13s—brings premium performance and sleek design across different price ranges.

OnePlus 13R → Now at an effective price of ₹35,749 (₹5,000 price drop + ₹2,250 bank discount).
OnePlus 13s → Available at ₹47,749 (₹4,000 price drop + ₹3,250 bank discount, EMI up to 6 months).
OnePlus 13 → Priced at ₹57,749 (₹8,000 price drop + ₹4,250 bank discount, EMI up to 6 months).

📱 OnePlus Nord Smartphones

The Nord 5 Series is perfect for mid-premium buyers who want smooth gaming and reliable performance.

OnePlus Nord CE5 → Effective price ₹21,499 (₹1,500 price drop + ₹2,000 bank discount, EMI up to 3 months).
OnePlus Nord 5 → Effective price ₹28,499 (₹1,500 price drop + ₹2,000 bank discount, EMI up to 3 months).

Both models come with powerful chipsets, 144Hz displays, and long-lasting batteries—making them excellent everyday all-rounders.

🎧 OnePlus Audio Devices

OnePlus has also lined up some irresistible audio deals for its growing ecosystem.

OnePlus Buds 4 → Now just ₹4,799 (vs. ₹5,999).
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 → Discounted to ₹7,999.
Other deals → Discounts available on Bullets Wireless Z3, Nord Buds 3, Nord Buds 3 Pro, and Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC.

All major audio devices also come with no-cost EMI options.

📒 OnePlus Tablets

OnePlus tablets are also part of the festive offer, with great deals across the lineup:

OnePlus Pad Lite → Starting at ₹11,749, featuring an 11-inch display & up to 80 hours of music playback.
OnePlus Pad 3 → ₹5,250 instant bank discount + free stylus (first 3 days).
OnePlus Pad Go → Starting ₹13,749.
OnePlus Pad 2 → Starting ₹29,749 (8+128 GB variant exclusive to Flipkart).

All tablets are eligible for attractive no-cost EMI options.

🎁 Final Thoughts

If you’ve been waiting to upgrade your smartphone, audio gear, or tablet, the OnePlus Festive Sale 2025 is your chance. With price drops, instant bank discounts, and EMI flexibility, the brand has something for every budget.

The sale kicks off on September 22, 12 AM across multiple online and offline platforms—so set your reminders and grab your favorite OnePlus device before stocks run out.

📌 FAQ (for SEO + Readers)

Q1: When does the OnePlus Festive Sale 2025 start?
The sale begins on September 22, 2025, at 12 AM across online and offline channels.

Q2: Where can I buy OnePlus products during the festive sale?
You can shop on oneplus.in, Amazon.in, Flipkart, Myntra, Blinkit, Reliance Digital, Croma, Bajaj Electronics, Vijay Sales, and OnePlus Experience Stores.

Q3: What are the best offers in the OnePlus festive sale?
Major highlights include OnePlus 13R at ₹35,749, Nord CE5 at ₹21,499, Buds 4 at ₹4,799, and Pad Lite at ₹11,749.

OnePlus opens up its first R&D Facility in India at Hyderabad

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 17:48:23 +0000

Within a couple of years, OnePlus has become the largest selling premium Smartphone brand in India beating heavyweights like Samsung and Apple. It also is a fastest-growing brand in the premium segment and has managed to capture 40% of the market share in the premium segment (Price of over ₹30,000). With such an impressive performance and a large community here, it is expected from the Chinese Smartphone brand to start an R&D lab here in India.

Today, the company announced its first facility at Hyderabad. OnePlus also stated its India commitment and said the facility will grow to become its biggest such centre globally in three years.

The company noted that the facility will play a crucial role in the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning in OnePlus product and also drive innovations and features that would be relevant to its Indian users. “The centre will also contribute to nurturing and giving opportunities to fresh talent as the company initiates the campus hiring programme at a number of universities including IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai this year,” the company statement mentions.

With the spectacular sales in India, OnePlus seem to be fully confident of Indian operations and the R&F facility would find a synergy with the “Make In India” campaign and will bring more local acceptance from the consumers and all stakeholders.

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OnePlus 6T now available in Thunder Purple Color | Details | Pictures

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 12:12:07 +0000

Amazon India and OnePlus India’s website starting November 16 at 2 PM. It will also be available through offline channels including Croma, Reliance Digital and other exclusive OnePlus stores starting from 11 AM. The new Purple is a different, interesting take. It has a dual shade the purple mixing with black. The gradient colors on Smartphone are increasingly popular and the Thunder Purple shade chashes on the trend. Like the Midnight Black and Mirror Black OnePlus 6T models, the Thunder Purple variant is all-glass. The finish on the device feels less slippery in-hand. The top part at the rear is a darker shade of purlple lenient heavily towards black, while the lower half is lighter purple. The gradient also extends to the sides, top and the bottom of the device. The signature S shape is also visible in this color when viewed under a light. If you are bored of the routine blacks and solid colors, this gradient in the unusual purple might attract you. It is not flashy but subtle and pleasant. To recap the specifications, the OnePlus 6T has a 6.41-inch FullHD+ AMOLED display powered by Snapdragon 845 SoC and Android Pie based Oxygen OS out of the box. The key addition in the 6T are the in-display fingerprint sensor, small water drop notch. The notable omission is the 3.5mm audio jack. The 6T has a 3750mAh battery charged by Dash Charge standard. It retains the OnePlus 6 camera hardware with a dual rear camera setup with 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel sensors and a 16-megapixel selfie shooter. ]]>

OnePlus 6 – Not the right time to upgrade, here is why!

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 17 May 2018 14:12:54 +0000

By now half the world must be talking about the OnePlus 6 and you might be tempted to upgrade to more speed you need as the company claims to be. Should you? Let’s figure it out in this article.

Let’s begin with the OnePlus 6 specs:

6.28-inch AMOLED Display
2280 x 1080 resolution
19:9 aspect ratio
Snapdragon 845
6/8 GB LPDDR4X RAM
64/128/256 GB Storage
19 percent larger primery camera sensor (1.22μm pixels)
Dual cameras: Wide-angle, 16MP, f/1.7, 1.22μm pixel size, OIS; Telephoto, 20MP, f/1.7, 1.0μm pixel size
16MP, f/2.0 Selfie camera
4K Capture at 60fps, 480fps slow mo
Portrait mode on front and rear camera
3300 mAh battery with Dash charging
Water-resistent (but no IP rating)
4×4 MIMO for Gigabit LTE
Android P beta available
Mirror black, Midnight black, and silk white colors

So what has changed?

The new OnePlus 6 is slightly thicker, a bit heavier and has a bigger screen in the same dimension. While the OnePlus 5T was 7.3mm in thickness, the OnePlus 6 is 7.75mm and at 177 grams, it is 15 grams heavier than the previous generation. It also houses a 6.28-inch display compared to the 6.01-inch of the 5T in almost the same dimension. The screen resolution remains the same with FHD+ but has a 2,280 x 1,080 pixels resolution due to what we would talk next. Also gets a notch dressing. While the Android world is divided over the notch design, the OnePlus 6 embraces the notch and so the display is now a bit more taller with a 19:9 aspect ratio. It also has a slight upgrade to the internals with the OnePlus 6 powered by the latest and mightiest Snapdragon 845 against the 835 in the 5T. A bigger sensor for the camera. While the pixel count remains the same, OnePlus has included a slightly bigger sensor for better low light images and also claim to have some improvements over slow motion at 480fps video capture with an ability for a long slomo video. But let’s make it clear, it is no where near the 960fps that most flagships offer now. It also has OIS+EIS now for image stabilisation.

Rear camera	OnePlus 6 Dual cameras: Wide-angle, 16MP, f/1.7, 1.22μm pixel size, OIS; Telephoto, 20MP, f/1.7, 1.0μm pixel size	OnePlus 5T Dual cameras: Wide-angle, 16MP, f/1.7, 1.12μm pixel size; Telephoto, 20MP, f/1.7, 1.0μm pixel size

The battery remains the same and rest almost is same too. “A singer can shatter glass with the proper high note,” he said, “but the simplest way to break glass is simply to drop it on the floor.” OnePlus always prided for its build quality, with a metal body it was strong. You could have slipped it down and it might have survived. But things have changed with the OnePlus 6, they have opted for glass back with all the glossy talk that it is as strong as ever before. But we all know, glass is glass and metal is metal whatever treatment it gets. There is something reassuring about the metal unibody construction. Glass back also deprives the clean one-piece unibody design. It does look good though even if the cheapest mirror black doesn’t impress you and gathers more fingerprint smudges, the midnight black and the limited edition silk white might entice you.

Alright, there is some refreshes. But is it compelling enough to upgrade?

For that let’s see what OnePlus 6 misses out.

No wireless charging

Most flagship Smartphones worth the salt opt for glass casing to enable wireless charging. While OnePlus 6 is dressed up with glass and is ready for the party, the wireless charging feature is sorely missed. They did give a lame excuse that they did not include because the wireless charging is not as quick as their dash charging but then people do love futuristic technologies and is a shame the OnePlus 6 misses this out.

Its not IP-certified

OnePlus says the OnePlus 6 is water resistance but is shy of declaring its IP ratings. While it might (I am just going by their words) survive few splashes, you cannot dunk it in water or heavy shower at least not without the official declaration. One word of advice, keep it wrapped when in doubt.

But in-display fingerprint sensor might be the trend in waiting…

According to a recent report last month smartphone having fingerprint sensor built in to the screen might be very well mainstream by the end of 2019 with an expected 100 million Smartphones. Before that the next flagships in-waiting this year might very well include them with the rumours of in-display in Samsung Galaxy S10. Why wait for the flagship, the Vivo X21UD already has it. This could be a big regret if you plan to invest on OnePlus 6 with a rear fingerprint sensor only to go through the mental agony when you find 6T flaunting it. Hold on, OnePlus 6T might very well come with in-display fingerprint sensor and enough reason for you to skip this and wait for the next iteration. I feel the followup to the OnePlus 6 might be worth the wait and if you are owning OnePlus 5T hold on your horse and wait for the OnePlus 6T, meanwhile you will also receive the Android P for your 5T and it is still a good phone for the stretch ahead. You don’t have to be disappointed like the OnePlus 5 buyers, right?]]>

OnePlus 3 Review – The Giant Slayer

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 01:17:41 +0000

The killer is back again but can it get third time lucky? We are talking about OnePlus, the original flagship killer who has unleashed a suave killing machine, the OnePlus 3. To make things better, this time you don’t need those silly invitations to own one. OnePlus is an unique company to come from China, barring the not-so-great experiment with OnePlus X, the company makes only one device per year and manages to create a big halo around it. To their credit, they do manage to deliver big punch with their device, hence the moniker ‘flagship killer’ truly deserves them. Come 2016, we have the OnePlus 3 and I been using it as my primary phone for last few weeks and here is what I feel about the most polished killer I have ever encountered at almost half the price compared to other big flagship devices. That gives you a hint on what is to follow right? Go ahead.

Design and Build Quality

Anodized aluminum body
152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35 mm 7.3 mm
158 grams

Each year the Smartphone designs follows a trend and increasingly every models tend to look similar. When you look at the picture even OnePlus 3 design looks familiar but that perception changes when you hold the device the very first time. You realize a picture does not worth the thousand words always. You understand the differences or rather you feel it when you hold it, the premium DNA is instantly noticeable. Be it the build quality, the way the metal feels upon touch, the OnePlus 3 is jacketed in metal like most devices worth their salt now but not all metal and construction are same. It is quiet evident that OnePlus 3 is a pedigree on its own. It’s suave, got clean looks and at 7.35mm it’s lean, mean and self-assured of its presence. The “Graphite” – a muted grey color is an absolute delight visually. The workmanship that has gone into the device is self-evident. The rear is slightly curved towards the edges. The left side has the alert slider and volume rocker. The tiny pattern on the alert slider, a physical switch to cycle between sounds profiles, gives the required friction to nudge the slider into different positions and also is a pointer to the minute detailing that has gone into this device. The design is not without fault and the culprit is the protruding camera module, which OnePlus had successfully avoided in their previous iterations but strangely exposed it here. Of course, they would want us to buy their super slim back covers that comes in really cool few different wood finishes, a carbon-fiber look and even the classic OnePlus Sandstone finish. Some might like them but I belong to the group who decry covering a good looking device with anything else however attractive the extra clothing might be. The bottom is a busy place. It houses the speaker grille, the USB Type-C, primary microphone, the audio jack and two screws. With everything stacked up here, needless to say it’s top smooth. The SIM tray at the left side supports dual-nano SIM and there is no provision for microSD card but with 64GB on-board as the standard storage, no complaints. The capacitive home button at the front also doubles as the finger print sensor, flanking is two dots that glow and works as the back and recent apps buttons. The settings menu also gives option for on-screen navigation bar and the position of back and recent apps buttons can be interchanged.

Display

5.5-inch
Optic AMOLED display
1920 x 1080 resolution
401 ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 4
73.1% screen-to-body ratio

The first two OnePlus devices used LCD displays, for OnePlus X, they opted for OLED and Optic AMOLED is the choice for the OnePlus 3. While most flagships these days prefer 2K resolution, the 3 sticks faithfully to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, resulting in pixel density of 401ppi. It’s a wiser choice, since it also helps in the battery life, which we will talk about later. The display has a good black level and the contrast is good. The sharpness is excellent and the images crisp and the viewing angles and sunlight legibility are great. If you are someone who prefer natural display, the colors are bit over-saturated, but most people do prefer it that way. The display settings offers a slider to tweak the color balance. There is a night mode, which is more of a reading mode turning off the blue filter. The adaptive brightness works good in various ambient conditions. A toggle for ambient display can be turned on if you want the screen to wake up upon receiving notifications.

Software and UI

Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
OxygenUI

For most parts the UI looks like pure Android but then the Oxygen has few elements stacked upon it, adding elements of customization. The immediate notable feature upon using the device the first time is the shelf area, accessed by swiping to the right on the home screen. As the name suggests, you can put your memos , reminders, see five most used apps and also can park frequent contacts or widgets for easy access. It can come handy if used properly or you can long press the home screen, go to customize option and disable it. The UI offers gesture options like double tap to wake, open camera or flashlight by drawing on the screen etc. Another key addition include the “Dark” mode, which turns the apps page and Settings menu black rather than white. Then, there are the Marshmallow features like Memory usage information, doze etc. Oxygen UI does a good work at retaining the soul of pure android and giving few extra options to explore in the settings. Unlike Cyanogen or MIUI, the Oxygen UI is restrained and plays around a bit on the stock android.

Performance

Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820
Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo
Adreno 530
6GB RAM
64GB ROM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

The hardware features on OnePlus 3 is top of the line and has the best ammo available right now. Add to it the 6GB of RAM and it breezes past any challenge you throw at it. I kept opening 28 apps and it still handled well without any lags. Do check the video below that shows the prowess of the OnePlus 3. https://youtu.be/2f96Iyqf67k For gaming, the OnePlus 3 is absolute pleasure. It handles every available game now on Play store really well and the best part it does not heat up much. The heating is remarkably contained. The speaker is good enough and it also does not gets muffled when you use both the hands to play the device, which is a dampener in many devices. https://youtu.be/PLk98LnhG_c

OnePlus 3 has very fast dual-channel RAM, which makes accessing RAM data faster than the first DDR4 phones. The call quality is pretty good and you would realize pretty soon, the OnePlus 3 is a very powerful and exciting phone when you start using.

Battery

Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery
USB Type-C port
Dash charging

Fast charging is indispensable these days, for all the talks of power banks most of us don’t carry it along every day, so a little charge that can keep keep you talking more is welcome any day. The dash charging in OnePlus is smashing fast. A mere 5 minutes charge can give a 10% charge from zero and you can hit the half way mark of the 3000mAh battery in flat 24 minutes. Of course, you need to charge the phone with the proprietory dash charger they provide out of the box and you can also buy a dash charger for car when you are on the wheels and need a quick refueling for your phone. OnePlus has also insinuated the device from getting heated up while charging by moving the the power management system and heat dispersion elements to the dash charge adapter. The initial days when I started using the OnePlus 3, the battery life was damn good. It stood solidly well but then later it started acting a bit erratic at times draining out faster. I am yet to figure out if there is any pattern to it but overall the battery life is decent.

Camera

16MP rear camera
f/2.0 aperture
Phase detection auto focus
OIS, EIS
Sony IMX298 sensor
1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size
up to 4K recording
8 MP front camera
Sony IMX179 sensor
,f/2.0
1/3.2″ sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size
1080p recording

OnePlus 3 boasts of high quality sensors at both the sides and is evident in its imaging capabilities. There is almost no shutter lag and the pictures come pretty good with good natural color reproduction and almost lifelike. Photos are, on the whole, very impressive. Below is one of my favorite image taken on a windy day and managing a quick click. Apart from HDR, there is also a HD mode, the later does a bit of mild processing for a crisp result. The HDR mode is not overpowering but gives you the right accentuation for your images. [gallery link="file" columns="5" ids="11407,11406,11403,11405,11401"] Even the low-light pictures are better, though when it comes to camera, Samsung’s S7 siblings are still the best over there, unmatched. Nevertheless, the photos looked sharp, with good color balance and contrast. You can also save the pics in raw format. The camera app though is not to my liking, while it is neat my problem is it is too structured and clean. I am a kind of a photographer like millions out there, who would like to reach out to presets easily but here we might have to dig in.

Conclusion

Without beating around the bush, let me put it straight forward, the OnePlus 3 is a smashing phone to own, a flagship experience at an excellent price.

What I liked

Well, just about almost everything!

Design
Build quality
Dash charging
Performance
Camera

What I did not like

Ermm..

the camera bump

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OnePlus 3 launched ; 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 820 and priced at Rs 27,999 in India

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 19:33:09 +0000

Is OnePlus losing the plot with its "Invite Circus'' ?

Lakshmi Rajan — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 09:32:13 +0000

We live in an interesting time, spoiled for choices over mobiles. It is also a competitive times for the OEMs, barring Apple, almost all are under pressure to keep the margins low, get the price right and hope for the volumes. And it is also confusing times for the consumers, no longer they can walk in to a store and find all the devices under one roof. Many devices are now e-commerce exclusive, then there is flash sales model and you need to keep a tab on the calendar and clock and be ready with fastest fingers and pray for a little bit of luck. Amidst this, OnePlus has its invite model to purchase their phones. When OnePlus launched their OnePlus One back in 2014, they were in an advantageous period. Back then, their One was truly a ‘flagship killer’, a remarkable device that democratized the flagship for masses. OnePlus One was available at a starting price of $299 (unlocked and without contract) for the 16GB model, while the 64GB variant was available at $349. For that price they offered a device with a 5.5-inch display with fullHD resolution, powered by Snapdragon 801, 3GB RAM, flashed Cyanogen OS and came equipped with a great set of camera specs. It challenged all the flagship devices with premium tags and soon became a name every tech writers talked about and many wanted to own. They also introduced an invite-only model which also helped the company to create a buzz and also handle its inventory and production in control. They were a new entrant and everyone loved them. Fans rooted for this David pitted against the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC People scrambled for invites, those who had the invites were the new celebrities and all the long lost friends and relatives pinged them for invites. The model worked for OnePlus, the demand ballooned, the waiting period queued up but still it was a ”flagship killer’ worth the wait. It was a novel marketing strategy and it worked for the lean company, few whimpers aside, the tide was with the company. Come 2015. Paradigm shift in the industry. More Chinese players became mainstream, they are no more outlaws. Rest of the world warmly accepted them, each one brought in capable devices, even if not flagship killers, they offered best value for the money spend on them. Smartphones become more affordable and yesterdays big names struggled before the minnion’s blitzkriegs in terms of pricing and new-age marketing strategies. Suddenly, there are more Davids for the people to root for. By now, OnePlus is no more the only ‘wonder kid’ in the mobile industry. Xiaomi made itself famous by popularizing and sensationalizing ‘flash sale model’ and more brands lapped it up. While all other new-age brands fired with all guns blazing with armada of models, OnePlus meticulously stuck with one model for a long time, since their One was still relevant even after many months. Then, they came up with OnePlus Two. By now, they have to divorce Cyanogen and came up with a new breather of OS, Oxygen. What did not change was their sales model based on invite. While many expected OnePlus would have learnt from their One outing and made amends in their second offering, having experimented with the invite-only model for quiet a long period. Carl Pei, co-founder had to apologize to fans “we have messed up again” pretty soon. The tall promises of making invites 30-50x easier, did not happen. By now, there were more visible disgruntle. People are no more willing to be patient, they had more choices to look at. Few weeks back, I was talking to a group of friends (none of them are tech writers, btw), our discussion veered to mobiles and when OnePlus name popped up, it was dismissed as ”INVITE CIRCUS’. And most of them had purchased a Smartphone from an e-commerce site and half of them on a flash sale. Incidentally, some of them when failed to get a particular Smartphone in a flash sale, just opted for a near comparable model from a rival in another sale. People have a hunger for Smartphones and suddenly they have plenty of options to eat. And soon, there are more invites with people but less visible enthusiasm unlike when OnePlus One was launched. Many people seem to simply not bother about going after the invites, nor have the patience to wait for it. The invite circus has become cumbersome amidst the intense competition in the mobile industry. OnePlus has shied away from revealing numbers of devices sold but that doesn’t matter. Perception has changed with patience wearing out and options many. OnePlus has now launched the OnePlus X. When I scanned the OnePlus X launch news in their official forum, one of the earliest comment I read was ‘”What’s the point ! no ones going to get a invite for least 6 months‘ The circus continues. It doesn’t matter if the company hosts open sales occasionally, they might even be clearing their inventory but to scale up and to be taken more serious, it is time for OnePlus to rethink its invite-basis model and innovate, else it will find the tide difficult in future and consumers can be unforgiving.]]>

OnePlus joins the Make In India chorus, Partners with Foxconn

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 17:05:56 +0000

It’s OnePlus India. The Chinese tech startup today announced its plans to start its first step in localization with partnering with Foxconn to assemble its Smartphones from India. It will make use of the Foxconn’s Rising Star facility in Siri City in Andhra Pradesh.

Talking about the India move, Peter Lay, Founder and CEO, OnePlus said “Today is a big day for us. Producing smartphones in India is one of the most important decisions we have made so far at OnePlus, and we are thankful to the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Foxconn for helping us make this happen. India being one of our biggest markets worldwide, we are committed to a long-term sustainable growth path. This move will strengthen our presence and help us step up momentum in India,”

OnePlus added that their 30,000 sq ft facility at Foxconn has a peak capacity of 500,000 units a month and will be scalable to meet the local demands. The OnePlus’s Make In India initiative will also give direct employment to some 1000 people. The first batch of Smartphones will rollout by the end of this year.

Andhra Pradesh has been aggressive in getting the mobile ecosystem and has already got the head start with the Foxconn facility. “Our dream is to catapult Andhra Pradesh to become one of the hottest destinations for local manufacturing in India, and I believe with brands such as OnePlus joining in, that dream is quickly becoming a reality. The Andhra Pradesh Government assures all cooperation and support to OnePlus to help them cater to the growing demands in the India market.” – Shri Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Honorable Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh.

Vikas Aggarwal, GM, OnePlus India mentioned the local production might translate to further aggressive pricing of OnePlus devices in the long term. “Local production will not only make our operations more efficient in terms of cost and working capital requirements but also help us in making our products available for sale much faster than ever before.”

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OnePlus 2 : Here is all that you should know about the latest 'flagship killer'

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 05:58:09 +0000

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

The display is the same 5.5-inch and is fullHD, I expected QHD but then fullHD is not bad either for normal eyes. The RAM choice is interesting, if you pick 16GB you get 3GB of RAM and the 64GB comes with 4GB of RAM. With around $60 price difference and no option for microSD card, it would be wiser to pick 64GB version.

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

In India, the OnePlus Two will be Amazon exclusive for Rs 24,999 and of course it follow an invite system but OnePlus says it will ship faster this time. ]]>

OnePlus Power Bank Review : A thing of beauty is a power for ever

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 17:43:01 +0000

Power banks or portable chargers are in plenty but most incorporate a rather bland and boring design. OnePlus’s emergency charger breaks the monotony with its refreshing design. The 1000mAh battery pack is a style statement to compliment your Smartphone especially if you own a OnePlus. The talking point and the deal clincher for OnePlus power bank is the design. It’s beautifully designed, slim and lightweight. It’s very obvious the OnePlus team has put its heart and effort in making the pack stylish, distinguishable in the similar line of their Smartphones. It’s no-brainer from where the aesthetic cue has been arrived, the OnePlus dna is all evident. . . The Power bank is available in two colors – Sandstone black and Silk White, I have the white unit for the review. Both the power banks use the similar material that has been used on their Smartphone, so the Sandstone matte finish is very similar to the OnePlus version’s case and same goes with the body of the Silk white. The body is polycarbonate unlike the ones’ from Xiaomi, Honor but it still has a premium look to it. Weighing 222 grams, the OnePlus feels lighter on hand and though it is a bit longer it feels sleeker and lighter thanks to its smart designing. Unlike the ‘soap-box’ type design that most portable chargers use, the OnePlus has an unique wedge-like design with smooth, rounded corners and tangos well with the Smartphone especially if you own an OnePlus. There is also a metal rim around the edges to accentuate the design and visual language. It comes with two full-size USB and one microUSB ports. You can charge two devices at the same time. There are four battery indicator LEDs on the side. There are no buttons. The indicators turn blue when getting charged or charging another device. So since there is no button whatsoever how to figure out how much battery juice is left in the pack? Simple. Just shake it and the LED’s light up to indicate. Neat and cool addition. This is a 10,000 mAh battery and that takes a good 5 and half hours plus to charge fully. Though I would not recommend a overnight charging unless you sleep for less than 5 hours, since over-charging might erode the life of any powerbanks in the longer run. Charging is automatic and instantaneous as you plug in the device. The device comes with a 5W input and two 5W outputs. The 2A output means, faster charging. Though do keep in mind, if you are charging two devices at the same time, the charge gets distributed and each devices gets charged at 1A. During my usage, the OnePlus power bank gave a little mroe than 80% efficiency or I could strain out 8,500mAh out of the pack , which is good. Anything above 80% is good and OnePlus is good at it. OnePlus says they have safety features to prevent overcharging and overheating. There is no pass-through charging but then at the price of Rs 1,399 its not fair to expect that either. One gripe I had with the OnePlus power bank, I am not sure if it has automatic intelligent stop switch. When I tested with my Mi4 and LG G4 and when the devices were fully charged, the Power bank kept charging and it didn’t stop and thereby draining the powerbank’s battery till I physically removed the cable. Not sure, if it works with OnePlus smartphone. To conclude, if am looking for a 10,000mah battery pack and if I have OnePlus stacked alongside some of the other power banks in market, I might pick the OnePlus why? Just for the beautiful design. It is one of the best looking Power-bank out there and why not own something that looks good too and perform well.]]>